Composite Spokes

74 Main Street Middlebury Vermont (802) 388-6666

An alloy clincher that climbs and accelerates like a carbon tubular? Justin's fastest time up Appalachian Gap this year (as of June 1) was on a pair of Topolino's new CTR 2.0s, even though Justin also owns a 900gm set of Edge 1.25s. Charles, our resident Cat I, borrowed our new set of demo CTR 2.0s for the local Tuesday night criterium, and came back saying, "These wheels accelerate fast!"

Test Ride

The Bike Center offers you the chance to take out a set of CTR2.0s for a day, to see just how awesome these wheels are. Are you looking for a set of wheels that will make Gap rides a little easier? We are five miles from Middlebury Gap, and fifteen miles from Brandon and Appalachian Gaps. Test these wheels where they are at their best: climbing and descending. Appreciate how effectively Topolino's composite spokes damp road vibration. Give us a call and set up a test ride on these phenomenal wheels.

Technology

Topolino's "hybrid" spokes use Kevlar fibers for toughness and carbon fibers for stiffness. The hub flange is molded so it completely encases the spokes, with each spoke spanning diametrically across the whole wheel. Since the spoke does not end at the hub, the spokes are not subject to the fatigue-inducing movement or flex characteristic of conventional steel spokes.

Topolino spokes:

	Are super strong -- you'll break the rim before you break a spoke -- these are not the hollow carbon spokes that got so much bad press in '09. Scroll down the Pez Cycling review of the Topolino CX2.0, until you see a photo of a Colnago C50 that was destroyed in a crash. Look beyond the seatstays, and see the front wheel that was involved in the crash, undamaged.
	Weigh less than 25% of a set of conventional steel spokes
	Significantly damp road vibration

The light weight of Topolino spokes means Topolino can lace front wheels with 24 spokes and rear wheels with 30 spokes, and still be lighter than a steel spoke wheel laced with spoke counts of 16/20, 18/24 or 20/24. More spokes means a more even stress distribution around the rim, so Topolino can use a lighter rim for lower rotating inertia, with no sacrifice in strength. The use of 12 spokes on the non-drive side and 18 on the drive side of the rear wheel improves lateral stiffness.

Despite their light weight, Topolinos are not race-only wheels. They are designed for both racing and training.

TrueBlack and CarbonCore

Topolino's TrueBlack and CarbonCore lines each include:

	A shallow alloy clincher climbing wheel
	A 30mm deep alloy clincher (tandem version available, one of the lightest tandem wheel sets on the market)
	A lightweight carbon tubular using a specially built Zipp 303 rim

Topolino's CarbonCore wheels are distinguished by their black and yellow spokes, where black = carbon and yellow = Kevlar. Topolino's TrueBlack wheels use all-black spokes with 50 percent more carbon than CarbonCore, for enhanced stiffness.

For full specs and prices on all six models, click here.