I've been getting a lot of comments lately, and I've been replying to them here in the blog.
Sometimes I even get further replies to those responses.
So here I'm replying to several of them all at once.
When I wrote about Colima hubs, I mentioned that using butted spokes with radial spoking is something only Colima does,
but someone pointed out that other manufacturers do it too and gave me specific examples.
According to that person:
"If a wheel enthusiast saw this, they'd be so impressed they'd practically discharge like a Tesla coil between crab pincers,
with beams shooting out of their eyes."
The text in parentheses above is exactly as the original—I'm being serious.
× like (用に) ○ like (様に) —I'm not even correcting that either. ←Well, that's not really the point anyway.
Anyway, I drew what that would look like in the image above.
I'm also adopting it as official canon (laughs).
I wrote that the butted spokes on the freewheel side of Colima hubs are twisted 90 degrees from normal spokes,
making them essentially Colima-exclusive parts,
but someone told me that another manufacturer's hub also requires 90-degree twisted aero spokes.
They also asked whether spokes like this are supplied consistently,
and the answer is: not consistently, except at Colima.
Colima aeros come in two spoke lengths depending on the era
(same hub, different rim inner diameter), and the importer Tri-Sports really understands this.
Moreover, I've never had a situation where they couldn't fulfill a request due to lack of inventory.
They're really well-organized.
As for the other manufacturer I mentioned, they currently have no distributor in Japan, so even if you get their hub,
building it with aero spokes is difficult. If the rim you're lacing happens to be a length where Colima spokes work, that's fine,
but that's not always the case.
To the person who commented that they have a wheel laced as a "normal" rim, regardless of the rim's hole offset:
Reverse rims do exist, though in very small numbers.
However, it seems bike shops have a habit of lacing wheels as normal rims without even checking the rim's hole offset
(though I don't do that),
and sometimes you see wheels where the rim's hole offset and spoke direction are mismatched.
I once replaced a damaged Zonda front rim with a Dura-Ace C24 WO because the inner diameters were very similar (image above),
and the Zonda is a reverse rim while the C24 is a normal rim.
Of course, I changed the hole offset when I relaced it.
In the image above, let's say spokes coming from the flange closest to me are blue,
and spokes from the far flange are red.
If a speedometer sensor is mounted on the right fork blade,
the spoke where you'd attach the magnet would be the spoke on the right side in the direction of travel.
If you want to attach the magnet to the spoke closest to the valve...
On the Zonda the magnet would be positioned in front of the valve, on the C24 it would be behind the valve.
With this wheel, you might be able to lace it even with the wrong hole offset, but
it's still not good for the wheel.
By the way, this front wheel is actually an incredible wheel—
it can be converted to CULT spec with a WO rim in the 300g range.
As for hub weight, I'm not really a stickler for it if the rotation is sufficiently smooth.
Even if it's heavier than a Dura-Ace hub, if it spins as well or better than Dura-Ace, I don't mind.
Actually, with ball bearings it already spins lighter than Dura-Ace.
But whether that can be overlooked indefinitely—if a hub is as heavy as, say, Gokiso,
I'd have some hesitation even if the rotation is excellent.
What's certain is that in just these few lines, I've probably made quite a few enemies.
Sometimes I even get further replies to those responses.
So here I'm replying to several of them all at once.
When I wrote about Colima hubs, I mentioned that using butted spokes with radial spoking is something only Colima does,
but someone pointed out that other manufacturers do it too and gave me specific examples.
According to that person:
"If a wheel enthusiast saw this, they'd be so impressed they'd practically discharge like a Tesla coil between crab pincers,
with beams shooting out of their eyes."
The text in parentheses above is exactly as the original—I'm being serious.
× like (用に) ○ like (様に) —I'm not even correcting that either. ←Well, that's not really the point anyway.
Anyway, I drew what that would look like in the image above.
I'm also adopting it as official canon (laughs).
I wrote that the butted spokes on the freewheel side of Colima hubs are twisted 90 degrees from normal spokes,
making them essentially Colima-exclusive parts,
but someone told me that another manufacturer's hub also requires 90-degree twisted aero spokes.
They also asked whether spokes like this are supplied consistently,
and the answer is: not consistently, except at Colima.
Colima aeros come in two spoke lengths depending on the era
(same hub, different rim inner diameter), and the importer Tri-Sports really understands this.
Moreover, I've never had a situation where they couldn't fulfill a request due to lack of inventory.
They're really well-organized.
As for the other manufacturer I mentioned, they currently have no distributor in Japan, so even if you get their hub,
building it with aero spokes is difficult. If the rim you're lacing happens to be a length where Colima spokes work, that's fine,
but that's not always the case.
To the person who commented that they have a wheel laced as a "normal" rim, regardless of the rim's hole offset:
Reverse rims do exist, though in very small numbers.
However, it seems bike shops have a habit of lacing wheels as normal rims without even checking the rim's hole offset
(though I don't do that),
and sometimes you see wheels where the rim's hole offset and spoke direction are mismatched.
I once replaced a damaged Zonda front rim with a Dura-Ace C24 WO because the inner diameters were very similar (image above),
and the Zonda is a reverse rim while the C24 is a normal rim.
Of course, I changed the hole offset when I relaced it.
In the image above, let's say spokes coming from the flange closest to me are blue,
and spokes from the far flange are red.
If a speedometer sensor is mounted on the right fork blade,
the spoke where you'd attach the magnet would be the spoke on the right side in the direction of travel.
If you want to attach the magnet to the spoke closest to the valve...
On the Zonda the magnet would be positioned in front of the valve, on the C24 it would be behind the valve.
With this wheel, you might be able to lace it even with the wrong hole offset, but
it's still not good for the wheel.
By the way, this front wheel is actually an incredible wheel—
it can be converted to CULT spec with a WO rim in the 300g range.
As for hub weight, I'm not really a stickler for it if the rotation is sufficiently smooth.
Even if it's heavier than a Dura-Ace hub, if it spins as well or better than Dura-Ace, I don't mind.
Actually, with ball bearings it already spins lighter than Dura-Ace.
But whether that can be overlooked indefinitely—if a hub is as heavy as, say, Gokiso,
I'd have some hesitation even if the rotation is excellent.
What's certain is that in just these few lines, I've probably made quite a few enemies.