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No Comments For road use only…. they said
So, you think Ghisallo rims are works of art, worth contemplation and admiration.
Well, this is a free world, I like my wooden hoops too, but I like using the stuff I buy. My brand new Ritchey Swiss Cross rig was begging to be ridden hard, so I just slammed some 30 mm Tufo cyclocross tubular tires on my honey wheels and off I went.
Forgot to say rains have been … well … generous in this period, here in Tuscany. Wheelfanatick advices avoiding wet roads, so I decided to ride off road. My friends joined me, on their MTBs.
After the first amused looks at my skinny tires, their talks quickly turned into silence and then into panting: staying behind a red missile is quite challenging. The wheels roll smoothly, notwithstanding the thin rubbers. Keeping the pace on a 29er is not easy. The inherent flexibility of wooden rims and the lower spoke tension gives traction and momentum in spades, even on rocks (I heard somewhere you’re not supposed to ride on rocks on a cyclocross bike… well, never listened to my grandmother when I was young, I can’t understand why I should start now that I’m 41). Every time a climb finished, when my friends arrived, they couldn’t wait to smoke me down the hills. Obviously, I wasn’t faster, but I could stay with them. The bike felt very stable, with the wheels absorbing rocks and small drops. My mates couldn’t
believe it.
One more thing I have to say. This wasn’t a test ride. I’ve been riding my hoops offroad for two months, and all they’ve needed so far is some spokes adjustments. Quite fair for a road wheelset.
The only defect I have noticed is due to the nature of wood. Since it is not a heat conductor, the brake shoes cannot cool down as they do with alu rims, so they wear very quickly. Not an issue on a CX race course, but it might become a problem on long downhills. It’s better if you use Corima pads, but I have Magura hydraulic stoppers and they
don’t offer cork pads.
One thing is for sure. My team mates have stopping asking me how reliable my Ghisallo rims are.
(This article has been submitted by our friend Guido Cappa – https://www.facebook.com/guido.cappa
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