6 Wheels That Shocked The World

[@gcntech]

Did we miss any? Let us know your favourite wheels in the comments below 👇

[@starkparker16]

Moser's hour record was in 1972? 5:41

[@charlesdufour9276]

Not a wheel, but NASA's bullet proof tires as demonstrated in Veritasium's "How NASA Reinvented the Wheel" video. It would be great if you could get a pair for testing (Hank could have use them in his recent 200 mile challenge). If you can't get a pair, then getting Ollie and Josh to geek out on the tech would be fine.

[@LedaiCepelinai]

Corima 4 spoke

[@screp36]

Tioga/Sugino tension disk wheel in 700c

[@marcioriva1]

Campagnolo shamal hpw12 and Bora

[@AnvilAirsoftTV]

Great to see the Specialised Tri Spoke features. I had a pair of HED3 clinchers back when I was time trialling. They made a fantastic whoop whoop noise when I was riding along. Also interesting to see modern Tri spokes coming back on with wider rims. The Specialised/HED3 needed a 19/20mm tyre for optimal aero.

[@mlee6050]

Be nice to have ones for 22mm tubular

[@wearejames1]

I too had a pair of HED 3 clinchers used for time trialling, they do sound fantastic, a bit like a Chinook is following you😂 I had a freewheel bearing break on my road bike last week, so fitted my old HED 3 on the back along with a 50 mm carbon front, I had forgotten how fast they are over a regular alloy road wheel😊 They may well stay on for the summer....👍

[@mlee6050]

@@NetomaMusic following a vtuber on what she says I wish they went whomp whomp or is it womp womp

[@t-mar9275]

The Specialized wheels were a slightly refined version of an earlier design marketed under the brand name TRiSPOKE (lower case "i" is intentional). The major differences were that the TRiSPOKE used non-symmetrical, airfoil shaped spokes, so that there was a specific direction of rotation, and the construction was fibreglass, as opposed to carbon-fibre. Remove the decals from both and most observers would think that they were the same wheel.

[@workshopninjathe1st]

Did they also listen to Insane Clown Posse?

[@cnapoli]

Maybe overlooked in this video because it was a mountain bike wheel, but the Tioga/Sugino "Disk Drive" tension disc wheel was an iconic piece of 90s tech raced by mountain bike legends such as John Tomac, Ned Overend, and Greg Herbold. The "spokes" of the wheel were a single Kevlar filament that was plotted from hub to rim in a cool geodesic pattern. In a way, it's the grandpa to Berd's PolyLight spokes today.

[@geoffdavies1199]

I've read that when Mavic first used aluminium rims in 1934 - Antonin Magne won TdF on them - they were disguised as wooden rims!

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Moser’s hour record was in 1984 not 1972. He was so fast it was as if he was powered by a Ferrari.

[@ultimobici.]

Effectively was Ferrari powered, just not the good way….

[@savagepro9060]

Dr. Ferrari

[@JumpingWatermelons]

And the record he set would stand for.... some time.... 😀

[@als7360]

I believe it was actually Dr Conconi coaching Moser, he was a mentor of Ferrari…doping is a small world 😅

[@savagepro9060]

@@als7360 Dr. Ferrari and Dr. Conconi are models of the same thing

[@robbchastain3036]

Thanks, Alex, and the original game-changing wheel for lots of us in the States in the '70s was the Skyway Tuff-Wheel on BMX bikes, maybe not the best for racing but it was the best for jumping and flying down drops and staircases and it was a quite a put-up-or-shut-up product for a teen on a bike. Like, you in or you out? Stairs are waiting, wheels are waiting, your call. And I'm thankful to say, after all these decades, that I answered the call, some of those drops were huge and those wheels were confidence-inspiring when I once accidentally turned onto a trail that, oops, wasn't a trail but a two-story cliff dive. But I maintained my composure and landed flat between tree stumps and shook it off and kept riding. And I did eventually bend a Skyway Tuff-Wheel and they were true to their word of a free replacement, I returned it with a nice little note of gratitude and got a new one back from Sacramento pronto.

[@ShowMeThePony]

You could have just put it in the freezer when you bent it! 😂 remember that one??

[@robbchastain3036]

@@ShowMeThePony No, I never did, but thanks for telling me, interesting. Was it permanently straightened when you did that? And my Tuff-Wheels were early model, they came mounted to a CYC Stormer which I had mail-ordered from a little ad in Dirt Bike magazine when we lived in Frankfurt, West Germany. I had an after-school job for those sorts of purchases, thankfully, but it took a good number of months to arrive, finally got it in April or so of '76. But that bike was bulletproof and I needed that as I was one of those crazy stunt-riding guys and, yeah, I blame Evel Knievel for that, I saw his act in '71 at Ontario Motor Speedway and I was just a kid who loved riding my Sting-Ray and then true BMX bikes and two-stroke dirt bikes and, woohoo, my Dad's BMW R100RS motorcycle, the first fully-faired BMW sport motorcycle. O and my first motorcycle, street-legal for American teens at 15 in West Germany, a 50cc Honda Dax. A friend had a Yamaha 50 and he and I would ride those little motorcycles for hours, either through the woods or on two-lane roads to other cities. 😀

[@gcntech]

Wow! Sounds like some great memories!! All we are hearing is that you want to see some GCN BMX content... 😂

[@lsun5960]

With still 1 set of Spinergy's in use for over 25 years and knowing how it feels when the rim explode during a ride i can't wait for the for the special Alex!😃

[@gcntech]

Should we be bringing our first aid kit with us ⛑

[@AndresMUy-vd2fy]

Las mas icónicas; 1) Lenticular (Ambrosio, Fir, Campagnolo Ghibli) 2) Campagnolo Shamal 3) Spinergy Rev X 4) Lightweight Millenstein

[@t-mar9275]

Disc wheels actually go back as far as the late 1890s (not a typo). The aerodynamic advantage (and cross wind drawback) was recognized from the very beginning but they didn't have significant market impact until FiR resurrected the concept for Moser's Hour Record ride.

[@crnkspinnr3342]

Corima 4 spoke and Nimble Crosswind 3 spoke were both iconic. Still own a set of Corima and Hed 3's. Fun wheels to ride.

[@johnworth319]

Loved this look at a unique realm of cycling tech. More deep dives like this, please!!

[@gcntech]

More spinergy content coming soon 👀

[@bicyclist2]

The only thing I have that comes close to any of these is a pair of 90's Mavic Cosmic Carbones. This was a very cool video. I much prefer the looks of older aero carbon wheel set over anything else. Especially the beautiful Spinergy Rev-X's shown here. Thank you.

[@AlexChklar]

The tri-spoke is a worthy inclusion. I rode a pair of those wheels in the late 90s and early 2000s until they got stolen and boy oh boy were they fun and fast! And unlike most of my other homemade setup, they never once gave me problems. Love at first sight!

[@bubblesezblonde]

Always love your essay vids Alex. Have you ever thought about a vid pertaing to upgrading wheels to older frame styles?? Thanks!!!!

[@gcntech]

We would love to do some neo retro builds 👀 What retro frames would you upgrade?

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

I mechanicked for a pro/am team that used Rex X wheels in the 90s, and they seemed to have a fatigue life: we had 3 fail in one multi-day tour in 1998. The spoke bonding joint at the rim separated, and the little rivets at the spoke/rim junction that seemed to be a tacit acknowledgement of the design flaw lost their heads (actually) and the rim ripped in half down its centreline, the tube protruded through at 120 psi and it was arrivederci Roma after that. Luckily none of our riders were badly injured as a result.

[@gcntech]

Ah nasty! What bit of retro tech did you work with that you loved? 👀

[@overcookit1433]

I actually still use a Specialized trispoke rear wheel in combination with a Mavic Cosmic Carbon SSC front wheel. HED also offered the rear trispoke with by carbon plates closed holes (the HED 3D disk wheel), which creates a really awesome sound. Depending on the direction of the wind, I have the impression there is nearly no difference, and I wondered wheather the trispoke is close to a disc wheel, or the 3D disc is just close to the trispoke - now I know the trispoke is close to a disc (and especially to my disc). Lance Armstrong rode sometimes a HED deep trispoke, which was deeper and had a u-form in contrast the the v-shaped "normal" trispoke. Those deeper trispokes are quite rare, and mostly made for tubulars. On my tt bike, I (133lbs/5.8ft) tried to replace the cosmic carbon front wheel first by a DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut 80mm, which made the bike nearly not controllable in crosswinds (as if someone rode beside me and kept grabbing my handlebar). The 62mm is way better, but still a huge difference to the just running straight Cosmic Carbon (with still 52mm), which in combination with a 20mm Supersonic tire seems to be the perfect compromise between aerodynamics and crosswind-stability, already a 23mm wide tire make the aerodynamics really bad. On fast descends, I can concentrate on when to go in "full afterburner" to achieve the highest maximal possible speed (up to 59 mph), which the DT Swiss I had to concentrate on not being blown off the road.

[@dominickbrookes5103]

Alex, I own a 2 spoke, they originated the wheel design and then either sold the design or the company to FFWD

[@deanandrews7990]

Ooh ooh my bike made the show!! I feel famous 👏👏 (“Candy Gangster” with the TriSpoke front). Good choice Alex 😁

[@gcntech]

Thanks for submitting the bike Dean! Great looking bike ✨

[@AlbertBuckinghamEllison]

We need a 'best sounding' wheelset award now. A through audio analysis with waveforms to determine the cleanest, deepest bass when climbing to the crispiest freewheel hub.

[@theantichrome9842]

Great video Albert. I loved my Spinergy wheels... I bet those Berd wheels are really something, especially with the Onyx hubs.

[@gcntech]

More Spinergy content no the way! Turn your notifications on and never miss a video 🔔

[@CarsandBikes]

No mention of the Topolino Kevlar/Carbon wheelset?

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Incredible & Thanks :)

[@5tanw0rr311]

You’ve missed the Campag Ghibli, the Ambrosio honeycombe disc, Shamals 1st & 2nd gen. I had a pair of Spinergy’s with the X beams but I just couldn’t get on with them, nothing to write home about

[@alanthomas3236]

Campagnolo Shamal 12 spoke HPW - one of the first aero wheels for road racing - and a wheel so fast it helped Gewiss Ballan dominate in 1994 (alongside some orange juice) 😉

[@johnmorrison8351]

I think the Zipp NSW wheels are insane too

[@endcensorship874]

I’m old enough to remember when 28 spoke Magic GP-4 were the hottest and coolest wheels you could possibly get.

[@gcntech]

Did you ever get your hands on them? 👀

[@endcensorship874]

@@gcntech Oh no, I was a poor college student who could only afford 36 hole MA-40s

[@pinoyxbox]

Gonna be building my next wheels with dt swiss 240 and light weight rims from light bicycle 👌🏼

[@bergerniklas6647]

Good choice, i have a pair of Lighbicycle wheels with DT240s and I love them

[@gcntech]

Sounds like it's going to be pretty special 🙌

[@markg0410]

3:21 - The original was manufactured under the brand name, 'ADA.'

[@raulrademakers3408]

And where build and invented by a Dutch guy called Cees Beers in Lelystad in 1988

[@James-oj4kg]

Interesting video! The best ones for me are the Campagnolo Ghibli!

[@Mavrik-60]

Holy Spinnergy bat man Fantasticly fantastical rimology mate. Yeah man keepemcoming

[@danielequintaba9242]

The first trispoke wheels were on the 1987 Colnago-Ferrari concept bike. Also in the picure shown Jan Ullrich was using the first gen of Campagnolo Bora wheels not Lightweight

[@n22pdf]

Great info Alex as always enjoyed watching this one 👍👍❤️‍🔥🤩🏅🚴

[@gcntech]

No worries Pete! Glad we could help, is there anything else you would like us to cover? 👀

[@emmabird9745]

Hi Alex. NACA = Nation Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The "aerofoils" you added at the end is incorrect, So I suppose you didn't know either. President Eisenhower expanded their remit and thus created NASA.

[@2deaf4sound]

One of my teammates rode the Spinnergy in the early 2000. They look and the sound so cool. and damn he was even faster on them but for that much money you can expect that.

[@leangrypoulet7523]

I loved my Spinergys. Fast, head turning, amazing. But I had the earlier versions where the break pad only had carbon as the breaking surface which were useless on steep hills, worse when wet, and made for some very twitchy descents. However, I stopped using them after a massive crash. I hit a 10cm deep pothole in Spain at approx 40kmh and the front wheel completely crumpled. I flipped forward, off the bike and into the air, before coming back down onto the rear of the bike and my elbow broke through one of the carbon splines on the rear wheel, lots of blood and damage to my elbow. Thought it was better to look for an alternative and went down the deep section route.

[@gcntech]

That sounds like a nasty crash! Glad you are safe... lets not scare Alex too much, he'll be riding these soon enough 😬

[@leangrypoulet7523]

@@gcntech Certainly the biggest crash in 30+ years cycling as an adult. Good news for Alex is that the Spinergys weren't to blame. Entirely my doing, slip-streaming an articulated lorry. Pothole appeared from under the axle with no time to react, and I launched skyward. As long as he doesn't get up to that mischief I'm sure he'll enjoy the wheels fine. I did. Lovely wheel. Sound a bit helicopter blades cutting through the air. Sounded fast even if I wasn't always going fast 🤣

[@gcntech]

Retro Wheels 😎

[@smoothy8464]

Spinergy also invented the wheel in the 90s that Berd spokes are based on called the Spox. The hubs also had the spoked inverted with the nipples on the inside of a very futuristic hub with a carbon shell. That company was way ahead of it's time.

[@mlee6050]

Omg lol I am using DT Swiss 180 and berd spokes for my next wheel set, looking to have Trek Emonda ALR frame and all parts laid out for a picture before build the wheels though as I like to show my bike builds are true builds as I build the wheels too

[@gcntech]

Nice! Make sure to upload a photo of the finished product to the GCN app!

[@mlee6050]

@@gcntech I will might be a few years to save up for full build, also want to repair my computer from last heatwave ruined the water cooling, I am slightly wondering if normal seatpost or dropper for picture as plan to have both for bike so depend where I ride

[@eyenoball]

i feel like ollie should've been the one presenting that Lightweight wheelset, he's had first-hand experience all those years ago...

[@timoma6620]

You forgot the Zipp 858 NSWs, as an owner I can certify their outstanding greatness ^^

[@01FozzyS]

Such a tease with the Spinergies,Bertrand! 🤣

[@therealmarco507]

Especially in the European region, you should also think about PiRope for textile spokes. Unlike Berd, they have the small disadvantage that you have to use their specific hub, but the end result looks much cleaner and more trustworthy :D

[@MrVindler]

I loved my Spinergy Rev-X’es.

[@gcntech]

Loved? 👀

[@richardsbattella9520]

First, and please readjust the audio mixing 😘

[@Toodyslexicforyou]

Sadly I have to agree like the video though

[@thebigg2345]

Most of the videos with Alex have the mic level too high, but this one is just distorted. Come on guys, this is GCN, not some noob KZbin channel.

[@jim9685769]

Still with the goofy background music. Like someone left the radio on in the back room.

[@gcntech]

Thanks for the feedback, Richard 👍

[@mes6276]

Those lightweight wheels look great on my Zwift bike. I think all wheels should be given out to people via a prize when after climbing a mountain.

[@MTBScotland]

lightness doesn't have anything to do with floating on water. The ability to float is down to the density of the object. Hence why 100,000 ton aircraft carriers float.

[@billkallas1762]

Specialized Tri Spoke. Spinergy Rev-X. Still have both of them. In fact, both were first generation wheels where the rears were built to be used with freewheels. The Tri Spoke could be used either on the front, or the rear. All you had to do to change it was to change the axles and spacers. PS. Check the Spinergy Rev-X spokes before every ride, for small cracks. If a front wheel decides to explode, you may need some new teeth.

[@RA-gk5zg]

Aerosports in Huntington Beach made the first disc wheels.

[@BillyHopscotch]

You're correct about the Specialized wheel being the first made that way. Source: Mark is my dad, and I asked him 😂

[@ShowMeThePony]

I remember back in 92’ or so, working at a bike shop in Palm Springs, CA. Had a group of guys from Argentina come in on their bikes looking to buy some Specialized tri-spokes. 8 pair of them! I had to order them obviously. I asked for a deposit and the group leader pulled out his wallet from his jersey pocket and opened it in front of me. It was one of those old 90’s Velcro wallets like you get from the state fair. Inside he had a stack of $500 bills. Maybe $1000 bills too but that could just be a false memory. Definitely $500 bills though. A STACK of them! He paid his deposit in $100’s though. He smiled and said the big bills were for something special. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I wasn’t there when they came back to pick them up unfortunately. Not sure how he paid the balance off.

[@Steveintheandes]

Mad Fiber? or are they too close to Spinergy..? Certainly looked cool.

[@oclv244]

Tioga disk drive?

[@aveedub7403]

Excellent video, more like this! It's a pity the uci dont allow cutting edge technology to race! Where can i get those plastic spokes from??😁😁😁😁

[@gcntech]

Thanks, glad you liked it!

[@mitchellsteindler]

Oh British accents..."nacar". NACA was the precursor to NASA and they developed and characterized the performance of every wing shape you could imagine.

[@jw3638]

It's crazy to look back at the technology. Thanks Alex (i finished going through the alphabet for names to call Bert by)😅

[@gcntech]

Have we gone full circle 👀 We are now back to Alex 😂

[@klewandowski5666]

you should check out stiffi wheels!

[@mikekelly1771]

Can't believe you didn't cover Madfibre wheels!

[@davidpinnington213]

Crikey are there any still out there and in 1 piece?

[@DP-fc6op]

I’ve still got my set, don’t ride them anymore, just stare at them from time to time 😂

[@stealfwayne]

A film about cool wheel tech, it was about time you got 'round' to that one, so sorry, holiday wine afoot

[@Miki-ti3uo]

Xentis Mark wasn't mentioned, the most robust full carbon wheels I've ever seen.

[@Ligma-Bass]

How could you leave out the Wear&Tear Black hole 🙈

[@cv643d]

Because this is not genuine journalism it is click bait content meant to increase profits by driving more conversions on the ads

[@morrishernandez151]

Someone fire the editor to decide to add music along with the dialogue.

[@joshualudwig1167]

Definitely missed mad fiber wheels, wear and tear black hole wheel, xentis blade wheels

[@jj8383]

Thumbnail, Title, 0:10, 1:00, 7:00

[@dhwarrior]

#Spinergy4ever! Still have one front wheel!

[@gcntech]

More Spinergy content coming soon! 👀

[@larrylem3582]

I'd edit the video to put the wheels in chronological order.

[@linoiacobbe6462]

These synergy wheels are not for the road use because one crack goodbye wheel in the bin.

[@whothefoxcares]

Wheel circular logic.

[@bbarber6845]

I’d love to see spinergys made today with today’s tech. They were awesome until the y weren’t

[@gcntech]

What do you think is the closet modern wheel to the Spinergys ?

[@theovandijk3429]

Sorry, but how can you not mention those silver early 90's Campagnolo Shamal wheels? Shame on you GCN!🙂

[@BrianAndersonPens]

Those were the wheels to have back then. Always wanted a set! Surprised they didn’t mention the Ghibli too.

[@theovandijk3429]

@@BrianAndersonPens Yes, I was racing as a junior back then. Only a few juniors had those wheels. Not me!😂

[@vfr1vfr2]

Reynolds RZR wheelset: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4WmapRphbOSiJY

[@King_K_Rool_]

My wife reckons you sound a bit like Noel Fielding. Tbh if your not banging on about cakes or pretending to be the moon im not convinced 🤔

[@piotrwojcik1756]

Alex? Who is Alex??

[@savagepro9060]

Your step-father

[@piotrwojcik1756]

@SavagePro don't have step father . If you trying to tell story about your step father no one is interested, keep it to yourself

[@savagepro9060]

GCN Tech: 6 wheels that shocked the world . . . Me: Without electricity?

[@RA-gk5zg]

The Specialized wheel was an illegal blatant rip-off of the Original Trispoke wheel made and patented years earlier. The Original Trispoke was proven in wind tunnel testing superior to the Specialized wheel. The Original Trispoke was manufactured before cassettes were even invented.

[@t-mar9275]

I didn't see this and posted a response to much the the same effect. The original trispokes were first marketed in late 1987, two years before Specialized version. They even trademarked the Trispoke name so, technically, the Specialized wheels aren't trispokes. The main differences were in the materials and spoke cross-section, with the originals have a non-symmetrical spoke cross-section, so that there was a specific direction of rotation.

[@jonathanzappala]

And the two spoke was a complete aero lie…

[@JefferyMcGehee]

Gary needs a haircut

[@boriss.861]

Alex I'm 8 seconds in are you going to be a SHILL or genuine? Remember Satchin Hambini has probably been here. Oh Shill, n an accomplice of a confidence trickster or swindler who poses as a genuine customer to entice or encourage others Winspace?

[@molokofreak]

... as we call them "dogo slicers"