Handspun Wheels Tested and Trusted
05.31.2011 • Posted by: David
Posted by Eric 6-9-11
I wanted to share this post by Joe Meiser one of our Handspun friends. Joe is a survivor of races such as the Tour Divide and Trans Iowa. He puts in thousands of miles a year product testing and racing. All of this is done rolling on Handspun wheels, read on.
Joe Meiser
For the last 6 years I’ve ridden nothing but Handspun wheels, built by some of the best wheel builders in the industry here at QBP. The wheels they’ve built me have withstood 6000+ commuting miles a year, training and racing for the Tour Divide in 2009, pummeling snow covered trails on my Salsa Mukluk, and thousands of miles of gravel road riding and racing .
Without hesitation I ask for their expert advice after explaining what types of conditions I’ll be riding. My current gravel race wheelset, DT 240 hubs/Aerolite Spokes, and sample carbon rims has seen me through countless finishes at races like the Ragnarok 105, Almanzo 100, Almanzo Royal 162, Dirty Kanza 200, and a win at the 2009 TransIowa. I remember a point early in the 2009 TransIowa as the sun was coming up where a fellow racer, Dave Pramann, riding next to me asked the question “Are those Carbon Wheels?” To which I replied “absolutely”. I continue to ride and race these wheels daily, occasionally wondering if I ought to replace them. It is part curiosity, but mostly trust, I’ll continue to ride them until I wear through the brake track, or spokes start to fail consistently. With over 10,000 miles on them and still running perfectly I’m confident they’ll last awhile longer.
Joe Meiser at the finish of the Royal 162
Photo Courtesy of Cycleture
The Tour Divide wheelset, well that’s a different story. They were finally retired after a California Central Coast Mountain Tour in the fall of 2010 where spokes did start to finally fatigue and fail. Salsa Semi Rims laced to DT240 Centerlock hubs via DT 2.0/1.8 spokes and brass nipples, they saw me from Banff to New Mexico in June of 2009 and continued to see use on my Salsa Fargo after. They showed signs of wear from mountain passes and singletrack trails until late 2010 where I stressed them on another grand tour in California. The hubs are still in action after being rebuilt by Handspun and laced into Stan’s Arch rims.