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Update: the shop manual in the break room says a single spoke can carry 250 pounds, and I can't stop thinking about it
I was flipping through an old wheel building guide from 1981 while eating lunch in the back of the shop, and it claimed a healthy 14 gauge spoke handles about 250 pounds before it even thinks about giving up. That means a normal 36 spoke wheel is carrying something like 9,000 pounds of load spread around, which somehow made me trust my truing stand a lot less. I told Dave and he just laughed and said the rim does more work than we give it credit for. Does anyone have a load chart they actually use when a heavy rider asks about wheel choice?
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blake_black4713d ago
Ran into the same thing when a 280 pound guy wanted new wheels, and I quit guessing and just started calling the builders. Had good luck with a couple of custom wheel shops that gave me real spoke count and rim recs based on his weight and riding style. A chart gets you close, but a builder who does this daily will save you from overthinking the math.
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