Wheelsets are freakin amazing!

Need I say more? It is truly amazing how far bicycle rims have come. Just like everything else available today that is produced for the masses, the technology that is integrated into bicycle components and products is simply staggering. My first set of wheels that were considered "modern" were some wide-ass Araya rims that were standard issue on my 1985 Bianchi Grizzly. There were very few wheel options back then but I didn't know any better and they worked out fine for me.


Flash forward 25 years to today and you'll still find me riding some low-end hoops because I'm a practical guy with a limited budget, especially around carbon fiber. I was working on my bike yesterday and discovered the bearings on the front wheel of my mountain bike were toast. I couldn't ignore it any longer so I took it in to my favorite bike shop guru and the prognosis was simple. "Buy a new wheelset", said the Pusher. I looked around at the Mavic, Velocity, American Classic and Vuelta wheelsets scattered about the shop and quickly realized I needed to escape before I caved in. All I needed was a 26" front front wheel. The Pusher was handing me various wheel combinations that were designed to make me faster and cooler than I could ever dream of. As I held these circular pieces of art in my hands I had the impression that my wallet was suddenly becoming lighter. I stroked the carbon fiber and spun the aero wheelsets and visualized how freakin awesome it would be. I started to imagine how I could scrape up the cash and fabricate a hair-brained story to fool my wife about the magic carbon wheelset that mysteriously followed me home.
I had to leave. I reluctantly stood my ground and walked out with a $40.00 Mavic rim laced to a XT hub. I'm happy as a clam although I'm not feeling any faster or cooler right now but at least my wheel is fixed. Thank you for the awesome hook-up Daniel!