Originally Posted by
aliasfox
Spinergy Z-Lites: I completely forgot these guys were still around. What's the benefit to the PBO spokes?
The flexible Zylon PBO fibers are lighter and stronger than stainless steel, and flexible, so they are more impact resistant and damp vibration, offering a smoother riding, lighter wheel.
Just a couple of days ago, James Huang over at CyclingTips reviewed the new Litespeed Watia, which Litespeed spec’d with Spinergy GXX wheels, and he described the ride as “magical.” Now he attributed a lot of that to the frame and to titanium, but needless to say, there is no ride at all without wheels, so while he said the wheels were “smooth rolling,” I think that’s a bit of understatement.
I ride Spinergy GX with 35c tires on my T-Lab, and my experience is similar; the bike is really smooth, right on par with my Breezer, which has high volume 650b x 48 rubber (on conventional spoke rims). For gravel, they’re great, but I bet the Spinergy damping effects would be even more noticeable in a narrow, high-pressure, tarmac tire application.
Most basically, though, the PBO spokes are just more proof that there’s more than one way to build a wheel, like Rolf showed with paired spokes and Corima with carbon fiber spoke wheels. Each is ostensibly better in some way, but they all work well, including conventional wheels.