liberalswine

I picked up this trispoke for a great price last night and wanted more info on it. It's factory painted black and is an indicator that it is a first generation tri spoke from specialized during the dupont era. There is also a little sticker near the hub saying "made in the usa dupont advanced composites" in yellow text.

I did some researching last night in regards to the material. The seller was unsure of the material as well and stated that it was plastic/carbon composite which is why I bought it. However, during my research, someone stated that the first generation tri spokes were actually carbon woven and painted black and that the weight differences versus the newer hed3 is due to the larger amounts of resin used by specialized.

I called specialized this morning and unfortunately they were unable to provide the info I needed and directed me over to hed. So I called HED and the individual informed me that it was in fact carbon fiber woven with satin black paint for the first generation.

Can anyone chime in?

I was inclined to purchase this item because I thought it was a plastic/carbon composite and would be more suitable for the rough streets of los angeles. I'm terrified of carbon fiber as reflected from many "corn flake" horror stories.

MegaTom

When you consider that Carbon = Plastic, the wheel you actually have is really no different than the wheel you thought you had.

To explain it mathematically:

(.5)Carbon + (.5)Plastic + Paint = (1)Carbon + Paint = your Tri Spoke wheel

liberalswine

I guess what I'm trying to get at here is whether this has a carbon weave under the paint (as indicated by a few threads on another forum as well as a tech from hed), or if it is in fact some kind of carbon resin based material. Sorry for lack of terminology

WonderLake

Carbon fiber is weaved, carbon fiber based components are bonded together with a resin.

liberalswine

So can someone verify whether this is weaved underneath or is it carbon fiber bonded with resin?

clink83

Those things are so heavy who cares what they are made from.

liberalswine

Well thank you for enlightening me. As mentioned I'm really not to familiar with the properties of carbon fiber material nor the composition. I tried to do research about this wheel last night, and there are two answers I'm getting. One being it is made of composite plastic/carbon, and the other being carbon woven. I suppose I got thrown off, so any help to enlighten me would be greatly appreciated.

liberalswine

Actually, it's not that much heavier than the hed3 version as I picked up both wheels side by side without tubes/tires. My main concern is having a reliable and durable wheel for street commuting.

merlinextraligh

The wheel will be plenty reliable. It will ride like crap on rough roads.

liberalswine

All I needed to know in regards to reliability given its age. I kind of expected it to ride rough on crappy roads and I am anticipating some gnarly crosswinds. haha

Menel

Terminology is skewed by marketing hacks.

Carbon Fibre = CFRP = Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer or Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic, same thing.

Without the carbon reinforcing weave, it's going to be weak and unreliable for road use. I wouldn't ride without, and I can't imagine them designing and marketting without.

liberalswine

Thanks for clearing that up.

Another question: with all that said...what material are the spin trispoke composed of? I had one previously and apparently those were marketed as carbon composites. However, they have a graphite/plastic look to it.

Menel

Most likely CFRP. Looks can be deceiving, a lot of options for the cosmetic finish.

datlas 

I hope you enjoy your wheel.

However, wheel technology has matured quite a bit in the past decade so having this wheel is comparable to getting a "new" used computer with a then-state of the art 286 processor with windows 3.1 OS...

liberalswine

Thanks for the input guys.

I don't mind if this technology is outdated. This is actually for my single speed that I ride around town for fun, so not really getting to competative with it. But its nice knowing I'll have a nice functional and low budget wheel for the velodrome when I have time to start some training courses.

Picked it up for 175 which I think was a bargain

merlinextraligh

I think the OP is buying it for a look.

That said, it's still not a bad wheel for time trialing. It's essentially a HED 3 which is still one of the most aero options out there. I'm sure it's heavier than a HED3 given improvements in CF manufacturing, but weight isn't that critical in a TT wheel.

carpediemracing 

I used to ride them. They're more a plastic reinforced with carbon (CFRP, i.e. "carbon fiber reinforced plastic", along the lines of old fiberglass picnic chairs which my dad would call FRP "fiber reinforced plastic").

They're heavier and stiffer than the woven carbon wheel made a little later (I still have 1.5 pairs of those wheels).

The original wheels are plenty strong, probably overbuilt if anything.