The Wheels That Dave Built
(reprinted from BICYCLE GUIDE)

Dave Thomas, from Sonoma, California, is a meticulous techie with an encyclopedic mind who can tell you the exact weight of just about every hub, spoke, rim and nipple in bicycling history. He also knows which combinations work best for whatever application a rider seeks.

But where Thomas really shines is in the craftsmanship of wheel building.

"Building strong, true, reliable wheels is what I care most about," says Thomas, "not how many I can turn out in a day." Working alone, he says he's willing to take however long is necessary to get each wheel just right. And I believe him.

Thomas sent a radially laced 20 spoke front wheel for my road bike almost two years ago, and I've trained on it continuously for the entire time. Through all my urban riding - curb jumping, pothole diving and car dodging--that wheel continues to stay round and in true. And though some say radially lacing is weaker, I'm sure "Insane" Wayne Croasdale, who won the '92 Dual Slalom World's on a Thomas wheel, would join me in disagreeing.

The wheels featured here are built around TNT's Ultimate sealed bearing hubs, the new Ritchey Logic spokes and Campagnolo Stheno rims. TNT hubs are made with a mixture of U.S. made, 6/4 ritanium (axle, 3/2.5 center sleeve) and 7075-T6 aluminum (hub flanges, axle spacers, a one-piece bearing adapter, freehub bolt). The end result is a very light (82 grams front, 250 grams rear) and, at $395, rather expensive set of hubs.

More weight is shaved with the Ritchey Logic 1S-gauge butted spokes, which are about 16 percent lighter, than standard DT 15-gauge butted spokes. Rounding out the package are the Campy Stheno rims, which are made from 6082Tb aluminum and weigh 390 grams each (40 grams lighter than Mavic 231 rims). One of the key Stheno features is what Dave Swift at Campagnolo calls "polycentric slanted sidewalls," which enable the brake pad to squeeze the strongest part of the rim, help center the brake pads and extend the braking power of the pads.