Gokiso wheels

[jlaitinen]

The japanese company Kondo machine company have made a new carbon wheelset. The really interesting thing about the wheels are the hubs that they claim provide suspension. The hubs are heavy (240g front / 455g rear) but they also claim that they roll like no other. 2.5k € for the carbon clincher set. Who takes one for the team? (not me)

http://www.gokiso.jp/en/products/wheel.html

[Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez]

"Provide suspension"

Those words are confused/confusing.

It is not a dampening system. Well it is. But not to reduce vibrations. It is made to keep the axle and bearings perfectly straight.

[jlaitinen]

"Provide suspension"

Those words are confused/confusing.

It is not a dampening system. Well it is. But not to reduce vibrations. It is made to keep the axle and bearings perfectly straight.

Sorry for the bad choice of words.

[whydobearsxplod]

Not for me, but I still love to see companies innovating like this. Maybe they can refine some of these advancements into lighter hubs. Then again, I rarely hear people factoring ultimate smoothness into their hub decisions at this price point. What do you guys think? Is there a market for this?

[WMW]

Not for me, but I still love to see companies innovating like this.

They put jet engine tech into a bike hub... where it doesn't really belong.

I haven't found any data on their site or elsewhere to lead me to believe that the hubs/wheels have anything substantial to offer. Instead there are gems like this:



They appear to be claiming that their rim is so radially stiff compared to others that it results in a shorter and wider contact patch, reducing rolling resistance. Even a very radially flexible rim will flex less than 0.5mm under normal loads, while the tire will typically flex 10x this amount. The difference between their rim and some other carbon rim isn't going to be a lot, probably less than 1% in tire rolling resistance, and I suspect most riders would be happy to have a little rim flex for the vibration damping.

And this:



A wheel that stops in < 100 sec after being rotated to 33 km/hr has something wrong with it. I'm also pretty sure that a broken-in Orc-UL would beat a Gokiso easily (with cheap steel bearings), but I don't have a wheel to test.

What we really need to know is how much drag is saved. Problem is, this will be either a tiny number, none, or negative compared to other top wheels.

[whydobearsxplod]

Fair enough WMW. I've been struggling with a poorly engineered hub which has never rolled smoothly and eats bearing. This Gokiso hub came to my attention when I was looking to move towards something built with more care.

I wish I could find a first generation orc.

[WMW]

What hub is it?

I'd recommend White Industries. Simple, easy to service, durable, bearings last a long time.

[whydobearsxplod]

It's a C-4. Not sure they are even in business anymore so I don't mind saying. They were light and cheap. I got what I paid for.

Right now I'm leaning towards Tune. I've always liked Tune and I have a few other Tune bits on my bike. However, White Industries T11 is on my short-list.

[davidalone]

They have excellent bearings. probably among the best in the world.
but as hub and wheel designers I think they have some catching up to do.