Topolino Wheels
KGS Bikes is offering Topolino Wheelsets
Wheels are relatively lightweight components, yet have to support tremendous loads.
"We decided to use our knowledge of the latest composite materials and rethink the design, using these materials in a whole new way."
TrueBlack CTR 2.0 $1420
TrueBlack ATR 3.0 $1,420 ($1,540 Tandem)
TrueBlack VTR 4.0 $2,520
CarbonCore CX2.0 $1299
Carbon Core AX 3.0 $1,299 ($1,419 Tandem)
CarbonCore VX 4.0 $2,299
Taking advantage of today's materials...
For the spokes, Topolino uses a hybrid construction with Kevlar fibers alongside carbon fibers, all within a thermoplastic resin matrix. The carbon fibers provide superior stiffness, while the Kevlar adds tremendous toughness.
This unique material is incredibly strong and fantastically light. Topolino's composite spoke material is stronger than a 14g stainless steel spoke and is only one-fifth the weight.
And light weight is only the beginning
The thermoplastic resin and Kevlar/carbon fibers work together to significantly dampen road vibration, for a difference you can feel. While maintaining its excellent lateral stiffness and firm responsiveness, these composite spokes absorb some of the road buzz, for greater comfort and control.
Topolino also uses a special thermoplastic carbon fiber composite material for the hub shell. It has strength matching that of aerospace aluminum, but is 45% lighter.
But materials are only part of the story, simply buzzwords at this point -
getting the true performance out of these incredible materials required a whole new approach to wheel construction.
Going all the way...
Rather than interrupting the Kevlar and carbon fibers, each spoke spans diametrically across the whole wheel. This reduces spoke stress at the hub and allows the continuous unbroken fibers in the spoke to span clear across the wheel.
With conventional steel spokes, the spokes are not well matched to the hub flange. As any wheelbuilder knows, steel spokes must be manually bent near the flange and forced into alignment to direct the spoke toward the rim.
This creates a flex point in the spoke and it is this flex and squirm of that is one of the main causes of spoke breakage due to fatigue.
In contrast, the Topolino hub and its spokes are perfectly mated into an integral unit to fully support each spoke within the hub flange. Even within the hub, each spoke is pefectly aligned with its span to the rim. Thus, the spokes are held in pure tension, with none of the fatigue-inducing movement or flex that is characteristic of conventional steel spokes.
Balanced construction...
Because the current nine and ten speed cassettes take up even more real estate on the rear axle, the rear hub flanges have an unbalanced offset as compared to the rim centerline. The result of this offset is a significant difference in spoke tension between the drive-side and non drive-side spokes that is the Achilles heel of rear wheels. Some designers have attempted to balance the tension by moving the flanges closer together. While this may balance the tension to some degree, the narrower flange spacing does nothing to help the lateral strength and stiffness of the wheel.
The Topolino rear wheel utilizes 50% more spokes on the drive-side flange. This creates a far more balanced spoke tension and also significantly improves the lateral strength of the wheel.
All this is very important because the result is greater durability and responsiveness - a difference you can feel.
Sensible spoke count...
Since the Topolino spokes are so light, there is virtually no weight penalty for adding a few more. This allows us to use what we call a "sensible spoke count". We lace our front wheels with 24 spokes and the rear with 30 spokes. As compared to the current trend in low spoke-count wheels, adding a few more spokes results in far better stress distribution around the rim. We are able to use a much lighter rim for lower rotating inertia while, at the same time, building a stronger wheel.
Aerodynamics...
Those special Topolino Kevlar spokes are formed into a bladed aero profile with a 2:1 aspect ratio. And while the rims are purpose-built for their intended use, in all of the Topolino rims also utilize a rim section that is as aerodynamic as possible. Even the narrower 19mm deep rims employ a flowing teardrop profile, as opposed to the squared-off box profile utilized by some other high end wheel makers. Not only are these wheels light, but they slice through the wind as well.
