wheel questions

[MattyK]

Just throwing this out there because I'm curious...

1) why do fixies run deep dish rims?

2) why do fixies mostly come with 32 or 36 spoke wheels?

3) why do fixies often have high flange hubs?

Is this all just a styling thing? There seem to be contradictory features - eg high rims are aerodynamic, but the spoke count isn't. Fixies are lightweight and minimalist, but the rims and spokes aren't light. They mostly use rim brakes, so why not use radial spokes? The hubs and spokes look cheap but the tall rims don't. etc. Maybe these questions are the rolling definitions of irony?

[rustychisel]

It's a style and strength thing, mostly. Deeper alloy rims = stronger; more spokes = stronger, fixed gear hipsters = skids, bunnyhopping, tomfoolery and urban ghetto riding where the roads are crap and the gutters need jumping.

Weight is not so much an issue, but 3 x spokes wheels are reckoned to be the best balance of stiffness and flex and can be easily trued. Some hubs are not made for radial spoking and doing this invalidates any warranty. Wide flange hubs are said to make marginally stiffer wheels (less spoke length = less flex) but the appeal is likely more aesthetic than anything else.

I don't see any irony there, sometimes just poorly chosen wheels for the intended purpose. For most fixed gear muppets the wheel choice (stronger rather than light) is probably correct, but I do wish they wouldn't buy those cheap crappy wheels. As for aerodynamics and deeper dish wheels; utterly irrelevant for 2 reasons. The wheels would need 50mm deep rims for any real effect and be ridden at 35~40kmh before theres any measurable effect. Hope this helps