Has anyone purchased the 100 radial spokes from american wire? I read where they had problems at first. Then the company got bought out, and quality is good now. I like the 50 spoke fat daddy's also.
I know cool dog has the 100 spoke radials.

 

The radial spoked wheels had a tendency for the spokes to loosen up due to the design. I don't know if they solved this issue as yet.

 

I put on a set of American Wire 40 Spoke radial wheels. They have the super fat (3/8") spokes. Two long road trips and so far so good. The nice thing is that they are one of the few spoked wheels that you can run without a tube. The tires run cooler.

The only downside is that if the wheel ever needs to be trued again, you have to send them back to American Wire so they can reapply the coating that seals the spokes. Or, you could just start running tubes again. If there's one other downside, it's the weight. They weigh a lot more than a stock spoked wheel but the looks are worth it. I haven't met anyone who didn't drool over them. I might have preferred a cool mag wheel but on a Heritage Classic, I had to go with a spoked wheel.

 

Radial spoked wheels are flawed by design and can be dangerous to run. Best left to the showbikes.

 

Why are they dangerous? What is the flaw in their design? Thanks much.

 

Since the spokes are not cross interlaced between each other(the spokes run straight from the hub to the wheel without any cross bracing pattern)for axial support the outer rims are allowed to flex from side to side while the hub on the axle remains stationary. If the spoked arent fully tightened and trued the flex will become more evident. The looser the spokes become, the more you can flex the outside rim on the wheel. I have seen an accident firsthand that directly involved radial wheels where the owner didnt pay constant attention to them. He took a corner in front of me, his bike went left, the rim didnt and locked up on the inside of his fender and the rider went tumbling off. Broke some ribs and his forarm. He had a factory engine that wasnt putting out alot of power either. High torque engines will literally pull the outer rim to one side even with the spokes fully trued.

Great for show, poor for daily use. Stay away from them if you do hardcore riding, have alot of power in your engine,have tight fender to tire clearance or dont want to inspect,tightened and true them on a regular basis.

 

Thank you.

 

What about if you go with a solid on the back and a 21" fat radial spoke on the front? I do put about 10K miles on in a year. I have a Deuce, and I was thinking of going this route. But now I'm not so sure.