Photo: Gokiso
Here we are working hard to discover the perfect combination, a car that is both performant and affordable. On the other side of the planet, engineers are busy designing bicycles that cost more than cars instead. That’s not fair, people! No matter how these puppies enhance the bike’s performance, car money for two wheels?
Yep, car money for two bicycle rims. Well, to be honest, is rather half that price, but considering the case both your wife and you are bikers, it would cost you around $16,000 to get two pairs. Anyway, let us take a closer look.
The next thing that caught our attention, next to the enormous price, was the fact that the company designing these wheels, Kondo Machine, is making specialized parts for Rolls-Royce jet engines. On top of that they also manufacture machines that make parts for Toyota cars. A 30-employee shop run by brothers Nobuo and Yutaka Kondo, the company is also involved in the bicycle industry.
It took them six months of development to come up with a ground-breaking design they claim makes the most out of the pedal force. They have selected the full-carbon material that is currently used in the aviation industry. The surface of the brakes is covered with “basalt fiber” which according to Gokiso, is superior to severe and high heat resistance condition.
The Kondo brothers have allegedly conducted quite impressive tests that if real truly make these wheels be one of the most performant on the market. Using a test bicycle rigged with rollers and sensors, Yutaka successfully ran the wheels at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).
Moreover, they have conducted a durability test in which the wheels are tested at 100 km/h (62 mph), 19 hours a day, for 100 days. That adds up to a distance that is equal to twice the earth’s circumference. They also say that the uber-expensive bicycle wheels have one-third less mechanical resistance than the next most performant wheel on the market.
Still, $7,900 for a set of bicycle wheels, really?
The next thing that caught our attention, next to the enormous price, was the fact that the company designing these wheels, Kondo Machine, is making specialized parts for Rolls-Royce jet engines. On top of that they also manufacture machines that make parts for Toyota cars. A 30-employee shop run by brothers Nobuo and Yutaka Kondo, the company is also involved in the bicycle industry.
It took them six months of development to come up with a ground-breaking design they claim makes the most out of the pedal force. They have selected the full-carbon material that is currently used in the aviation industry. The surface of the brakes is covered with “basalt fiber” which according to Gokiso, is superior to severe and high heat resistance condition.
The best bicycle wheels on the market?
The $7,900 wheels set is reportedly superior in rigidity, durability and thermostability, features that make it fitted for both racing and daily usage. The Japanese engineers claim they have used an innovative design named “the shock absorbing structure”. It makes the wheels absorb the vibration that is transmitted through hard rims from the road surface.The Kondo brothers have allegedly conducted quite impressive tests that if real truly make these wheels be one of the most performant on the market. Using a test bicycle rigged with rollers and sensors, Yutaka successfully ran the wheels at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph).
Moreover, they have conducted a durability test in which the wheels are tested at 100 km/h (62 mph), 19 hours a day, for 100 days. That adds up to a distance that is equal to twice the earth’s circumference. They also say that the uber-expensive bicycle wheels have one-third less mechanical resistance than the next most performant wheel on the market.
Still, $7,900 for a set of bicycle wheels, really?
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