Hey all, first time posting here. I'm looking at buying a pair of the Topolino clinchers but can't find any reviews on the review site, and can't find much info anywhere else (other than a story about someone that sliced up a squirrel in their front wheel).

Obviously these wheels are super light but what can you tell me about durability of the spokes, rims, and hubs (particularly the cassette body)? Also, anyone know a good source in the bay area?

Don't know of any in the bay area but, you can get them here www.bethelcycle.com This shop is in the same town as where they topolinos are made. Several of my teammates have them and they all are pretty happy with them.

My friend has had trouble with his freehub, but the company took care of it. Twice.

I got my pair of Topos a couple months ago and put them on my Litespeed Sirius.
They're light and strong, and I haven't had any problems with them to date. I've got about 400 miles on them now.

A LBS owner told me that they are gaining a real following with a club in the Gilroy area of the SF Bay Area.

I found mine on the net at:
http://www.westernbikeworks.com/wheelsets.htm

At the time, I got them at a super price of $699! The've gone up since then though.

Best,
Frank

I forgot to add... You can't use any tire on them inflated over 120 psi if that matters to you.

The Am Classic CR350 clinchers are lighter, despite Topo's "creating the world's lightest wheels" advertising.

With their one-piece spoke design, a broken spoke means that you have to completely disassemble one entire side of the wheel and replace all the spokes and hub flange on that side as a unit. Topo may be willing to do that for you relatively inexpensively, so it may not be that big a deal. Still, you might want to do a little research on how repairs would be handled with those wheels. Your local LBS is probably not going to have a lot of experience re-building wheels like those.

It's cool that they are trying something new to improve performance. Obviously, if nobody took a little risk and tried the new stuff, we'd all still be riding wooden rims Still, there are "traditional" wheels that are lighter, more aerodynamic, and easier-to-service. So it's kind of a "tough sell" for me given the cost and potential repair complications.

Hey all, first time posting here. I'm looking at buying a pair of the Topolino clinchers but can't find any reviews on the review site, and can't find much info anywhere else (other than a story about someone that sliced up a squirrel in their front wheel).

Obviously these wheels are super light but what can you tell me about durability of the spokes, rims, and hubs (particularly the cassette body)? Also, anyone know a good source in the bay area?

A good friend of mine got his Serotta with Topolino wheels from a bike shop in Oakland. I can't remember the name but I know that it is on Grand Avenue. He loves his wheels, by the way.

The Am Classic CR350 clinchers are lighter, despite Topo's "creating the world's lightest wheels" advertising.

With their one-piece spoke design, a broken spoke means that you have to completely disassemble one entire side of the wheel and replace all the spokes and hub flange on that side as a unit. Topo may be willing to do that for you relatively inexpensively, so it may not be that big a deal. Still, you might want to do a little research on how repairs would be handled with those wheels. Your local LBS is probably not going to have a lot of experience re-building wheels like those.

It's cool that they are trying something new to improve performance. Obviously, if nobody took a little risk and tried the new stuff, we'd all still be riding wooden rims Still, there are "traditional" wheels that are lighter, more aerodynamic, and easier-to-service. So it's kind of a "tough sell" for me given the cost and potential repair complications.

Oh yeah, I have the American Classic Sprint 350s. They are really light and so far (only had them a week) I really like them.

For half the price of the fugly Topos you can get custom built wheels from oddsandendos.com which are not only lighter and 1/2 the price, but look better and are much easier to service. no brainer unless you need to spend twice the money for heavier wheels, which are truly ugly and hard to service with mediocre hubs.

I have had my set for a year. Put about 10k miles on them and love them. Much stiffer than the Kryssums and light. These wheels spin-up really fast. I posted an accident with these wheels earlier in the year. Was taken out by a squirrel caught between two spokes in the front wheel at 25mph. Jammed against the fork and sent me flying. Guess what? The wheels were fine, not even a broken spoke. I'd say go for them, they are worth the money!

I forgot to add... You can't use any tire on them inflated over 120 psi if that matters to you.
Thats not entirely true. I own a pair of the Topolino Clinchers and noticed in a thread a couple of weeks ago with this very assertion. I called Topolino and they told me that while this is the correct limit for 26mm wide tires, that at a more normal 23mm tire, (that is more likely to be employed with these wheels) the limit is 138 psi. They also informed me that the inflation limits for their clinchers are thy same as Mavics.

Thats not entirely true. I own a pair of the Topolino Clinchers and noticed in a thread a couple of weeks ago with this very assertion. I called Topolino and they told me that while this is the correct limit for 26mm wide tires, that at a more normal 23mm tire, (that is more likely to be employed with these wheels) the limit is 138 psi. They also informed me that the inflation limits for their clinchers are thy same as Mavics.
I guess that there are different variations of truths then. The truth I shared in my post advising of maximum tire pressure came from the Topolino Owners Manual for their 700c clincher wheel set I bought.

I've no doubt that you called Topolino and they said what you claim. However, page 5 of thier owners manual clearly warns of the 120 psi (8 bar) limit for their 700c clincher wheels. Perhaps they will hold at 138 psi, but I would wager that if you were to have the wheel fail at that pressure and were injured as a result, you just might find that they would develop "legal amnesia" regarding your telephone conversation, and refer you to the printed tire pressure PSI warning printed in the manual that accompanied thier product. Just a thought.;)

Perhaps you can get them to revise their manual to be a bit more specific regarding what the maximum pressure is for different tire sizes for thier clincher.:)

http://home.earthlink.net/~frankdeluna/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/topolino.jpg