Nimble Crosswinds

[OJack]

Looking for insight on the Nimble Crosswind. A nice looking wheel, but I never really read anything about them. Are the very Aero? Any info would be helpful, thanks.

[kraig]

I haven't seen these wheels investigated independently in a wind tunnel, ever - so I'm not sure how to process their own published data. From what I know, the owner of Nimble has/had (I think their facility burned to the ground a few months back???) a helicopter style rig that they used to make their claims. While this is a clever idea/approach, I'm just not sure what to make of it.

I do know that some of their initial wheel models sold to the public way back in the day (or more accurately product that they gave to their sponsored teams) had some durability/strength issues. Not sure if they solved this, but it is something to consider - especially when considering the current state of their business (undetermined as to how they came out of the fire loss deal).

[Whareagle]

David is back up and running, but the Crosswind will probably never return in carbon fiber form. The molds, the machinery, and sadly, every single piece of his research was destroyed in the fire. He was insistent that his shop office have no connection to the internet, so he could not be hacked. We also had to sign NDA's, even though most of his stuff was not really all that different from any aviation shop.

He did some interesting research before ever putting his wheel to CAD. First, he measured heat by inserting thermostats in tubes and tires (not sure why), and he also had weathervanes on axles, crowns, and behind rear wheels, to measure variation in real-world conditions. There was also talk of anenometers in different locations. Then, when he was in his wind-tunnel mode, he apparently went to 9 different tunnels with a 'blank', a solid chunk of something that was equal to the diameter of a 700c wheel, as well as being the same width as a front wheel with axle. He took all the drag numbers from all the different tunnels (got some WAG results, btw), and then decided to put his research to metaphorical pen. One of his comments to me a few years back was, "My wheel may not have the actual best drag number at zero degrees and 30mph, but over the entire range of bicycle and triathlon racing and race speeds (he interpreted that as ~22mph), as well as wind angles, his drag values were the lowest or among the lowest.

I have NO proof whatsoever that these claims are valid, and repeated attempts to give my wheels to someone to test, and pay some fraction of the wind tunnel tests to gain such knowledge, have been unsuccessful. I do know that David graduated from Northwestern Univ at age 14 in some incredibly advanced degree in mathematics, and that he worked for some investment firm, reading tea leaves for stocks and bonds for some time in the late 80's and early 90's before he gave up and moved to Austin and sought his fortune in the wheel business. I think one of his assistants was Pardyjak of Kautz and Pardyjak fame, but the guy went underground after 2001 and develops missile systems for Thiokol or Lockheed or something like that. Chris Kautz might now.

David never updated his stuff, even after several generations of Zipps and HEd's came out. He pooh-poohed dimples, he was a staunch defender of Tufo's, and at one time he had half the field of wheels at Kona.

BUT, the fire, a sad divorce, and some other things have had him reassessing things. I'll be receiving a 28mm deep Spider set from him this week, so we'll see how the quality is, and what his drag values (claimed) are.

I think the Trispokes are good wheels, but there is enough mystery about them still out there that we just don't know what to believe. I do know that I've 'stalled' on old Gen 1 HED's before in a gusty crosswind, and it scared me enough to invest in a set of F/R Crosswinds. I know that 'laminar flow' works better on a blunt edge, but I also think his ideas about disc wheels have been somewhat debunked. I also disagree on his tire choices. So, you take the good with the odd, and you go from there. I DO know that the wheels I bought from him were of impeccable quality. Strong, light, aero (enough), and reasonably priced. I think he could stand to go back to MBA school, but I own no stock in the company, and get to make zero decisions on the product other than remark about their quality and ride.

Call David up and see what you think. He'll talk your ear off, but you'll hang up a smarter person because of it, whether you buy the wheels or not.

[kraig]

David is back up and running, <snip>

glad to hear it!

Sounds like an interesting guy - best of luck to him and his operation from this point forward!

[OJack]

Thank's for the information. I've got a set of the crosswinds. I really like them. I've talked to David a few years ago. I just think they are put together really well, very light too. What's so interesting to me is that you never really hear anyone say much about them. Would like to see some numbers some time.

Yeah, I never could understand why he thought the Tufo's were such good tires. I've never mounted any on mine.

I was sorry to hear about the fire he had. I read that on his website a while ago. Glad to hear that he is getting going again. So if I read your reply correct, your saying that he probably will not be making Crosswinds again?

[Whareagle]

Apparently the Crosswinds in Carbon are either a long, long way out, or will not be produced again. However, there's talk of a metal version of a Crosswind, or alloy or something like that. Don't quote me on it, though, since I just got the Spider's yesterday. Digging out from this hole will take years, so David may or may not be able to produce anything significant any time soon.

[JV]

I predict aluminum will be the next "it" material in bike rims.