Berd Spokes...oh my

[xyz]

Anyone else rolling with Berd spokes? I did a quick search in here and I'm not seeing anything.

I recently picked up a new carbon wheelset laced up with Berd spokes. Not only are they light AF, my 30 mm/DT 240 wheelset weight was 1350 grams but dang these spokes are magic. The trail is completely muted, irons out the ground somehow. The reduced 'buzz' and lack of feedback really lets you go faster. Hard to explain but its hands down the best upgrade I've ever made to a bike.

[joetron]

Currently installing this Berd for a customer after it’s 2nd factory rebuild in a year.

He loves the ride, but the spokes seem to get damaged rather easily.


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[Dee Hubbs]

$8 per spoke …. [emoji383][emoji385][emoji184]

[VTskibum]

Buddy of mine rides/races XC on them, but he’s pretty gentle with his bikes. Definitely curious but not worth the $$$ for me.


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[toast2266]

Man, and I thought cx-rays were spendy...

I question the Berd spokes durability for riding in rocky terrain. I ping rocks off of my spokes kinda often. They're not the first ones to come out with a flexible spoke (just saw this morning that Spinergy released an update on their old flexible spoke wheelsets), but I've need seen those wheels get much interest in the mountain biking world.

[joetron]

And I should note that these Berds are ridden by a strong but goony NICA kid that is not gentle to his bike. Apparently likes to throw dorky XC whips, but does not bring the rear end of the bike back. Last rebuild was from when he bent his hanger and shifted off his big cog into the spokes and cut 2.


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[El Chupacabra]

I've only seen these once -- guy I ride with occasionally, who has a set of Berd wheels on his $8K Yeti.

I can drop him uphill or down, on a fully rigid Surly. Can't say they seem worth it.

[xyz]

Man, and I thought cx-rays were spendy...

I question the Berd spokes durability for riding in rocky terrain. I ping rocks off of my spokes kinda often. They're not the first ones to come out with a flexible spoke (just saw this morning that Spinergy released an update on their old flexible spoke wheelsets), but I've need seen those wheels get much interest in the mountain biking world.

And I should note that these Berds are ridden by a strong but goony NICA kid that is not gentle to his bike. Apparently likes to throw dorky XC whips, but does not bring the rear end of the bike back. Last rebuild was from when he bent his hanger and shifted off his big cog into the spokes and cut 2.


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No doubt these are expensive, but the pay off is there for me.

As for durability, Ill post up any issues i have but so far so good. Sounds like that NICA rider is an outlier.

I'm not stoked on using them to rally bike park laps, but I will because I'm a one bike rider. I might swap out front wheel to AL/steel spokes for the bike park.

[EWG]

No doubt these are expensive, but the pay off is there for me.

As for durability, Ill post up any issues i have but so far so good. Sounds like that NICA rider is an outlier.

I'm not stoked on using them to rally bike park laps, but I will because I'm a one bike rider. I might swap out front wheel to AL/steel spokes for the bike park.

I'm getting rec.bike.tech flashbacks from this spoke discussion.

[rideit]

This should further the discussion.

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/make-your-own-polymer-uhmwpe-spokes.1091276/

[detrusor]

Fiber flight spokes back in the day. I loved the ride quality….god forbid you flick a rock into the wheel.


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[frorider]

He loves the ride, but the spokes seem to get damaged rather easily.


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That’s always been the issue of concern with this technology. Meanwhile my favorite local wheel builder keeps cranking out DT Comp Race spoke wheels with no issues. My 28H set is around 1450 g, is holding up well.

Steel is real. But maybe on an XC hardtail berd is the word

[xyz]

Berd Spokes...oh my

Obviously a biased source but check out this spoke impact test. Metal vs Berd. A few other metal vs Berd tests on their YouTube channel too.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=X-7OMsT5u2s&feature=share

[toast2266]

I gotta say, if someone jams a metal rod into my wheel, breaking a couple spokes is the least of my concerns.

Is like to see them chuck a 5lb rock at the wheel. That's a more realistic scenario.

[xyz]

I gotta say, if someone jams a metal rod into my wheel, breaking a couple spokes is the least of my concerns.

Is like to see them chuck a 5lb rock at the wheel. That's a more realistic scenario.

How about a 5lb rubber mallet smash test? Skip to min 1:00.

https://youtu.be/q_oMh3ehRUE