When I crashed my bike, I ruined the front Shimano stock wheel and had to replace it with a new wheelset as you can’t just buy one wheel here in Thailand.
The first wheelset I purchased was a Reynolds Stratus Elite set. Unfortunately, they were total junk and the freewheel failed within the first two weeks and after factory replacement the spokes pulled thru the hub. Not impressive.
![Wheel stiffness](https://oldmanrider.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Stiffness-209x300.jpg)
What intrigues me is the difference between the stiffness between the Shimano and DT Swiss wheelsets. There are three types of wheel stiffness; lateral stiffness (side-to-side) stiffness, radial stiffness (towards the hub), and torsional stiffness (twisting around the axis). I don’t think I can tell the difference between the wheelsets with respect to radial stiffness, the road vibrations feel the same. My riding style doesn’t push the limits of lateral stiffness so I haven’t experienced any difference there.
Experts (see links below) write that there is very little, if any, measurable difference between the torsional stiffness of various wheels. However, I’m sure I feel a difference in how my peddling power is transferred from the crank to the wheel. The peddling impulse when riding the DT Swiss wheels feels sharper than the Shimanos.
That’s a bit of a dilemma. I’m really convinced I feel something that is too subtle to measure. I think that means that what I’m feeling is not exactly what is being reported by the experts.
I would really like to understand the subtleties.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Debunking_Wheel_Stiffness_3449.html
http://caravan.hobby.ru/materiel/Bicycle_Wheel_-_Jobst_Brandt.pdf