Photos by Gordon Yeager

I was fortunate enough to receive a set of the new MadFiber carbon wheels a few months ago. If you haven’t had the pleasure to see, touch or feel a set of these you are missing out. I’m always a bit sceptical about carbon bladed spokes. Thoughts of the Spinergy RevX wheels litter my brain. But these are NOT Spinergy’s. I think we should look into MadFiber’s vision just a tad.

Thirty-six years ago a visionary named Ric Hjertberg founded a company called Wheelsmith in Palo Alto. If you’re a bike junkie like myself, you know Wheelsmith. Spokes, Wheelbuilding, Spoke Calc’s … you can’t talk spokes without mentioning Wheelsmith. This guy knows wheels. Ric is the president of MadFiber and the vision within the company. So suffice it to say, the company has a wealth of knowledge on what works and what doesn’t work in wheelbuilding. It also doesn’t hurt to have a guy like Max Kismarton on your team. Max is an instructor in Aerospace Engineering at Kansas University. Needless to say, he knows how to build durability into lightweight materials. Good team.

My first impression was stiff in the straights, cool humming at speed, and looks to turn heads.

As we discussed in last month’s article, I’m heavy. My doctor calls me “burly,” I prefer “full-bodied.” Anyhoo, carbon wheels and I don’t normally mesh unless we are talking Clydesdale beefed-up versions. MadFiber assured me there “wasn’t a rider weight limit.” Really? Really. Wringing greasy hands and with a slightly evil chuckle, I installed a set of MadFibers Tubular Wheels on my test Focus Izalco Pro, glued up a set of Zipp’s Tangente 700x23mm tubies, installed the cork brake pads (included with purchase from MadFiber), slapped on a cassette, and slid in the über-light skewers (also included). Have I mentioned these babies are light? Sans tires, cassette, and glue, these weighed in at 1055 grams on a Feedback Sports gram scale. Everything installed (SRAM 1070 11-25 cassette, Zipp tires, glue, skewers, etc.) the wheelset weighed a scant 1824 grams. Wow. On to the ride…

My first impression was stiff in the straights, cool humming at speed, and looks to turn heads (might have been my unicorn jersey though—I like to dress incognito while testing products). Love the click of the White Industry hub, nice touch. Side wind interference wasn’t any worse or better than the other deep-dish rims on the market. The MadFibers sport a 60mm front rim and a 66mm rear rim. I’m no Thor Hushovd when I sprint but, I can get the torque going. I could only muster a slight twitch in the front end, by no means flexy. I managed to slice six minutes off my standard 32-mile test course. Fast. Light. Pretty.

I’ve managed to log a little over 1600 miles on these wheels. I feel slow and clumsy when I ride my box section standard wheels. If I’m riding with others I need that “extra” advantage, if you know what I mean, and MadFibers do it for me. There are a lot of choices out there for wheels, but it seems like most of them are just following the leader. MadFibers are in class of their own, and winning. If you’re looking for a new race wheelset that’s super light and durable enough for everyday use, check out the MadFibers. This burly guy digs them.

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Gordon Yeager runs a boutique bicycle mechanic service in the San Diego area. He has 18 years experience in the bicycle industry including neutral support for USA Cycling and Mavic SSC. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his friends and family, and riding his bike as much as he can. Follow him at www.twitter.com/velohangar and www.velohangar.com, and find his gear reviews and tips in his monthly column here.