According to Harlan, Hi-E made the 42h hubs and rims for heavy riders who liked riding lightweight wheels. The right flange had extra spoke holes that were used as axtra pulling spokes. I had a set of wheels with this spoking pattern that I sold years ago at a swap meet. The wheels used Hi-E rims that were made from sheel aluminum that was formed into a tubular (sew-up) rim cross section held together with spoke hole ferrules and rivets. They also had Hi-e nipples, which were aluminum bits that did not penetrate through the rim. These nipples required a tiny socket wrench and only worked from the outside of the rim (tire had to be dismounted before truing). The (claimed) benefits were light weight and a more aerodynamic wheel. Kinda wish I had kept these wheels for display.
Does anybody know the current status of Hi-E? I have a sales brochure from a few years ago where they were promoting 30h rear wheels for mountain bikes (10 spokes on left, 20 on right).
Jason Cloutier Pawtucket, RI
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now
http://companion.yahoo.com/