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What’s the deal with the orange spokes opposite the valve stems. Are they a different material or gauge than the black spokes?
 
The weight of the valve is offset by a block inside some rims where the ends are joined. If the block is heavier than the valve, you might want lighter spokes on either side of the joint to refine the wheel balance. To test the balance, turn the bike upside down and give the wheel a spin. As the wheel slows, it will start a pendulum motion with the heaviest part of the rim/wheel nearest the ground.
For fun, switch the orange spokes to the valve side and see if the pendulum attains rest more quickly. When the spokes are being swapped, compare the weight of 4 orange to 4 black. Or if the orange spokes are smaller in diameter or made of Titanium (exhibiting no Ferro magnetism), the theory could apply.
If the rim is welded (no block), then the orange spokes may be heavier to compensate for the weight of the valve.
 
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The weight of the valve is offset by a block inside some rims where the ends are joined. If the block is heavier than the valve, you might want lighter spokes on either side of the joint to refine the wheel balance. To test the balance, turn the bike upside down and give the wheel a spin. As the wheel slows, it will start a pendulum motion with the heaviest part of the rim/wheel nearest the ground.
For fun, switch the orange spokes to the valve side and see if the pendulum attains rest more quickly. When the spokes are being swapped, compare the weight of 4 orange to 4 black. Or if the orange spokes are smaller in diameter or made of Titanium (exhibiting no Ferro magnetism), the theory could apply.
If the rim is welded (no block), then the orange spokes may be heavier to compensate for the weight of the valve.
:confused:
 
The flag of Italy colors are green, white, and red.

As it turns out, the Bianchi colors are also green, white, and red (although they have a very particular shade of green - celeste).

Their "reparto corse" or race component tag which they put on various wheelsets also has the green, white, and red spread. In the catalogues they often highlight customized color schemes with red or white spokes. I don't think they are weighted differently. The red does make it go faster in an intangible way. But not as fast as the celeste frames.
 
I have seen many wild paint jobs on bikes. As a wheel smith, I am curious as to why these 4 particular spokes were singled out for a contrasting coloration.
They sure look like they make an arrow pointing right at the valve. I know that there are other tricks to line up the tire hot patch etc so you can quickly attach a pump but going hands on this looks like it would be a winner.

I've seen a lot of weird stuff around bikes. I've seen people weigh hundreds of tires to find the lightest two. I've seen people polishing bearings and cups with tooth polish to a mirror shine before adding grease. I've seen people put on massive base miles on fixed gear bikes with heavy wool tights and one water bottle in hot weather and then seen same riders refuse wear tights in the winter and instead cover their legs in weird smelling lineament. I've seen people banished from the pack for not wearing black shoes and white socks.

I've never seen anyone in all that neurotic behaviour balance out the tire valve with different spokes or do a high speed balance on bicycle wheels but now that I've said it out loud I"m sure someone will be thinking, "hey that could save me 2 minutes in a century".

Probably because bikes have evolved over such a long period of time and a focus on the secret knowledge you can only share with the right people you get these weird rules that have been followed forever that are just being disproved now.
 
Very true, both of his cassette shifter's are bluetooth! From what I understand, the battery packs last for days. I just think its weird that you could lose of race due to lost signal.
 
The balance and trueness of a wheel set can improve the riding experience. Both of these parameters matter more as the lightness and speed of the wheels increases. I can true a wheel build to plus or minus 0.001” in both run out and concentricity (all for naught after the first pothole). Unlike cars, you can’t add lead weights to improve balance. On a steep fast descent, an out of balance wheel set can transmit oscillations to the rest of the bike. If the harmonic frequencies match, the frame can shake violently. This usually occurs at a certain speed.
The major impediment to the perfect wheel is the inconsistency of the tires dimensionally and material distribution wise.
If you ride slowly on wide soft tires, you will seldom notice a wheel that is slightly out of true or balance.
The bicycle is four times more efficient than walking, and that is before ceramic bearings, triple filtered grease, silk tires, precision ground bearing races, Carbon fiber frames, bladed spokes, etc.
 
I've had a bike shimmy from a wheel out of true after hitting a hard bump, but I can't say I've EVER weight balanced a bicycle wheel, and never had any issues even on downhills (in CA) where I was going 60-70mph on my road bike (passing cars lol).
Most wheel builders try to minimize balance issues by placing valves and joints on opposite sides of the rim. Even though these 2 weight sources are seldom identical, the net difference between them is usually insignificant.
 
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