I’ve always wanted a J-Disc
Last year I picked up a Spengle disc wheel. And from 1991 or 1992. It’s on the vintage tri-bike that I assembled. Here’s a video.
The first production discs appeared in triathlon in 1984. Mainly the Campagnolo Ghibli and the Mavic Comete. Steve Hed was also down in his basement in St. Paul working on something back then.
Here’s a photo of Mark Allen riding a Comete at the 1985 Avignon Triathlon. All my vintage next tri-bike build aspirations right there.
And here’s Scott Tinley talking about the Ghiblis. Check out all his kit and equipment photos at the Triathlon History Museum.
“The Campagnolo Ghibli 700c rear disc wheel was perhaps the first highly coveted (and largely unavailable) piece of cycling equipment in triathlon. There were precious few coming out of Campy Europe and the price in 1984 was between $2500--$3000. The wheels were re-cycled from European pro teams that used them in time trials. To show up on race day with one of these was a badge of accomplishment, skill, money, or connections. They were noisy and heavy but on a mostly flat course, much faster than a spoked-wheel. One of the many nuanced challenges was inflating them. This required a specially-fabricated L-shaped device to be fit onto the pump hose. It looked like a 70s hash pipe and there were times when customs agents had some hard questions for those of us who traveled with the adapter.”
But when I started pimping my Dave Russell in the early-1990s I wanted a colourful J-Disc. Like Mike Pigg. They weren’t carbon. Like the Spengles, Campags, Mavics and HEDs. Instead a taught mylar film was bonded to a spoked wheel. So it was super-light and you could true it.
I even had a friend who made one in his dining room. Using a hair dryer.
