Introducing Clubman wheels

Between the wars and just after World War II, British cycling clubs established a tradition of social recreation. Groups organized for sporting and recreational rides of a less competitive nature than races. Later, in the United States, serious cyclists gathered their friends and riding partners into some pretty large touring clubs, some with thousands of members and multiple rides scheduled every weekend.

Riders in these clubs, especially the British clubs, would have a single do-it-all bike. By the 1930s, several brands of bicycles offered a “Clubman” model. Meant to be a working bike, the geometry would be more relaxed than a full-on racing bike, the clearances would be large enough for big tires and there would be the capacity to mount fenders and a rack. This would be the road bike “for the rest of us.”

One of the things that distinguished club riding was the variety of events, from loaded tours to time trials. The way to get one bicycle to do all of those things was to have different sets of wheels to match different conditions.

To celebrate that spirit and Earle Wheels new partnership with Curtis Odom, we are proud to introduce the Clubman series of wheels. Built on Curtis’s incomparable ultra-large flange Clubman hubs, the first of these wheels are presented with Velo Orange PBP rims and Wheelsmith 2.0-1.7-2.0 mm butted stainless steel spokes and Duristan nipples.

These highly decorative wheels are also built to be used for decades, then rebuilt at moderate expense. For those of us whose sponsors won’t buy $2,750 carbon wheels, these wheels are a sensible investment at $855 with Campagnolo or Shimano cassette body and 130 mm over-locknut dimension.