TOPOLINO WHEELCHAIR WHEELS

TRUE PERFORMANCE

Who We Are Topolino was founded in 1999 and has been

making its signature carbon-spoked bike racing wheels ever since. The wheelchair wheels are an extension of this technology and were initiated in 2006 by Topolino’s founder, Rafe Schlanger.

We began shipping the WX2.5 wheelchair wheels in 2010.

All Topolino wheels are hand crafted in the small New England town of Bethel, Connecticut, USA

We are a company of enthusiasts that ride and race bikes and thrive on pushing boundaries.

Who We Are

Chief Engineer and Founder Rafe Schlanger brings over 25 years of engineering experience in the medical and bicycling industries, and has over 25 patents in the field.

With a focus on advanced composite materials in the development of wheels, his designs have won prestigious awards and have been raced by athletes at the highest levels of competition. Schlanger also invented and developed the Spinergy Rev-X racing wheel.

Says Schlanger, “Topolino was founded to develop products that are truly innovative and genuinely improve the customer experience. This is my baby, and we aim to do things right.”

Rafe Schlanger

True Technology

Genuine Benefits

Innovative Materials

Advanced Design

Superior Quality

Advanced Design

Continuous Carbon Fiber Spokes

Each spoke on a Topolino wheel extends through the

hub and across the full diameter of the wheel. This is the ideal design, since the high strength carbon fibers can now remain continuous and unbroken.

Conventional wheels have spokes that terminate at the hub. The spoke tension creates very high stresses at the hub, and the hub shell must be thick and heavy to withstand these stresses.

Since Topolino spokes extend “across” the hub, the interface stresses are much lower, permitting the use of a carbon fiber reinforced hub as well, further reducing weight. In fact, the carbon fibers now serve to reinforce the hub.

Advanced Design

Topolino wheels employ modular construction. This means that:

– Parts are easily replaceable.

– Wheels may be easily serviced using conventional tools.

The Topolino Advantage Advanced Materials: • Topolino wheels use continuous carbon

fiber spokes and carbon fiber hubs.

• Carbon fiber has the stiffness of steel, but only a fraction of the weight.

• In fact, carbon fiber has greater stiffness than any other synthetic fiber, such as Kevlar® or PBO® fibers.

• Carbon fiber is used in aerospace and Formula 1 race cars.

SPOKE LINEAR DENSITY (grams/meter)

The Topolino Advantage

Advanced Materials: Topolino’s carbon fibers are encapsulated

in an advanced thermoplastic resin matrix. This resin has excellent toughness and durability, far exceeding most conventional resins.

The resin also serves to bind the individual carbon fiber filaments together along their entire length, allowing these fibers to work together as a unit for the highest strength and stiffness.

In contrast, other composite spokes (such as Spinergy PBO®) utilize “dry fibers” that are not bound to each other, resulting in uneven stress distribution among the individual fibers.

The Topolino Advantage

Spoke Alignment

In wheel design, it is critical that the spokes maintain their alignment at the span, otherwise the wheel will have greater lateral flex, reduced strength, and is more prone to fatigue failure.

The WX2.5 utilizes a unique patented rim design* that ensures that the spoke nipple will always be perfectly aligned with the spoke span.

The hub is also specially molded so that the spokes exit the hub in perfect alignment with the spoke span.

* US patent 7,427,112 Topolino spokes maintain perfect

alignment with the spoke span

BENT

SPOKE: Spoke is

misaligned at the

spoke nipple

creates flex

point

increases

fatigue stress

uneven stress

in cross section

of spoke.

ALIGNED

SPOKE: Spoke nipple is

aligned with

span

No flex or

bending

Performance Benefits

1. Light weight

2. Lateral stiffness

3. Vibration damping

4. Strength and durability

5. Bespoke build quality

Topolino wheels excel in every performance category

Performance Benefits

Topolino WX2.5 are significantly lighter than all other wheels on the market

(Spinergy LX is 23% heavier!)

Wheelchair wheel weights (high value corresponds to heavier weight)

Performance Benefits

1. Reduced (Linear) Momentum

(Less effort to move the wheel along its forward path)

Since the wheel rotates as well as moving forward, reducing its weight has a double advantage:

2. Reduced Rotational Inertia (Less effort required to rotate the wheel)

+ (Plus)

1. Reducing the weight of any

part of the chair (including the

wheels) serves to reduce

momentum.

2. But, since the wheels also

rotate, reducing wheel weight

also has an important bonus

and serves to reduce inertia.

Benefits

• Wheelchair is more responsive to user input. This translates to greater

control and maneuverability for the user. The chair responds more quickly to every input at the handrim.

• Reduced effort in each push. This

means greater efficiency and less fatigue.

• Reduced injury. Reduced effort translates to a reduction in rotator cuff injury and other repetitive motion injuries.

• Wheels are more portable and easier to transport. Less to lift and

carry.

What does lighter weight mean to me?

lighter weight = increased mobility

Benefits

GREATER LATERAL STIFFNESS (i.e. less deflection/flex): An often-overlooked quality makes a big difference in responsiveness

LESS DEFLECTION (flex):

Topolino WX2.5 is 20% stiffer than Spinergy LX.

MORE DEFLECTION (flex):

Lateral deflection (side-to-side flex)

of the wheel.

The wheel feels snappy, predictable,

and more responsive.

The wheel feels more flexy, vague

and less responsive. Excessive flex

can also waste propulsion effort.

Benefits

GREATER VIBRATION DAMPING of carbon spokes: The key to a smoother and more comfortable roll and reduced fatigue.

STEEL SPOKES: HAVE LESS DAMPING AND

TRANSMIT MORE ROAD

VIBRATION TO THE USER

COMPOSITE SPOKES: HAVE GREATER DAMPING TO

DISSAPATE ROAD

VIBRATION FOR SMOOTHER

ROLLING.

Steel spokes sustain vibration for a longer time.

Composite spokes quickly squelch vibration.

Benefits

STRONG & DURABLE Topolino’s unique design means that lighter weight has no sacrifice in durability.

The Topolino Test lab: Topolino has a complete wheel testing lab

Compliance testing: Topolino has passed the FDA tests

and its WX2.5 wheelchair wheels were developed and proven with the

same rigorous testing equipment used for the company’s highest-end bike

racing wheels.

required for wheelchairs, including the rigorous rolling road test and the

curb-drop test.

Topolino test lab: fatigue testing Don’t try this at home!

• Topolino wheels are made true to stay true. Ensuring Topolino wheels will always track perfectly straight.

• Spoke tension is painstakingly balanced – a critical step that goes well beyond simply adjusting the spokes to achieve a straightness tolerance.

• Topolino’s unique pre-stress procedure ensures your wheel will stay straight, even after years of use.

• All Topolino wheels are hand made in the USA – In the small New England town of Bethel, Connecticut.

• Topolino has decades of experience building high-performance cycling wheels, for racing at the very highest levels.

Benefits

Pure craftsmanship: Every wheel is individually assembled and tensioned

by expert wheelbuilders.

• Topolino is accessible. We answer the phone, we respond to emails, and we are easy to deal with. If you or your customers have a question, we’d love to hear.

• We respond quickly. In most cases, we can ship parts in 1 day.

• Topolino maintains a full inventory of spare parts for its wheels.

• We have a complete repair shop here at our facility in Connecticut. If anything ever goes wrong with a wheel, we’re here to help.

Benefits

Customer Service: The key to a satisfying user experience.

Specifications

Sizes: available in 24” (540mm) or 25” (559mm) sizes

Colors: black with yellow or red accents

Wheelset Weight: 2.5 lbs (24” 540 size)

2.6 lbs (25” 559 size)

Spokes: 20 spoke, Continuous Carbon Fiber

Spoke Nipples: ultra-strong 7075 T6 aluminum, cold forged and anodized

Rim: heat treated 6061 T6 aluminum, proprietary double walled design

Hub: patented Carbon Core™ advanced composite hub

Handrim: accepts standard 6 tab handrim

Bearings: high performance sealed cartridge bearings. Standard bearing spacing 2.30 inches (alternate spacing options available)

Axles: fits standard ½” axles

Weight Limit: 250 lbs

MSRP: $1,180

Thank You! We invite your further questions. Please contact us.

Topolino Technology, LLC 149 Grassy Plain St. Unit B3

Bethel, CT 06801 USA

Tel. 203.778.4711

rafe@topolinotech.com

www.topolinotech.com