SHIMANO SWEET-16 WHEELSETS (currently available on bikes only) - $1099

Santana teamed up with Shimano to reinvent the tandem wheel. If you're apprehensive about a tandem wheel with only 16 spokes, Santana and Shimano invite you to think "outside the box." Two years of field testing plus grueling two-week sessions in Shimano's robotic torture chamber, confirm these Sweet-16s are as reliable as Santana's 160mm wheels with 40 spokes (or 145mm tandem wheels with 48 spokes). Patterned after the stylish wheels that have proven themselves at the Tour de France, these Santana co-designed wheels bring Shimano's paired spoking, lateral cross-over lacing and sidewall spoke mounting to tandems. The tandem-specific version of a Dura Ace wheelset utilizes stronger axles and rims, thicker aero spokes, wider, fully symmetrical flange placement and a stronger freehub mechanism. Tangentially spoked to withstand out-of-the-saddle sprints and the torque of an optional disk or drum brake, they decrease wind resistance while shedding 2 pounds of rotating weight. But the biggest surprise may be the discernable increase in comfort—a natural result of the widest (and therefore strongest) spoke bracing angles in cycling. Built solely for Santana, Shimano Sweet-16s are standard equipment on the Team and Beyond models, or an option on other 700c models. Available now, no wheel in the history of bicycling has a greater strength-to-weight ratio, is more comfortable, or allows you to tandem faster with less effort.