The wheels on your bike are the only thing that is keeping you connected to the road. Your safety, speed and comfort depend on them.
But it’s not one model fits all. In fact, there are hundreds of bike wheels to choose from. Many bicyclists are choosing carbon wheels. Are they for you? How do you choose the right ones?
Here is a look at how to find the right wheels for your bike.
Why Worry About Wheels
Does it really matter what type of wheels you use? It certainly does. It is essential that you match the wheels on you bike to the type of riding you normally do. This affects safety, speed and comfort.
Wheels are amazing feats of design, engineering and construction. Though they look delicate, they are strong enough to speed racing bicyclists to occasional riders to their destination.
If you ride in triathlons, you need a specific type of wheel, which is different from the wheels you need to commute to school or work. Taking the time to match your wheels to the type of riding you do will make you ride more comfortable, faster and make pedaling easier.
When you choose quality wheels that are appropriate for the effort you put your bike through, they will last longer, ride more safely and have fewer breakdowns.
The right wheel makes for a more comfortable ride. You don’t have to work as hard and the overall feel is higher quality.
The Benefits of Carbon Wheels
Carbon wheels are a pricey upgrade to your bike, but they deliver significant improvement in power and performance.
Carbon wheels are can be built taller but still lighter than earlier types of performance wheels. They are aerodynamic, designed and molded with profiles that cut through the wind.
They provide a efficient stiffness-to-weight ratio. Carbon is a stiff material, which lets the wheels be made with low spoke counts. The ride they provide is smooth and easy to control.
The lighter weight, excellent aerodynamic profile and stiffness-to-weight ratio mean carbon wheels are a superior choice when performance is your goal.
Makeup of a Wheel
Before you select the best carbon wheel for you needs, you need to understand the different parts of the wheel and how they affect your ride. Here is an overview.
Your bike wheel is made up of rims, the braking surface, hubs, spokes, bearings and nipples. Each of these parts affect overall performance.
Here is a roundup of the different parts to give you an idea the part they play in performance, speed and safety.
Rims
When you look at a wheel, this outer section is what first grabs your attention. Deeper rims have the advantage of begin aerodynamic, but they tend to be heavier than rims that are more shallow.
Another disadvantage of deep rims is the fact that they can get caught in a crosswind, making the job of keeping the bike the road difficult. A rim that has a lower silhouette is easier for maneuver and control in those circumstances. It also weighs less. The lighter the weight of a rim, the easier it is to get speed on the uphill.
Braking Surface
Braking surfaces are either aluminum or carbon. Aluminum has many advantages for consistency in braking and efficiency.
In the case of the braking surface, carbon takes second place. It’s performs less efficiently in the rain. Heat tends to build up if you use the brakes a lot, for example, going downhill.
Hubs
The hub is the center of your bike wheel and houses the axle and bearings. Superior hubs contain higher quality bearings.
Bearings
The bearings allows the hub to rotate on the axle. Higher end wheels with better quality bearings tend to work more smoothly, producing less friction. The two types of cartridge bearings or cup and cone.
Spokes
To support the hub to the rim, you need the spokes, which also are responsible for distributing pressure evenly around the wheel.
Look at how many spokes a wheel has an how they are arranged. More spokes generally translates to a stronger wheel, which is also slightly heavier. Fewer spokes means the wheel is more aerodynamic.
For decades spokes were made in a round shape. Newer ones are flat, aero and bladed, which can help with speed and performance.
Nipples
The spoke is held in place by the nipple. They are made of brass or aluminum alloys, which saves a small amount of weight.
Straightening a wheel involves adjusting the tension of the spoke at the nipple.
Now you’re ready to check out the different types of carbon wheels.
Carbon Clincher
Clinchers are the most popular type of wheel now on the market. They are made to use a tire that has an open cross-section construction. A bead holds the tire in place on the rim. There is an inner tube positioned inside the rim.
Clinchers are the most convenient wheel to have if you need to change a tire because you just need to carry a spare inner tube. Changing a tire is easy and quick.
Carbon clinchers have more weight than tubular clincher wheels. This gives the rim more strength to handle the braking pressure and force. Superior carbon clinchers are all carbon. Less expensive models use carbon facing over an aluminum rim.
Extended braking leads to heat buildup. High-end carbon clinchers, when used with the appropriate brake pads recommended by the manufacturer, seldom suffer from this problem.
Carbon Rims
Carbon rims tend to be lighter than aluminum. They are more aerodynamic. They are also significantly more expensive. Typically aluminum rims are in the $65 to $125 range, while carbon is about $450.
Carbon rims are durable, but don’t do as well as aluminum if you hit a pothole and similar types of impact. Aluminum is more likely to bend in these conditions, meaning it can still be ridden carefully until you can get it fixed.
Many serious riders use aluminum for general rides around town, then switch out to carbon rims for race day.
Carbon Wheelset
A wheelset is a set of two bike wheels. Selling them together makes sense, for convenience and often for cost. Many makers give a discount if you buy both at the same time. Carbon wheelsets are two carbon wheels sold together.
The big advantage of carbon, in comparison to aluminum, is their aerodynamic efficiency, lighter weight and stiffness-to-weight ratio.
Tubular Carbon Wheels
For many years, every bike used tubular wheels. Now they are mainly found on racing bikes. This choice is less convenient than clinchers because they are harder to change in the event of a puncture. A tubular tire is enclosed. It has an inner tube that is sewn or sealed inside of it.
Tubular tires tend to be not as heavy as clinchers because the rim isn’t required to have as much strength to hold the bead of the tire.
Carbon tubular wheels are lighter than carbon clinchers. They are better at cornering because of their shape: round in the cross section, not lobe-shaped like clinchers. Carbon tubulars can handle higher pressure inflation, which works well for race events and certain road conditions.
You can actually ride a carbon tubular that is flat, not that you’d want to very often. This is because they are still glued to the rim. You wouldn’t want to do that with a carbon clincher because it could come off the rim.
Carbon tubulars have a downside. They are more expensive. It takes more time, effort and ability to change the tire in the event of a puncture.
Carbon Fibre Wheels
Carbon fibre wheels are another term for carbon wheels. There are more aerodynamic than aluminum, lighter in weight, and have a better stiffness-to-weight ratio.
They are also more noticeably more expensive than aluminum, leading some performance riders to use them only on race day. During the week, they stick to their aluminum wheels.
The term fibre in the name refers to the combination of carbon fibre and resin used in its production. Aluminum wheels have set standards and are referred to in the same way by everyone, like the 6000 series or 7000 series.
But carbon fibre does not have this type of common standard. This means each manufacturer can customize the mix of fibre and resin, resulting in lively innovation but confusion on the part of the buyer.
Carbon Wheel Manufacturers
Among the most popular carbon wheel manufacturers are Aerospoke, Bonrager, Corima, Enve, Hed, Mavic, Reynolds, Rolf, Shimano, Specialized and Zipp.
Carbon wheels are much more expensive than aluminum. The market has responded with less expensive models, many of which are coming out of China.
Chinese Carbon Wheels
Less expensive carbon wheels are being manufactured by Chinese companies. Many use a carbon facing over aluminum, but some are all carbon.
Popular manufacturers are Logo Ruedas Carbono, Mavic Cosmic, Far Sports, Dashineand Bora. The online store AliExpress.com has an extensive array of Chinese carbon wheels.
Japanese Carbon Wheels
Japanese manufacturers make high quality carbon wheels. Popular names include Shimano and TokyoWheel.
Taiwanese Carbon Wheels
Popular manufacturers are K-Start Sports and Equinox.
USA Carbon Wheels
Several of the U.S. made carbon wheel manufacturers are Aerospoke, Flo Cycling, Essor USA, Rolf Prima and Enve.
Competitive Carbon Wheels
Carbon wheels are popular with bicycle racers and triathletes because they are more aerodynamic and lighter, which equals better speed.
Popular makers of competitive carbon wheels include Zipp, Mavic, Hed, Ibis and Industry Nine.
Triathlon
Triathlon bike owners are out for speed, whatever the cost. They were among the first to adopt carbon wheels, valuing them for their speed and aerodynamic ability.
Popular makers of triathlon carbon wheels include Zipp, Mavic, Edson, Shimano, SRAM, Enve, Reynolds, Profile Design, PowerTap and Knight.
Road Racing
Road racing enthusiasts have long appreciated the speed, lightweight and aerodynamic ability of carbon wheels.
Popular brands are Zipp, Enve, Reynolds, Aerospoke and Knight.
Fitness
As a rule, fitness riders get out on the city streets several times a week. For this reason, they often use aluminum wheels to avoid costly replacement if the wheel hits a pothole. Many choose to use their carbon wheels just for race day.
An exception is the wheel made by Aerospoke makes carbon wheels that it recommends for fitness riding.
Aerospoke
Aerospoke is an American wheel and bike part manufacturer. It is popular for the wide range of colors that its wheels come in and the distinctive design. They use ridged carbon construction and are very lightweight. Bikers love the fact that they never need truing.
The spokes on the Aerospoke wheels are noticeably different from traditional spoke wheels. They use just five spokes, which are made with a wing-like cross section, making them aerodynamic. They are very durable and withstand impact, making them a popular wheel for police bicycles.
Carbon Wheel Sizing
Here are the three most popular wheel sizes:
First is the 700c, with a diameter of 622 mm. This is the large size. It is often the choice for racing. It can be used on every bike that doesn’t have special additions or modifications in frame design or clearance. It is also often used on mountain bikes.
The next in line is the 650B, also referred to as 27.5 inches. This is the medium size. This is 584 mm. It was very popular in the 1940s in France, and made a big comeback in the last decade.
The third of the top three most popular size is the 26 inch, which is 559 mm. This is the small size.
Here is an expert’s explanation of bike wheel sizes:
https://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?ID=89
700c Wheels
This is the most common type of wheel size. If you choose this one, you won’t have to worry about finding the right size when you need a new wheel due to a puncture. They are very easy to find at bike shops. It’s diameter is 622 mm. and is often used in racing.
<,h3>Clincher Wheelsets
Clincher wheelsets are two clincher wheels sold together. Getting them both at the same time is more convenient for many bike owners who have decided to upgrade. Wheelsets often cost less per wheel than buying them one at a time.
Here is a look at one company’s wide range of clincher wheelsets.
https://www.tokyowheel.com/pages/wheels