Hello All,
Over the weekend I didn't start out thinking about wheels however I read something which is just bugging me.
I don't know much about wheels nor am I a technical expert by any means at all so I just wanted to ask a question to see the thoughts of others who know a lot more about these things than I do.
Anyway the thing that is bugging me is something that I read whilst I was actually trying to read opinions about different frame materials. Following a search an article on a US bike shop website came up and when I was reading through it there was the following bit about wheels:-
This is copied from the following website:-
http://www.smartcycles.com/frame_materials.htm
As I mentioned I didn't start out wanting to read about wheels but when I was reading this with reference to frame materials this just caught my attention. With me knowing pretty much nothing about wheels I'm eager to learn and I wondered what everyone else thought.
From one point of view taking the GB Team or Team Sky type attitude to marginal gains every little helps and so if higher end aero profile wheels with less spokes offer better aerodynamic and rolling performance in tests then won't we all benefit from the marginal gains.
However on the other hand if we're not involved in any sort of racing and are totally worried about times etc. and value things like comfort more highly than speed then is the general gist of what the person who wrote this article correct?
When buying wheels everyone is going to have their own personal preferences based on the type of riding that they do and in addition aesthetics are a factor because sometimes we just want to buy something because it looks good which was a comment made in this thread.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/mavic-aksium-vs-cosmic-elite.172829/
Sorry for the long post but having read the article the argument of more traditional wheels versus newer aerodynamic wheels with less spokes has been playing on my mind.
Thanks for any thoughts.
John
Over the weekend I didn't start out thinking about wheels however I read something which is just bugging me.
I don't know much about wheels nor am I a technical expert by any means at all so I just wanted to ask a question to see the thoughts of others who know a lot more about these things than I do.
Anyway the thing that is bugging me is something that I read whilst I was actually trying to read opinions about different frame materials. Following a search an article on a US bike shop website came up and when I was reading through it there was the following bit about wheels:-
"In the past, rim manufacturers never paid racing teams money to equip their bikes because the then-used box-section rim is so anonymous. You never knew which teams were using what rims. New wheels with deep section rims can carry obvious and easily recognized advertising, but this is at a real cost to the rider. The deep rims ride very harshly. The reduced spoke count wheel have very high spoke tensions that exacerbate the problem.
The consumer is sold the wheels because they are light. But, this is a half-truth. Because the rims have deep sections, the inertial mass (rotating weight) is greater. The result is that the bike has less snap and rides more harshly. To make it worse, tests have shown that a rim needs to be 40 mm deep to have any real aerodynamic advantage. The rims with their cross sections in the 30mm's are not aero, they are only fancy looking. Before buying one of these wheelsets that have lots of gee-whiz, consider a nice set of 32 hole, cross-three wheels with box section rims. Put a pair on your bike and give them a chance. Borrow a buddy's set if you have any. The weight is almost the same. But the ride........."
This is copied from the following website:-
http://www.smartcycles.com/frame_materials.htm
As I mentioned I didn't start out wanting to read about wheels but when I was reading this with reference to frame materials this just caught my attention. With me knowing pretty much nothing about wheels I'm eager to learn and I wondered what everyone else thought.
From one point of view taking the GB Team or Team Sky type attitude to marginal gains every little helps and so if higher end aero profile wheels with less spokes offer better aerodynamic and rolling performance in tests then won't we all benefit from the marginal gains.
However on the other hand if we're not involved in any sort of racing and are totally worried about times etc. and value things like comfort more highly than speed then is the general gist of what the person who wrote this article correct?
When buying wheels everyone is going to have their own personal preferences based on the type of riding that they do and in addition aesthetics are a factor because sometimes we just want to buy something because it looks good which was a comment made in this thread.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/mavic-aksium-vs-cosmic-elite.172829/
Sorry for the long post but having read the article the argument of more traditional wheels versus newer aerodynamic wheels with less spokes has been playing on my mind.
Thanks for any thoughts.
John