Considering the quality of the wheels of your bike is a very important aspect because:
Rotational weight has about three times the effect of dead weight, for example the effect of a light wheel feels a lot faster than the weight effect of a light seat;
Rigidity can cause a bike to feel fast or slow;
Overall strength is important because your bike will last longer without repair.
Wheels are made up of Hubs, Rims, Spokes & Lace Pattern and Tyres & Tubes.
If you have a new bike or an old bike and buckles or broken spokes are an issue, please ask one of our advanced mechanics for more info about strength, the lace pattern, lock-tite, spoke tension, ‘Tie & Glue" and uni-balancing which all strengthen wheels. The actual rim accounts for as little as 12% of a wheel’s strength.
Many companies like Mavic and Shimano are making the complete wheel set from the factory. They usually have less spokes and a stronger rim. They are often a very good choice and look great however they are not always the best value for money. Our staff can keep you up to date with the latest and how it suits your needs.
Hubs are not a particularly important component of the wheel set although better quality or sealed bearing surfaces will last much longer. It is ideal to get brand names like Shimano or better. The Joytech or Formula hub manufacturers use to reduce the price of bikes is a definite negative. If you are buying an MTB without disc brakes and you intend on upgrading, you will need to have a hub with disc mounts. It is best to make sure the bike has the mounts when you buy it as it will be an expensive upgrade later on.
On cheaper bikes it is better if you can have a hub with a cassette free-hub. A cassette hub is where the actual ratchet system, usually inside the cogs, is a replaceable system that screws onto the alloy hub. This does mean that each item, the hub, the free hub (ratchet system) and the cog-set can be replaced separately if one should wear or fail however the biggest advantage is that your axel is supported better by being nearer to the frame and the common problem with a bent or broken hub axel is made virtually non existent.
If your bike has steel hubs, you’re not even close to being in the game.
Rims on most bikes below $1000 are fairly generic. It is safe to look for reputable brand names that are known to have a high standard of aluminium and structural strength.
For bikes over $1000 the issues are not only strength but weight and a smooth hard breaking surface. Mavic leads the industry in all three areas.
The four pictures below show the different rim profiles; Channel, Modular, Modular Aero and Modular Eyeleted. The aero rims are stronger but heavier so a high performance aero rim usually has less spokes than the standard 32 per wheel. Modular profile is by design stronger. The eyelet strengthens the rim from the spoke nipple pulling through the softer alloy on cases of an accident or obstruction in the spokes but does not make the overall strength of the wheel greater.
The other development in rim technology Mavic have pioneered is Rim join welding.
Rim join welding is an improvement over the old pin and bond methods. Most rims are not welded but some have a second process where the rim is placed on its side to have the braking surfaces on each side machined for perfect smooth braking and to remove any imperfection of the weld. This process makes the rim stronger and smoother to use
Oil bath heat treating is a process that raises temper or hardens alloys, T6 (oven) or T4 (bath) can increase strength by up to 30%.
Hard anodising is another process that strengthens the surface of the rim to help in overall strength and prevent braking surfaces from premature wear.
Tubeless rims are available and explained below under tyres.
Disc brake bikes no longer need the thick heave braking surface wall of traditional brake bikes. Some production bikes that are disc equipped have disc specific rims which are usually lighter.
Stainless Steel spokes enable a stronger wheel and do not rust and are a great asset to the bike. Most bikes have 32 spokes per wheel. The more spokes the stronger the wheel and a wheel with less spokes needs a stronger and usually heavier rim. Less spokes have lower drag which is ideal for triathlons, however if you’re climbing (riding uphill) it may be better to go to a lighter wheel over a wheel that has lower drag.
The number of crosses determines how rigid or how flexible the wheel will be. Radial spoke patterns are popular, however, they raise a problem. A radial spoke pattern requires more tension than a regular wheel which can damage your hub flange. If lacing radial, the spoke nipples should be set with loctite. Spoke crosses work as a transference of tension while the wheel is under stress. A far better option is one cross, you get the benefits of radial and the benefits of a laced wheel but it will not work on a rear wheel or disc brake wheel where there is rotational force on the hub.
Spoke tension is very important, as you may have experienced if one of your spoke nipples has ever worked loose. Most buckled wheels are just loose spokes. Your wheel must have good EVEN tension to reduce flex. The more wheel flexion, the more chance you have of breaking spokes near the spoke head.
Spoke Nipples that are made from alloy are of great benefit to a tourer or MTB rider. If you ever have a stress that will break a spoke like a stick etc, the nipple will break first and you only need to carry a few spare nipples. Unfortunately not many manufactures use them OEM.
Tyres make the bike – a good quality tyre can last up to 3 times longer than a generic cheapie. There are many different tyres for different uses from plush soft compound off road tyres to speed tread slicks to silicone based, puncture resistant performance tyres. Our staff will help you make the perfect selection.
Bicycles have one of two valves, Schrader or Presta. Schrader valves are the same as a car and can be inflated at most fuel stations. Presta (also known as French or HP) are a more efficient valve that holds high pressure. Virtually every bicycle pump will do either valve however you can buy a small adapter to inflate Presta at a fuel station for around $3 that can be left on the valve until you need it again.
Tubeless tyres are the latest innovation and although there is not a huge selection of tyres available in tubeless, there some very good choices. Tubeless is only available at this stage on more expensive bikes. The tubeless tyre has no tube like some cars – the rim tyre and rim tape work together to hold the air. The reason for the development of tubeless is you can run lower tyre pressure off road without the risk of the common "pinch flat". On the rare occasion that you cut a tyre, you can run a normal tube in in the tubeless tyre or even a normal replacement tyre. The innovation is only available on Mountain bikes.
