The bicycle rim hasn't changed too much over the years; its still round and you still put a tyre on it. As with most cycle equipment the first bicycle rim was made of wood, then steel, alloy and carbon.
Alloy came along and hubs and rims got much lighter, also as the rims got stronger they didn't need so many spokes, so they went from 40 to now down to 16, thus saving more weight and lessening wind drag.
Spoke patterns have changed a lot too, they used to cross four time for a soft, comfortable ride, now they only cross once or are radial and they are spaced in groups of three, like the new Campagnolo G3 wheels.
We have recently reviewed the latest wheels from Specialized.
Read our reviews on the
Specialized Roval Wheels Star and the
Roval Fusee E5 Wheels. We did an exhaustive performance on both.
We highly recommend both reviews, it's worthwhile reading.
Rims are either tubular or clincher type tyres. The tubular is stuck on to the rim with very strong glue and is a more responsive and lighter choice.
The clincher has a tyre and a separate inner tube, the rim is heavier but if you are not racing its not a problem and many teams race on clinchers now anyway.
Rims can be shallow, medium or deep section and made of alloy or carbon and are for different road conditions and dependent on wind and weather.
Hubs are now mostly made of alloy but they are now some of carbon construction and have quick releases so you can change the wheel in a hurry.
For time trials or on the track you can have disc wheels or tri-spoke, all of these are carbon bicycle wheels and are for aerodynamics not for comfort.
Neuvation Wheels, Top Technology and Very Affordable
We received a question from Phillip, a short time ago, asking us about Neuvation wheels. We had not heard of them, so we thought it was our duty to have a good look at them and let him and the rest of you know our findings. Neuvation make a great range of wheels at prices we can all afford.
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