What parts make up a bicycle wheel?
Bicycle wheel materials
We are often asked what is best - carbon or aluminium bike wheels for road, mountain bike and gravel riding. Carbon road bike wheels are lighter, stiffer and, as a result, typically come with a higher price tag than their aluminium counterparts. Although aluminium wheels used to brake better and be less likely to heat up on mountainous descents, disc brakes have rendered this problem redundant.
Bicycle spokes
Consider bike spokes the thankless silent superstars that more than punch above their weight! They might look nothing more than giant toothpicks, but these team players help support your weight on the wheel, transfer your power from the hub to the wheel and play a key role in the wheel’s strength and integrity. No spokes, no dice!
Bike hub
The wheel really is an incredible feat of engineering that looks oh-so simple! Take the bicycle hub, for instance. Small and modest, it sits in the very centre of your wheel looking pretty unassuming. However, it’s the hub that connects to the rim via the spokes. The axel goes through it, therefore enabling the wheel to actually spin.
Bicycle nipple
Bike nipples are the little protrusions at the end of the spoke connecting it to the wheel’s rim.
What bike wheels should I buy?
The best bicycle wheels for you depends entirely on your riding type. For example, using mountain biking wheels on a road bike will slow you right down. Alternatively, using road wheels on a mountain bike will likely result in puncture within minutes. It would be akin to fitting SUV tyres to a race car or formula one tyres to a 4x4 - madness! So, if you know the type of riding and bike you’re after, then here’s more information about the appropriate wheel set for you!
Road bike wheels
Road bike wheels comprise a rim (choose between aluminium or carbon wheels), hub, spokes and nipples. The higher the bike rims, the more efficiently the wheel cuts through the air. However, the offset is the additional weight. Whereas once upon a time the standard rim profile was about 13mm, these days it can be as high as 19mm.
There are plenty of great quality road bike wheels for sale on Bike Chain, so be sure to browse our online selection in the link above.
What size are road bike wheels?
This is an easy question to answer as by far the most common size for adult road riders is the 700cc bike wheel, which refers to the diameter in millimetres across the wheel of the outside of the tyres. So, the best road cycling wheels is not a question of size, but rather material and parts. We discuss wheel sizes in more detail further down in this article.
Mountain bike wheels
As is the case for road bikes, entry-level mountain bike wheels come in aluminium (delivering plenty of comfort and compliance out there on tough terrain), whilst carbon wheelsets typically reflect more advanced models. Although so much lighter and stiffer, carbon does tend to compromise that same level of comfort. If you’re racing or you like to smash yourself going uphill quite a bit, then go light. In contrast, downhill or enduro riders will opt for more weight and robustness.
Gravel bike wheels
Whereas once gravel riding relied on repurposed mtb wheels, the sport’s growing popularity has seen a proliferation of gravel bike wheels . There are many options when it comes to size (650B is growing increasingly popular - refer earlier to sizes), spoke count (24 being standard), and materials (carbon fibre versus alloy). If you’re a gravel purist, then you will want a 21-24mm rim width to accommodate the chunkier tyres. However, if you intend to dice things up a bit with road riding as well, then opt for a 20mm width, which should enable a slightly smoother and faster flow on the surfaced road.
Triathlon wheels
As a triathlete, you feel the need for speed! Triathlon wheels are going to help you get there! The major feature you want from tri wheels is aerodynamics. Weight is not the be-all-and-end-all here. In short - go carbon bike wheels if you can! Triathlon bikes also love deep dish profiles with many believing the deeper (eg up to 90mm) the better. However, this is not always the case, and as technology advances, more shallow rims can be equally effective.
To be dead set speed demons, triathlon wheels often sport much fewer spokes than their road counterparts (e.g. three to five).
Disc Wheel
You will often see solid rear disc wheels - sometimes also partnered with solid front disc wheels - at triathlon races. This can have a sizeable positive impact on speed however, never opt for a solid disc wheel when there are crosswinds, as this can be dangerous for obvious reasons!
Track bike wheels
Track bike wheels are a very different beast! Unlike every other style of riding, it’s actually not legal to have brakes on the track (brakes and gears can drip oil, making a velodrome extremely dangerous). As a result, you will hear the term ‘fixed wheel’. This refers to the gearing, which is bolted or screwed directly to the hub, making it impossible for any freewheeling (when the wheel spins, but the pedals are not turning). To stop, a cyclist must apply slight backwards pressure to the cranks).
What sizes do bike wheels come in?
Standard cycle wheel sizes depend on the type of riding you do and, for children, your age and size. The classification of size actually refers not to the wheel’s diameter, but that of the outer measurement of the tyre fitting to it.
16-inch bike wheels
The smallest wheels possibly for adult bikes and more typically found on children’s bikes.
20-inch bike wheels
Commonly found on folding and BMX bikes, these small wheels can be vulnerable to road debris and also require long handlebar stems so as to maintain a more comfortable position for the cyclist.
24-inch bike wheels
You’ll find these mostly on junior MTBs.
26-inch bike wheels
Now we enter standard adult sizes for mountain bikes. The 26-inch is pretty much the original MTB wheel size.
27-inch or 650b wheels
You will often hear the industry talk about 27-inch or 650b tyres rolling faster and more smoothly over obstacles than their smaller 26-inch counterparts. However, some sceptics do not believe the size is significant enough to make that much difference, and that it is more the case of size accommodating different bike geometries.
29-inch bike wheels or 29ers
Typically speaking, a large bike wheel will roll faster than something smaller although some mountain bikers will tell you this is to the detriment of manoeuvrability and a more compact turn radius.
Contact us about bike wheels today!
We have a terrific range of bicycle wheels for sale on BikeChain! However, if we have not answered your question above, or you want to ask a specific bike wheel question, by all means, contact us! We’d love to hear from you, and we’d be happy to help!
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