The day of giving it a washing for your road bike has come. It is time to look for new wheels. But ... Where to start? Aluminum or carbon? What profile do I buy them with? And how many radios do you have to have?
In this article I will show what are the benefits of each of the options to be able to buy the wheels that best adapt to your needs. And when it comes to deciding why cycling wheels buy you have to know what you want to get with them, because everything cannot be had.
>> See road bike wheels
Road bicycle wheel measures
The most common measurement of road wheels is 700c. This measure is determined according to the French system, and indicates the outer diameter of the wheels (including the tire), so this value is approximate.
Another type of standard measure is the ISO (ETRTO) where the interior width of the wheel and diameter (622 on road wheels) is indicated.
The covers are also governed according to the values of the ISO (Etto), indicating the width of the roof (23, 25, 28 ...) and the interior diameter of the same (622 on the road) that corresponds to the measure of the wheel of the wheel of road.
>> The key to lighten the weight of your bicycle is on the wheels
Types of wheels according to the material
The two most used materials are currently aluminum and carbon. Aluminum will give us a more adjusted price than carbon (it is currently around half on wheels of similar assemblies).
Carbon, meanwhile will give us greater lightness and more rigidity, achieving a more optimal performance in our pedal.
Types of braking
Currently the 2 most used braking types are the V-Brake and the disc brake.
V-Brake brakes
V-Brake brakes is the most classic and used braking system, lifelong shoes. You can exert braking on aluminum tire or a carbon band. In the first case it gives us a progressive braking. The types of V-Brake braking on carbon band, meanwhile, are lighter but also less reliable on wet asphalt.
Disc brakes
Little by little, disc brakes for road cycling are entering the market and it seems to stay. Its implementation is not as simple as in the Mountain Bike. The weight, in a discipline that measures to the milligram, makes it rejected by the most purists.
However, the greatest power and effectiveness of braking gives us a plus in huge security. On the other hand, the cycling wheels on the route that incorporate disc brakes must be more reinforced due to the level of stress to which these sudden braking are subjected.
>> Pros and cons brake brakes by road bike
Wheel parts
The two main components of the wheel are the tire and the tire. The tire is the outer ring, where the roof is fucked and the radios is assembled. The tire, meanwhile, can be of three types:
- Of camera
- TUBELESS (without camera)
- Tubular
However, when deciding which wheels to buy for your road bike it is necessary to look at other components and factors beyond the tire and the tire.
Wheel profiles
Profile wheels are an evolution with respect to classic life wheels. They consist of an extension of the tire surface from the tire to the inside of the wheel and offer an aerodynamic advantage. Depending on the profile, we can classify them in:
-
Low profile: Profile wheels less than 30 mm, in theory for more climbers, where what is sought is to minimize the weight sacrificing aerodynamics.
-
Average profile: Probably the most demands currently thanks to its versatility. They are usually between 40 and 50 mm profile. Aesthetically they are prettier than the climbers, we could say that they wear the bicycle more. In addition, they earn more aerodynamics without increasing the weight too much. They also improve vertical rigidity. We find them in aluminum and carbon.
-
High profile: Wheels more than 50 mm up to 90 mm. They are indicated for very specialized disciplines, such as counterreloj, triathlon or track cycling. They offer us a lot of rigidity, but little absorption of the irregularities of the land. They are carbon.
The tire width
The tire width (or throat width) determines the maximum width of the tires that admits a wheel. Traditionally the wheels for road cycling mounted narrow tires, but for a few years the wider covers have become fashionable, which offer a larger rolling surface with the asphalt.
>> Wide tires, a new trend in road cycling
According to
European Tyre and Rim Technical Organization (European technical organization of tires and tires) These are the pneumatic widths that can be installed on a bicycle depending on the throat width of the tire.
| Tire width (in mm) |
Interior width of the tire (in mm) |
| 13c |
15c |
17c |
19c |
21c |
23c |
25c |
27c |
29c |
| 18 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 20 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 23 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 25 |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 28 |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
| 32 |
|
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
| 35 |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
| 37 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
| 40 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
| 42 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
| 44 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 47 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 50 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 52 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 54 |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 57 |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 60 |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 62 |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
This table tells us which tire width we can mount on each tire, but we must bear in mind that, although our tire can withstand large deck widths, they may be incompatible with the picture of our bicycle.
The radios
The stiffness and resistance of a wheel is directly related to the number of radios and their disposal. Depending on its distribution, there may be straight radios, to 2, 3 or 4 crosses (the number of times one radius crosses with another). The more crosses, greater robustness, greater weight and greater number of radios per wheel. If the wheel is for disc brakes, it will need greater reinforcement than one for shoe brakes.
The radios connect the wheel bushing with the tire ring. Depending on how they anchored to the bus
Straight Pull). The latter are much more reliable, because the distribution of forces is distributed along the entire radius and not in a single point, as with the acodes.
Radios can be round or flattened. In principle this should not influence their quality, although flattened radios offer an aerodynamic advantage.
Generally, and due to their great resistance, most radios are stainless steel. There are also aluminum and titanium radios. The latter are very resistant, but of a higher price.
The bushing
The bushing is the element on which the wheel supports and turns. According to their turn system there are balls (such as Shimano) or with sealed, more rigid, but heavier balls than balls.
There is no standard on the spruces for road cycling wheels, so when buying new wheels we will have to be very clear if they are compatible with our bicycle, nucleus, cassette, etc ... although for some cases there are bush adapters smaller to bigger.
Wide bushings help radios to get greater lateral rigidity.
Conclusions on road wheels
When we go to buy some wheels for our road bike, the first thing we must be clear about is what we want to get with them: greater lightness, greater comfort, less aerodynamic resistance ...
Then, we must find the characteristics in the wheels that best adapt to us. And finally, play with the balance that Keith Bontrager taught us:
“Between resistant, light or cheap, choose two”.
