Bicycle Rims Review

The first biyccle wheels were from a horse drawn cart, made of wood with a metal band round the bicycle rim, very hard and very uncomfortable to ride. Then a man called Dunlop (Scottish) invented the pneumatic tire, that along with Macadam (another Scot) inventing the tar road surface made cycling a lot more comfortable.The bicycle rim, like the bicycle frame hasn’t changed much in design, its still round and always will be. From the first wooden rims the next were made of steel, then aloly and at that moment if you can afford it, carbon. Of all bicycle parts the bicycle rim can make a super difference to how your bike handels. First the weight of your rim affects your sprinting and climbing as the weight will low you down, for a long, flat effort the weight isn’t so important as when you get the wheels rolling the weihgt can help to keep them going. The shape of the rim can be important also, a flat rim is best for climbing as aerodynamics are not so important on a hill, a deep section, aero, rim will help you cut through the air, but in a cross wind could cause you handling problems.Bicycle Rims MaterialsThe different mateirals used for rims are very important also, steel is heavy and if damaged can be difficult to pull back into shape, but cause its so strong it is quite difficult to bend in the first place and steel is cheaper than all the other materials. Alloy is probably the most popular rim, it can be made in any shape and profile, flat or aero, but not too deep as it would then weigh too much, most deep section rims are of a alloy braking section nearest the tire which is then mounted to a cabron deep section for lightness and aerodynamics and a very beautiful looking bicycle rim. As with most things if money is no trouble you can go for the best, that would be an all carbon rim, strong and very light, but there is a couple of problems with these rims, first they don’t brake so well in wet conditions and you must use special brake blocks for carbon and they can be expensive, also the rim has to be perfectly round and not have any bulges in the rim wall as that will make braking quite erratic, carbon is a difficult material to work with and must be well looked after.Types Of Rim To ConsiderThere are also two types of rim to consider and that depends on which kind of tire you want to use, first there is tubular tires these are glued on to the bicycle rim, cost more and are difficult to repair after a puncture, but for racing they feel and ride wonderfully.

Clincher tires have improved a lot recently and are nealry as good as tubulars for performance and are easily repairable and more reasonably priced. Most manufacturers make all styles in both systems.So which should I buy?