Carbon MTB Wheels Vs Aluminium MTB Wheels
One of the greatest debates we have in our office, is whether or not to use carbon fibre mountain bike wheels or aluminium MTB wheels, because we ride so many different MTB disciplines here in the office, we often fail to agree - which is why we have created this blog post, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of using either carbon or aluminium wheels on a MTB.
The decision to choose carbon fibre wheels is much easier when it comes to choosing the best wheelsl for a road bike, where the increased stiffness and reduced weight of carbon wheels makes them the best choice, when biking off road however - encountering rocks, roots, drops and all kinds of rough terrain - there’s a much higher potential of damaging expensive wheels and rims.
Although many riders may feel lie it, carbon fibre mountain bike wheels do not buckle when they first come into contact with the rough stuff, although we have to admit that the first introduction of carbon MTB wheels did have some failings. Carbon MTB wheels are tougher, more resilient and more reliable than ever before - to the point where many mountain bike manufacturers now specify them as standard equipment. Many carbon wheel manufacturers now also offer excellent warranties and protection - allowing riders to enjoy the performance benefits of running carbon MTB Wheels without the concern of expensive mishaps.
Carbon Fibre MTB Wheels Advantages - Weight
A pair of lightweight carbon wheels can make a mountain bike feel like an absolute rocketship compared to heavier aluminium wheels. The perfect combination of carbon fibre being so lightweight, but half as dense as aluminium means that they are the perfect material for mountain bike wheels.
The heavier a mountain bike wheel is, the harder it is to accelerate - the wheels and tyres of a mountain bike contribute to the rotating weight of your bike, the heavier your rotating weight is, the more energy is required to get the bike moving.
This means that mountain bikes fitted with carbon wheels provide quicker acceleration, getting you up to speed in the shortest possible timeframe. As well as speed benefits, carbon mtb wheels also save a rider energy, which is especially important on longer rides.
Continuing the theme of weight saving, wheels are the best way to save weight on your setup - swapping between aluminium wheels to carbon wheels often providing weight savings in excess of half a pound, which is a significant saving, especially when the weight saved is coming directly off the rim.
Carbon Fibre MTB Wheels Advantages - Stiffness
Although aluminium wheels are designed to be incredibly stiff - providing important performance benefits. Alumnium wheels cannot compare with the stiffness of carbon fibre mountain bike wheels, carbon fibre wheels are also able to improve ride quality without comprimising stiffness - providing a more pleasant ride on the rough stuff, whilst allowing you to enjoy all of the benefits of a stiffer wheel, including:
- Faster response to pedalling and acceleration
- Sharper and more responsive steering
- Improved maintenance of speed
Carbon Fibre Wheels Disadvantages - Cost
As a general rule of thumb, carbon fibre mountain bike wheels retail for approximately double what their alumnium counterparts do. The difference in cost is much to do with the manufacturing process. Carbon fibre wheel manufacturing is labour intensive compared to the pretty much completely automated process of manufacturing aluminium wheels. Raw materials are also more expensive as is the manufacturing process equipment - such as carbon fibre moulds.
The increase in cost over aluminium wheels, may be difficult to justify for many riders. The increase in cost also directly impacts the cost of replacement if the wheel is damaged. It’s important to remember that both alumnium and carbon wheels can both fail - but whilst aluminium wheels may be more easily repaired, carbon wheels usually crack - making them unsafe to ride.
This type of damage is more likely to occur on mountain bikes which are used on gnarly downhill work - the cost of aluminium wheels are low enough for downhill riders to accept damages and the replacement costs, but the price of a carbon wheel suffering damage from an impact is more of a problem, thanks to the associated higher costs of replacement.
Carbon Vs Aluminium Considerations - RIder's Skill
Many riders will not really benefit from the performance increases of a carbon fibre MTB wheelset - especially those new to mountain biking, or enjoying mountain biking at purely a recreational level. The benefits to using Carbon Fibre Wheels, really kick in as the riders performance improves.
For us, a very real benefit of using carbon fibre wheels is the psychological factor - we like the way that carbon wheels feel out on the trails, which means that we ride with more confidence and most importantly, enjoy each ride that little bit more.
Carbon Fibre MTB Wheels
At Westbrook Cycles, we stock and supply a fantastic range of carbon fibre MTB wheels, all of which are available to buy online.