Road Bike Rims

Road Bike Rims and wheels are one of the most cost effective upgrades you can make on your bike, with upgraded, newer lightweight rims being able to shave time off your performance. As well as being able to allow you to ride quicker, these rims can also handle better, with climbing and handling capabilities also improving.

It’s not just as simple as ordering the first set that you see, with so many different types of rim being available - encompassing different sizes and materials used. In the lower and mid-range, aluminium rims dominate the market - and towards the top end, the use of carbon fibre begins. In our experience, it’s best for recreational riders to stick with the reliable and relatively lightweight aluminium wheels, but for those competing and racing - carbon fibre becomes the obvious choice.

The usual range of road bike wheels are made up from a hub containing an axle and bearings - which is then fitted with spokes which stretch to the rim of the wheel. There’s also a range of specialist road bike wheels though, which have moved away from traditional spokes - these wheels are usually the reserve of those racing in time trials, on tracks and in triathlons. These specialist wheels sacrifice comfort, in the name of speed.

Road Bike wheels are available in different diameters, with 700c being the most common size used across adult road bikes. The number of spokes that road bike wheels have also varies - with the more spokes providing a heavier, but tougher wheel. Riders using road bikes for their daily commute, will do well to choose wider diameter wheels for dealing with kerbs, potholes and slight off road areas.

Lastly, there are also Tubular Wheelset and Clincher Wheels to choose from. Clincher wheels and tyres are the most common variant, and these rims are designed to be used with tyres with inner tubes. Tubular tyres are fully sealed rims, which feature an inner tube sewn into the casing of the tyre - and the tyre is glued into place with either tape or specialist cement. Recreational riders stick with clincher wheels, whilst the professionals go for the rolling resistance and weight advantages of a Tubular setup.

You can view the full range of wheel rims here, and as always - if you have any questions about the collection, please do get in touch and we will be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.