skinny wheels back in vogue?

fat bloke

I thought I noticed this in the grand tours over the summer and looking at some of the world champs coverage, is there a bit of a trend away from phat deep section wheels? I think I'm seeing a lot more narrow rims lately.

Keeps my slr's fresh and cool

Idleater

Narrow ! = not deep section.

The trend is for wider rims and 25mm tyres all right and I much prefer my stans alpha to my open pros.

kumate_champ07

possibly, for tubular rims skinny is still fine.

clinchers 22-24mm rim width is ideal, tho some rim manufacturers are modifying the internal space to hold more air volume, more internal volume allows lower pressures which decreased rolling resistance. DT Swiss rr440 and Stans

theres still alot of mistruths about wheels out there

fat bloke

Right "shallow" then:rolleyes:

Though I already know this thread has been lost.

<sigh>:(

Idleater

fat bloke wrote: »

Right "shallow" then:rolleyes:

Though I already know this thread has been lost.

<sigh>:(

Harsh, considering I agreed with you. I went through the deep section vs climbing wheels debate two years ago, when with the climbing choice and liked it.
Now the deep section rims are following suit, so the answer that kanute gave above about the aero fit applies more so.

kumate_champ07

I was surprised to see Martyn Irvine use what looked like 30mm carbon rims during the national scratch race(which he won). others used 50/85mm discs,tri spokes etc. lighter is better as long as its shaped optimally

kumate_champ07

Beasty

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I was surprised to see Martyn Irvine use what looked like 30mm carbon rims during the national scratch race(which he won). others used 50/85mm discs,tri spokes etc. lighter is better as long as its shaped optimally

That was because he couldn't be bothered to bring his rear disk and front 5 spoke/deep section wheels that he used to win in Minsk - he clearly didn't need them ...

(he used the same set-up to win the pursuit as well)

gman2k

You'll commonly see the shallow section rims on the very hilly stages, as they are a lot lighter than the deep section rims.
On the flatter stages the deeper section rims are preferred for aero advantage.
However, extra weights often have to be added to the bike to bring it up to the 15lbs limit!

kumate_champ07

gman2k wrote: »

You'll commonly see the shallow section rims on the very hilly stages, as they are a lot lighter than the deep section rims.
On the flatter stages the deeper section rims are preferred for aero advantage.
However, extra weights often have to be added to the bike to bring it up to the 15lbs limit!

a little OT but Zipp has intructions on adding a little weight to their rims using epoxy resin, for cars wheel balancing is good for fuel efficiency, I figured carbon rims would be balanced not like aluminum rims which have extra weight at the joint, which is noticeable when you spin some wheels in your hands. not sure if it was Zipp but some rear dics has little ball bearings that would flow down channels to the rim when you picked up speed creating a flywheel effect

Ambrosio rims had a badge added at the valve hole for balance. H Plus Son TB14 have the same badge,I had a wheelset with them that would spin forever, they would slow down after 6+mins then start spinning the opposite direction!

Darkglasses

This thread makes me want new wheels..

disco1

Got a bike this weekend with r.sys sl on it ...I'm a 14 stone rider....holy Jesus they put the power down Like nothing iv been on yet....ok there not going to be as fast as zipps...stiff too....I could live with these no prob....