Types of Bike Rims

When picking your bicycle rims you have to take into consideration what type of biking you do most often. You need to decide if something sturdy is more important than something light, which might be the case if you are doing much trail riding. Or if you are going long distances on smooth roads, you might prefer something lighter as it will be less weight for you to propel over the long distance.

  1. Steel Rims

    • Steel is the strongest type of bicycle rim. Not only is it heavy, making it difficult to bend, it is also less expensive as steel is not a pricey material. Steel rims can definitely take a beating, but when and if they do become malformed the rim is significantly more difficult to bend back into shape. Hard trail riders sometimes prefer these rims because they can usually withstand lots of force and hold up against most rocks and bumps. Though very avid mountain bikers have switched to lighter options.

    Alloy Rims

    • Alloy rims are a nice balance between sturdy and light. Significantly less weighty than steel rims, these tend to be the preferred choice by most bikers. These rims come in many shapes and profiles, though manufacturers tend not to make the cup very deep, as it would likely price them out of the marketplace. Alloy rims are easier than steel ones to bend back into shape, but also bend more easily so obstacles that would not dent a steel rim can knock an alloy rim out of form.

    Carbon Fiber Rims

    • The most expensive type of rim, the one many avid bikers would call the best, are made of carbon fibers. Strong but extremely light, these are the best of both worlds. The material is difficult to work with, so any kind of change to the shape must be fixed and might be expensive to fix. These rims also do not brake as well in wet conditions. Another problem occurs with braking happens if the rim is not perfectly round, as the rim is strong enough to cause pushing against the brake pads. These rims require specialized pads in order to be able to brake at all as the strength of the rim would destroy standard bike brake pads.

    Considerations other than Metal Make-up of Rim

    • Steel, alloy and carbon fiber rims come in different types according to spoke pattern, double or single walled, double or single eyelets, and finally clincher or tubular. Your spoke pattern adds strength to the rim, so this can help you decide which type of metal you would like it to be made out of. Double and single wall is a choice regarding how thick your rim and tire will be. Double and single eyelets refer to the way you fill the tire and the hole pattern on the rim to accommodate that choice. Clincher rims are the normal rims that have a tube inside and the tire on top. Tubular tires have the tube sewn inside the tire itself and are cemented onto the rim, nice for racing, but impossible to change in the field.