As the saying goes: “A good horse with a good saddle” roughly means that a road bike with superior performance should be equipped with a set of wheels with the same excellent performance. Usually a road bike can make you notice at first glance in the bike group, the first factor is the overall feeling, which comes from the overall appearance, and a road wheel set with matching color, shape and data can always add a lot of color to the bike.

As a very important part of a road bike, the wheel set has a great influence on the performance of the bike by its weight, rigidity, drag coefficient and other factors. Many players seem to consider the upgrade of the wheel set when upgrading their bike, so today we will talk about those things about the road wheel set.

The wheel set is mainly composed of the rim, the hub, the spokes and the spoke cap. The combination of the three and the weaving method of the spokes together affect the performance of the wheel set. A set of wheels with excellent performance must have reliable hub quality, combined with extremely high hub fluidity, and at the same time have rims that can withstand high air pressure and heavy braking, such a wheel set can make you ride smoothly and confidently. If you also consider the lightweight, it will further improve your riding experience. So, upgrading to a good pair of wheels can give you a much better ride, faster average speed, more responsive braking, less weight, and more responsive acceleration.

With so many road bike wheels out there, how do I choose?

In recent years, road bikes have become more and more widely used. Correspondingly, there are various types of wheel sets, which are usually divided into several types: competition, long-distance, aero, and off-road. The first thing we need to do is determine what type of rider you are, so you can easily know what type of wheelset you want.

1. Climbing wheel set

Moment of inertia (rim weight) is most noticeable when you’re climbing, so we usually choose low-profile climbing wheels. Wheels of this type tend to have very low rim heights and a low number of spokes.

Climbing wheel sets have a good riding experience. The higher the frame height, the harder the riding, so the climbing wheel set can be used in a wider range. Generally speaking, the weight of climbing wheels should be within 1500g. When the budget is no longer considered, the weight of ultra-light climbing wheels can even be reduced to 900g to 1300g.

2. Middle frame wheel set

In recent years, with the maturity of aerodynamic design, the middle frame wheel set has a huge improvement. It can not only maintain a good aerodynamic effect, but also achieve perfect lightweight. This type of wheel set has a huge improvement. The frame height is generally above 30mm.

Also, in order to keep weight down, aerodynamic rims are usually made of carbon fiber, but if the budget is not enough, it may also be made of aluminum alloy, which will be very heavy.

3. High frame wheel set

When speed is a priority, wheels with 50mm or higher rims have less airflow disturbance, which can give you better aerodynamics and make it easier to maintain your speed.

4. Training wheel set

 

While speed and light weight are essential for racing wheels, you must have a set of durable daily training wheels. The rims will wear out with constant braking, so aluminum framed training wheels are usually the best. . However, with the popularity of disc brake systems in recent years, this can be ignored.

5. Gravel, Long Distance, CX Wheels

When the gravel road bike trend swept through, bringing more fun to road enthusiasts, and at the same time, there was a need for this more functional wheelset. It needs to be sturdy enough to be serviceable and need more spokes, and it makes you fearless when it comes to adventures.

Reference steps for buying a good set of gravel wheels: Multi-layer rims, strong spokes, and reliable hubs are the primary goals of a gravel wheel set, and then the weight of the wheel set is the second, and finally start to seriously evaluate whether the price is within the budget.

Each brand of wheelset on the market has its own unique features, and there are many choices for consumers. Therefore, when purchasing a wheelset, we may determine the type of wheelset according to our own vehicle usage scenarios, and then make targeted ones and compare.