| The first bicycle wheels were from a horse | | | | steel is cheaper than all the other |
| drawn cart, made of wood with a metal band | | | | materials. Alloy is probably the most popular |
| round the bicycle rim, very hard and very | | | | rim, it can be made in any shape and profile, |
| uncomfortable to ride. Then a man called | | | | flat or aero, but not too deep as it would |
| Dunlop (Scottish) invented the pneumatic | | | | then weigh too much, most deep section rims |
| tire, this along with Macadam (another Scot) | | | | are of a alloy braking section nearest the |
| inventing the tar road surface made cycling a | | | | tire which is then mounted to a carbon deep |
| lot more comfortable. | | | | section for lightness and aerodynamics and a |
| | | | very beautiful looking bicycle rim. As with |
| The bicycle rim, like the bicycle frame | | | | most things if money is no problem you can go |
| hasn't changed much in design, it does still | | | | for the best, this would be an all carbon |
| round and always will be. From the first | | | | rim, strong and very light, but there are a |
| wooden rims the next were made of steel, then | | | | few problems with these rims, first they |
| alloy and now if you can afford it, carbon. | | | | don't brake so well in wet conditions and you |
| Of all bicycle parts the bicycle rim can make | | | | must use special brake blocks for carbon and |
| a big difference to how your bike handles. | | | | they can be expensive, also the rim has to be |
| First the weight of your rim affects your | | | | perfectly round and not have any bulges in |
| sprinting and climbing as the weight will | | | | the rim wall as this will make braking quite |
| slow you down, for a long, flat effort the | | | | erratic, carbon is a difficult material to |
| weight isn't as important as when you get the | | | | work with and must be well looked after. |
| wheels rolling the weight can help to keep | | | | |
| them going. The shape of the rim can be | | | | Types Of Rim To Consider |
| important also, a flat rim is best for | | | | |
| climbing as aerodynamics are not so important | | | | There are also two types of rim to consider |
| on a hill, a deep section, aero, rim will | | | | and this depends on which kind of tire you |
| help you cut through the air, but in a cross | | | | want to use, first there are tubular tires |
| wind could cause you handling problems. | | | | these are glued on to the bicycle rim, cost |
| | | | more and are difficult to repair after a |
| Bicycle Rims Materials | | | | puncture, but for racing they feel and ride |
| | | | wonderfully. Clincher tires have improved a |
| The different materials used for rims are | | | | lot recently and are nearly as good as |
| very important also, steel is heavy and if | | | | tubular for performance and are easily |
| damaged can be difficult to pull back into | | | | repairable and more reasonably priced. Most |
| shape, but because it's so strong it is quite | | | | manufacturers make all styles in both |
| difficult to bend in the first place and | | | | systems. |