How do you like to ride? Do you like eating miles alone? Or just get stuck in Peloton? Do you just ride to work with your riding friends or go to the next town every weekend?

When you are ready to work hard to be better for yourself or for your game, you will have to admit that although very expensive, riding on carbon fiber wheels will help you become better. Maybe not infinitely good, but definitely better.

It will be more comfortable and faster than any alloy wheels you ride. Don't let the price frighten you, because despite the high prices, engineers and designers are making carbon fiber wheels that are stronger and last longer than ever before. At any level, it really should be a serious consideration for the rider.

After interviewing some friends, colleagues, and even some amateurs in the university racing industry, I’m here to tell you that yes, each of them said that compared with alloy rims, carbon fiber is faster, more responsive, and All aspects are better.

But why? Sometimes in order to give full play to your best ability, in sports like cycling, your ability depends on the equipment you use, and there is always room for improvement.

We must believe that the equipment provided by engineers and industrial designers will help us reach the peak of our own performance. In addition, if you lose $2,000, you will not let it sit in your garage while you gain weight on the sofa.

For these reasons, carbon is superior to alloys; smaller bends, more aerodynamics, and generally lighter, although aluminum designs are still getting taller. Let's use more information to unlock each of these functions.

As an amateur rider, you probably don’t care much about riding a Vuelta on Espana, but you do want to be faster, and carbon fiber can help you do that. Even if you don't want to be faster, think about the comfort benefits that carbon can provide.

Lighter

Let's start with weight; this is perhaps the easiest fact to understand about carbon wheels. The general principle is that the lighter the weight, the faster the speed, or the easier it may be to maintain a higher speed for a longer period of time. For several reasons, it seems to be a very reliable principle. It is mainly suitable for rock climbing; that is, the less weight you need to carry, the easier it is to climb the mountain.

Now, whether you carry weight on the wheelset and the frame is a completely different question, because the rotating weight is difficult to test, but for all respective purposes, lighter is still better. Try it for yourself, ride a 15-pound bike up the mountain, and then ride a 20-pound bike up the same mountain, you will definitely feel the difference.

In addition, the lighter wheels seem to be more responsive to the rider and easier to maneuver while riding. 1000 grams will not give you an overwhelming advantage, but I think you will notice an increase in comfort and control while riding.

More Aerodynamic

Now let's get into aerodynamics. Thanks to the way the carbon fiber rims are constructed, engineers can get more creativity in this department. The manufacturing method of carbon fiber rims is to first tie the carbon belt into a grid pattern that effectively supports the weight, and then heat it with a resin adhesive to form a hard carbon shape. Or add resin to the carbon composite material, and then use a hot steel mold or press to mold it into a shape similar to 3D printing.

These processes make it easier to build unique aerodynamic shapes, instead of aluminum, which can actually only be created by steel molds to create the shape of the rim. In the past, this made aluminum open pliers more reliable because the entire rim was a solid shape, instead of the old carbon fiber rim, which added the top (clincher) of the rim after the original shape of the rim was formed.

There are always people who worry that the brake friction will heat the epoxy or resin, it will evaporate, and then the carbon lattice will disperse, or explode, etc. This situation no longer happens. With new materials used for braking surfaces and braking structures, frictional heat is easy to control.

Providing a Smoother, More Rigid Ride

Now let's talk about flex. Flex is the degree to which the rim moves left and right on the horizontal axis, and the degree to which the rim moves up and down on the vertical axis. Although a properly tensioned wheel can support some very heavy bicycles and riders, it will still bend on these axles under normal riding conditions.

The rider can generate amazing power and torque mainly when cornering and full-strike. Turning and turning at speed will cause left and right bends, while speed and uphill attacks will cause up and down bends.

Compared with aluminum, the beauty of carbon fiber is that it reduces bending while still absorbing road vibration. Coupled with it is already a lighter building material, engineers can use more spokes and rigid lacing patterns to make it better than aluminum in any situation. For a long time, every major tournament champion has used carbon fiber to win. The only disadvantage is the cost.

Get Riding!

To recap, will carbon fiber rims make ordinary riders better? Yes, just because it is lighter. Are there other ways to lose weight; of course. Tubes or tubeless tires will reduce your weight. Carbon fiber bottle cage, Kevlar fiber cable, carbon fiber stem, seatpost and pole.

All of these can reduce your weight, but they may not improve the feel of the bike, and the responsiveness may not change like changing wheels.

It is also important to consider that many good road bikes do not have such good wheels in inventory, but they are likely to have good other components because of the relative cost. It’s just something you need to consider when looking for your favorite thing.