Alloy Rim Roundup

For a few years we’ve been publishing what we consider to be the definitive hub reviews. Now we feel it’s time to tackle the rims and spokes that go into making a complete wheel. For now we’ll just be looking at rims: clincher alloy 700c rims, in fact.

One thing that made our hub review so successful was the presentation of different viewpoints by having the article be written by more than one person. We are going to continue on with that theme, this time with wheel builder Eric Gottesman from Ergott wheels. I consider Eric to be one of the best wheel builders working in the U.S. and am honored to have him writing this article with me. Eric has been building custom wheels for more than 12 years, giving the two of us a combined experience of more than 30 years.

Unfortunately, due to the staggering number of rim options, we just can’t cover every rim on the market. So we are limiting this review to 15 of the most popular rims, including selections from DT Swiss, H+Son, Hed, Kinlin, Mavic, Pacenti, Velocity, Stans, and Zipp.

Weight: As measured by us using an averaged weight from multiple rims.

Price: The given price is suggested U.S. retail

Dimensions: All dimensions are measured by us not using claimed specs by manufacturers. Depth, width and internal width are all rounded to the nearest 0.5mm

Some notes on tubeless: On the mtb side of wheels there is UST, a simple tubeless standard that let’s you know what is easily compatible. Road wheels lack this standard. There are multiple standards from different companies each with different meanings. Tubeless, tubeless ready, tubeless friendly and tubeless compatible. Basically what this means is that any of these rims are designed with tubeless in mind, but they are not claiming any specific compatibility with specific tubeless tires and pressures. Personally I think that until there is a universal standard any of the tubeless standards can be thought of as being easier to convert from tubed to tubeless but offers no universal guarantees. They may or may not work with certain tires and at certain pressures. Typically the main but not only component of a tubeless system will be a raised bead lock where the tire snaps into place when at pressure. This should allow the tire to remain in place even if pressure is let out.

Aluminum alloy vs Carbon: It’s important to note that when we discuss carbon rims, we refer to high quality rims such as Enve or Zipp. We are specifically not talking about unbranded wheels sold online under different names, as those are all over the spectrum from some quite nice ones to some which I’d consider dangerous to ride.

When considering a custom wheel build, one of the most critical decisions is the choice of rim material. While the intended application will have a large impact on this decision, there are other equally important considerations.

The intended use of a wheel set may well make the definitive decision on the material of choice. Is the wheel set used for recreational riding, training, racing, or combination of these? For recreationalists, any quality of the wheel set (or any component, for that matter) that improves the riding experience is highly desirable. Generally, you get what you pay for, so budget will largely define the choices for these riders. In the case of cyclists desiring high-mileage training wheels, strength, durability, and affordability are generally the important considerations. Conversely, a low mileage, race-day only wheel set may make some major concessions in durability and/or affordability in order to achieve superior performance. Of course, the type or types of races that a wheel set is intended for will define its specific characteristics. To make some very broad generalizations, aluminum tends to be an excellent choice for inexpensive, heavy-use wheel sets, while carbon rims are more often used in race applications and situations where maximum performance or a superior ride experience is desired.

For all but the most enviable cyclists, budget can be a major roadblock to building that most ideal wheel set. A good quality carbon wheel set will generally rival its aluminum counterparts in performance through increased strength and stiffness, and generally lighter weight, but with a cost penalty of in the range of $1,000-2,000. For those who can afford the expense of a quality carbon rim set, another important question to ask is “Can you afford to replace them?” A rim is essentially a wearable component. The braking track on a rim has a definite lifespan, largely defined by the conditions in which it is ridden. In dry conditions, rims can last many, many years, even under heavy use. But in wet environments, rims experience increased abrasion with the brake pads and accelerated wear that can put a wheel out of commission in just a few seasons. And there always looms the possibility of impact, whether through crashing or impact with road debris. The cost of a dented aluminum rim pales in comparison to the price tag attached to its quality carbon counterpart, even with some companies’ generous crash replacement programs.

Traditionally alloy rims offered better and more consistent braking response particularly in wet environments. However recent innovations in carbon rims have done a lot to close this gap so a high quality carbon rim may now offer the same braking performance as a high quality alloy. It should be noted that this varies greatly, as a poor quality carbon rim can have extremely poor quality brake performance.

Rim width: A current trend among rim manufacturers is to move the internal and external widths of their rims towards wider dimensions. A wider rim changes the shape of the tire on the rim and allows for more air volume. More air volume can, but does not necessarily lead to improved ride quality. What it does do is allow for running lower pressures with decreased chance of pinch flats. We typically recommend running 10 psi lower pressure in wider rims with tubes. Wider rims can also provide a stiffer starting point for a wheel build allowing for use of fewer spokes. Many will argue that a wider rim also produces a more aero setup. However we don’t fully agree with this. A wider rim gives the possibility for a more aero and more stable setup with deeper rims, but with shallow 30mm rims we’ve seen no evidence that this is correct. For example one of the widest rims in the test, the Zipp 101 has been tested by Tour magazine and while it has produced very respectable drag numbers, other rims with lower and narrower profiles have produced even better results. Like with all things there are tradeoffs and wider rims do have some. The biggest drawback to wider rims is that they come at a weight penalty over narrower rims. They may have compatibility issues with some brake setups, and they also tend to be the more expensive option.

Asymmetric rims: While we are not specifically featuring any offset rims in the review, some of them are, or soon will be available with offset. Offset rims are an attempt to gain back some of the dimensional losses of wider freehub bodies that have been adopted over the years. Without regard to any of the rims in this review, in the past we’ve found that asymmetric rims have tended to have higher failure rates unless the rim is reinforced and weight added to the extrusion. Perhaps a better choice to gain back some of the tension ratio is to use a heavier gauge drive side spoke compared to the non drive side.

Now onto the Results

Our Thoughts on Each Rim

In Summary

We realize that we’ve not covered every aspect of rim design nor have we gone too in depth into the qualities and drawbacks of each rim. We do however feel that this should provide a solid foundation for helping you to choose a rim which best fits your own personal needs. Mixed with our previous hub reviews, 11 speed conversion review, and future spoke review we feel that you should be well informed about the basic differences in components that go into making an ideal custom wheel.