Originally Posted by
terrymorse
Fiddling with rims and spoke count won't help with comfort. Compared to tires, deflection of even the lowest profile rim is insignificant.
Measured radial compliance of a typical wheel rim is ~0.0003 mm/Newton, or about 0.14 mm for an average adult.
An average adult deflects a typical road tire ~6 mm.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt all the fun of arguing frame material for yet another time. How many years will people argue over the same thing?
Not a wheel builder, although I’ve built wheels. I only know what I’ve experienced. And deeper stiffer wheels do ride harsher to me. Shallow rims with more compliant spokes ride smoother. Whether it is deflection or transmission of vibration I don’t know. It would be nice to hear from people who actually build wheels.
I don’t recall seeing 29er mtb’s with deep profile rims. Maybe that has changed. The obvious answer is that speeds don’t justify them; all the while people average 15mph on their road bikes with deep profiles.
But I do know shallow rims would ruin the look of a modern road bike.
John
Edit added: I do agree that wider tires with lower pressures have a greater impact.