As far as the MTB wheels: I would bet that those MTB wheelsets all have 20mm front hubs, which don't have axles (the axles for 20mm hubs are proprietary to the fork). Also, disc rims are usually lighter than rim-brake rims too, since they don't need a braking surface. Tubeless rims are even heavier than those too. Add in the fact that the rims are a lot smaller diameter-wise, and you get a not-too heavy wheelset.

Also, Mavics are about the lightest trail bike/freeride wheels you can get. Here's a real-life comparison of a few freeride wheelsets (from a thread on ridemonkey):

Azonic Outlaws
Front: 1118 Grams
Rear: 1328 Grams

Mavic DEEMAX
Front: 1120 Grams
Rear: 1330 Grams

DT Swiss FR 2350
Front: 1070 Grams
Rear: 1180 Grams

Sun/Ringle Single Track
Front: 1100 Grams
Rear: 1220 Grams

It seems to me that a track wheelset would need to be axially stiff but not necessarily laterally stiff, since you are not going to be making sharp turns on the track anyway. If you rock the bike heavily side to side in a sprint, you might laterally flex the wheel, but if the flex is so large that it is a problem you are probably rocking the bike side to side too much to be pedaling efficiently anyways.

There are plenty of lightweight, stiff road wheelsets that can be had for <$500 MSRP. So what's stopping somebody from lacing a track hub to one?

None of the wheels I listed have a 20 mm front hub and all of them are for tubeless. The Crosstrail is for rim brakes.

This question is pretty simple. On the track...where track wheels are supposed to be ridden...you don't have to worry about climbing so there is no point to making the wheel light. You want a VERY stiff, durable wheel which if aerodynamic is even better. There is no need for light wheels on the track so why make them weaker/more flexable by removing material?

I don't think high end manufacturers like Easton are thinking about "ok" track wheelsets for commuters.

I don't know, thats just me...

Very well said.

You climb up the side of the banked track, right? You also accelerate down the side of that same bank, right? Wouldn't you want to have as little rotational weight as possible to allow you to quickly accelerate?

Its worth noting that track wheels are symmetrically dished and therefore are much stiffer (laterally) than road wheels. You could get away with a much lighter wheel on the track and still have a stiff wheel.

And to those who say weight is not important....it may not be the most important, but lighter is still lighter. A light, stiff, and aero track wheel is certainly possible and, in theory, should be cheaper and easier to build than a comparable road wheel.

As I mentioned in another thread, most stock track wheels are way overpriced, probably because of low demand. I could build a light, stiff, semi-aero clincher, track wheelset for less than $400 with the following parts.

1. Niobium 30 rims ($130) (465 grams each)
2. any weight-weenie front road hub (~$70) (<100 grams)
4. any basic rear track hub (~$45 for Formula) (don't know the mass, but Nashbar/Dimension hub is 250 grams and other budget hubs should be similar)
3. sapin x-ray spokes (28 rear, 24 front) with alloy front and rear non-drive nipples, brass driveside rear nipples (~$104) (not sure of the weight, but these spokes are very light)

radially lace the front and 2x in rear

Without front skewer and rear track nuts, this wheelset should weigh less than 1500 grams.

I think another reason could be that track equipment is slightly behind in technical development because
its a much smaller market with less profit.
Obviously aerodynamics and stiffness are the priority so the wheels are build to be good in those areas and
meet a certain price point. But the problem is that because they are track wheels they will sell in much
smaller numbers so the r&d and manufacturing overhead is spread over a smaller number of units and drives
the price up. You end up with a aero/stiff wheel thats heavy but still more expensive than a comparable road wheel.

For years people accepted that carbon track frames were boat anchors and rationalized it by using
the same arguments. But now you can see a clear move to new types for carbon fibre that make
it possible to build frames that are still as aero and stiff but much lighter. Same thing with the
easton track handle bars. So I think people will prefer the lighter bike if it has the same attributes over
the heavier one.
Here is a quote from a professional track racer that uses "Lightweight" (the brand) wheels:
(obviously a PR interview but still..)

"Of course! Like all moving parts the wheels play a very important role. Acceleration, handling, lateral stability all depend on the wheels. The time trial events like the pursuit are where wheels like the Lightweights shine the most because they accelerate so great!"

"For me lateral stability is the key! I need the direct handling that comes with it. The wheel does exactly what the rider wants it to – 100%! You need a wheel that goes where you point it. If you’ve got stiffness combined with such low weight as is the case with the Lightweights, then these characteristics add up to pure joy!"

https://www.carbonsports.com/FAQ_Stocher.lasso

And those wheels are around 1kg for the set and the whole standard range has no rider weight limit and is
approved for CX.

Ok, so it's cheap to build a lightweight track wheelset yourself. This brings us to the question of where to get low spoke count rear track hubs? I guess you could get a 32h or 36h hub and lace every other hole, but 16 or 18 spokes is not enough. I would prefer 24.

https://www.planet-x-bikes.com/road/i...t=HUSZ24PMNJSR
https://www.planet-x-bikes.com/road/i...ct=HUSZ24PMSBF

I find it hard to believe track wheels are heavy due to lack of R&D. Have you seen how amazingly expensive some of the top track frames are? Some simple A/B tests would have determined the merits of weight and other factors long ago.

err um, thats gravity, so total bike weight, not rotational weight matters there. Sure you speed up a bit going down that small of an incline. But the wheel weight only really matters when you are drastically accelerating, as in all out effort from 10MPH to 35MPH.

But that happens in match sprints, doest it not?

i think the lack of midrange is just about the track market being too small. if you know what you want, nothing to stop you from making a custom set.

See "hucking" re: "lots of stress"

Is it perhaps because road and mtn wheels are weighed *without* their cassettes and thus only appear to be lighter?

just sayin'

Just for kicks, I already know this answer...

Someone tell us who's producing the greater forces in the chain (and subsequent reaction forces in the rest of the bike):

Johnny BigQuads mashing 52x15 in the match sprint, or
Susie SundayRider climbing her 2% driveway in 22x16

Track sprinters are seriously powerful dudes, but they're really not stressing their equipment the way potholes and railroad crossings do to a road wheel.

Mac

I think that the high price of pro-level track frames is a function of the small market. If there were more of a market, more companies would be producing race worthy frames, and the price would go down. Same thing happens to wheels, but with different results: there are fewer companies competing, and so the weight has not been driven down quite so far as in road wheels. The same thing happens to the price; rear disc wheels for track or TT from companies like Zipp are amazingly expensive. If as many people watched track cycling on TV as the tour, we'd have super-light Mavic Cosmic Carbone (or Ksyrium) Track wheels.

As it is, it makes more economic sense for a company to put the development money and effort into road-specific product lines, and let track parts fall by the wayside. Pro track racers are going to buy pro level wheels from a company because they are all that's available, not because they are a few grams lighter, or a slightly better deal. In short, the lack of demand has resulted in a lack of supply, and a lack of a more competitive market.

This comparison is nonsensical. Obviously, track sprinters with big gear ratios aren't applying nearly the rotational torque that you can apply with a typical MTB granny gear. Likewise, vertical impacts, such as potholes, are nonexistent on a track. However track sprinters apply tremendous amounts of lateral stresses to their equipment, and thats why lateral stiffness is so important.