why are track wheels so heavy?
 

just curious, a lot of (low to mid-level) track wheelsets i'm seeing (velocity and generic deep v's, mavic, weinmann, formula hubs, alex, etc etc) seem to be pretty heavy (2000+ grams). to put things into perspective, that's about 2-300+ grams heavier than a mid-level mountain bike wheelset. is it by design? heavier rims = more momentum on the track? how light are decently light track wheels? and at what price range? discuss:

Momentum is one thing, also theres no real climbing on the track.

In low to mid wheels, the walls of the rim aren't as thin... also, what you mention are 700C Deep / Aero wheels, which have a MUCH bigger profile than normal rims (30mm deep). This, combined with cheap spokes, and HF hubs adds the weight.

Versus a mountain wheelset, while the rim is heavy duty, there is much less of it, no HF hubs, etc.

Aero > Weight, so a lot of people don't mind the extra weight. Although, I think this is subject to reason - when I bought an Aerospoke, it weighed 1400grams BY ITSELF. That's how much my road wheelset weighs, total. I never mounted it, and sold it as fast as I could.

+1.

But you can find light track wheels. American Classic makes an aero set that weights 1500g. The tubular version is even lighter.

Also, mountain wheels are usually disc only, and thus the rims weigh less (no braking surface). And, non-track wheelset weights are usually reported without QR's, while track wheelset weights usually include the track nuts also. Solid axles add a lot of weight too.

All told, when you look at the quantity of MTB wheelsets sold vs. the number of track wheelsets sold, it's no wonder MTB wheels get more R&D.

true track wheels ≠ the ones you listed, Vs are one of the heaviest rims*

for track use:

use tubulars, about half of the spokes that u would use on street....

or just go tubular aero wheels

mavic iO700 ftw.

It loooks like you listed a bunch of street wheels. Track wheels are usually light.

MTB wheels are 26," track wheels are 29". (700c.)

The more relevant comparison is road vs track. Track is usually heavier because the hubs generally are heavier and have solid steel axles. But stiffness in track wheels > light weight.

and low to mid level any wheel is going to be heavy.

a set of open pros on formula hubs with straight gauge spokes. which you can have built for about 250
weigh in at about 1700 grams

it you went with different hubs they would weigh less. and sine it isnt rotating mass it really isnt that noticeable of a thing.

High flange track hubs are bricks. They average in at around 600g a set.

My Cane Creek Volos wheels are a hair over 1700grams. Well, significantly more with tires on. Still, that's not that heavy. My training wheels (Open Pros laced to Formulas) aren't much heavier.

But in general, aero is more important than weight at the track for most events.

I weighed my new Deep-V (ms, non-ms) 36-spoke + Miche high-flange set. Straight guage spokes. 2100 grams with lockring and axel bolts. My tubular Escape/Formula set is 1750 grams. I don't consider either to be heavy.

street riders' obsession with high flange hubs, straight gauge spokes, and deep section rims make for heavy wheelsets.

I don't understand why anyone would use straight gauge spokes on anything but the cheapest of cheap ****ty wheelsets. they're weaker and heavier than butted spokes and the price difference is minimal.

I don't think street riders are obsessed with straight gauge spokes, I just think a lot of people don't know enough to avoid them because they're pretty inferior on all regards. But yeah, you're on point. Those factory built Deep V's off ebay that everone rides are tanks. And yeah MIN, 2,100g for a wheelset is definitely the heavier range.. ps why did you build with straight gauge spokes???

not that anyone asked, but i took these from another forum i'm on
the mavic io is around 750g, some ZIPP conbinations are in the 600s (tubular)

uh, nevermind, I checked and it was wheelsmith double butted. 2100grms isn't that bad, especially with 30mm rims and 36 spokes. those weinmans $150 ebay wheels are like 2700 grams.

Weight on fixed gear wheels is overrated anyway. On my road bike I want light wheels but I rather like the feeling of the flywheel effect from heavy wheels. The current hour record was set on deliberately heavy wheels for this very reason.

They're cheaper and not that much worse.

But yeah, a lot of people seem to use them because they think they are stronger when they actually aren't.

Yeah, I agree Yoshi. Aren't dbl-butted spokes simply thicker at the ends? Why do people keep repeating bs like "butted spokes are so much stronger than straight gauge!" It's incomprehensible, straight gauge spokes have the same cross section throughout the entire spoke. This translates to stiffness, strength and durability in wheel applications. Double-butted spokes only save weight and offer road dampening as the middle of the spokes are thinner/more compliant.

yes i suppose i should be comparing road wheels to track/fixed gear wheels, but i know nothing about road wheels and since i am more concerned about street use rather than track. i mention mountain wheels based on their durability and strength and also because i've had some experience with them.

for street use, i would like to get some decently light fixed gear wheels. but i guess i just thought that maybe those track wheels i've seen (anything under $300-$400 basically) were heavy for a reason. i guess making the hubs and rims more aero has a cost in weight.

They are stronger, actually. Well that isn't exactly true, rather they are less likely to break. Butted spokes are just as strong as straight gauge spokes at the point of the spoke that is stressed the most (and therefore the location that it is most likely to break at). Since the rest of the spoke is thinner, it is more flexible which helps relieve stress on the spoke. The net effect of this is that the spoke is less likely to break (strong where it counts, flexible elsewhere to reduce stress).

For me this doesn't really matter much. I weight 135lbs and have never broken a spoke. For day to day wheels I'd rather save the $15-20 dollars than lose a few grams off my wheels.

-http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#spokes

I think the reason why Street use track wheels are so expensive is just because the market is not big enough for companies to manufacture high-level high price rims.

If you go to a roadbike store you'll see many bikes $3000+ and when you're paying that much you get your carbon frame and fancy wheelset. Comparatively the average price of track bikes (designed for the street) is much lower. So really the cost of track wheels is to proportion of the cost of the bike. And cheap wheels are always going to be HEAVY.

My Bianchi Pista build with Deep V's has worked out only slightly more expensive than my old set of road wheels that were 1450g for the pair.

It's not that hard to take a little weight out of your wheelset for the same price. Velocity Aeroheads cost the same as Deep V's, weight weenie road hubs can be used for a front and some aren't that expensive, and double butted spokes should only add $20 more to the wheelset than straight gaugers. I think it's more to do with the fact that people think Deep V's look cool and then tell themselves weight and ride quality can take back seat to that.