How much do you know about wheels?

Wheels, Tires, Tubes, Tubeless, Tubs, Spokes, Hookless, Hubs, and more!

Moderator: robbosmans

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The spirit of this board is to compile and organize wheels and tires related discussions.

If a new wheel tech is released, (say for example, TPU tubes, a brand new tire, or a new rim standard), feel free to start the discussion in the popular "Road". Your topic will eventually be moved here!
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Won
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2020 10:42 pm

by Won

Hello all!
I’m a student conducting market research on cycling wheels. As a part of the research, I’m surveying how much cyclists know about bike wheels. I’d very much appreciate it if you could spare 2-3 minutes to complete some True or False questions about road bike wheels. You will get to see your score at the end and see the correct answers if you wish.

Here is the link to the survey if you are interested:
https://bit.ly/42iIc6h

Thank you all!

Bondurant
Posts: 215
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:28 pm

by Bondurant

A couple of things:

- When you present a scale, it's helpful to label it.
- 30 questions is a lot of my time when you're not paying me.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



MarkMcM
Posts: 154
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:24 pm

by MarkMcM

This reads more like a quiz than survey. However, I'd like to point out that some of these are trick questions, and some of the supposed "correct" answers are actually not correct:
Question 10/30

"Tubeless tires are considered superior to clincher tires in terms of performance because they create less friction which improves rolling resistance."
Correct answer: True
Tire rolling resistance depends on the amount of sealant, or the type and thickness of the inner tube. Multiple tests have shown that standard clinchers with latex tubes have the same rolling resistance to tubeless tires with about 1 oz. of sealant. So a tubeless tire with excess sealant may actually have more more rolling resistance than the same tire with a latex tube.
Question 14/30

"A higher spoke tension improves power transfer and responsiveness."
Correct answer: True
The correct answer is False: increasing spoke tension does not improve power transfer or responsiveness (stiffness). In fact, increasing spoke tension may actually decrease stiffness, due to inducing a buckling action in the rim.
Question 20/30

"Carbon wheels provide better vibration damping compared to aluminum wheels."
Correct answer: True
Wheels of any kind (excluding the tire) have so little vibration damping that any difference between the damping properties of carbon and aluminum are meaningless. There have been tests in which the identities of wheels have been hidden from riders, and the riders have been unable to reliably distinguish between wheels with different rim materials and depths.
Question 21/30

"Carbon fiber wheels are generally more aerodynamic than aluminum wheels."
Correct answer: True
This is a bit of a trick question. Deeper rims are typically more aerodynamic than shallower rims, and it is easier to make deeper rims with carbon - but the material itself does not make wheels more or less aerodynamic. There are some aluminum wheels which are more aerodynamic than some carbon wheels.
Question 22/30

"A higher spoke tension increases the lateral stiffness of a bicycle wheel."
Correct answer: True
This is false. This has been specifically tested. One of the tests can be found here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/wheel_index.html
Question 30/30

"Tubeless tires are generally more puncture-resistant than clincher tires."
Correct answer: True
This is a trick question. Tubeless tires are no more resistant to punctures than tube-type tires. However, punctures can be self-sealing with tubeless tires so that one may continue riding without having to repair the tire.

User avatar
C36
Posts: 2471
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:24 am

by C36

Mentioned just above but indeed some responses appear erroneous.

And would add this one Image

It’s not air volume it’s casing tension (long story short surface aera that is fonction of max width). You could fill the “inside” of the tire, remove volume, it wouldn’t change anything.
Last edited by C36 on Tue Jun 06, 2023 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mathemagician
Posts: 64
Joined: Tue May 19, 2020 11:44 pm

by mathemagician


Won wrote:How much do you know about wheels?
More than you by the sound of these questions.

Sent from my CPH2207 using Tapatalk


MarkMcM
Posts: 154
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:24 pm

by MarkMcM

C36 wrote:
Tue Jun 06, 2023 9:54 pm
Mentioned just above but indeed some responses appear erroneous.

And would add this one Image

It’s not air volume it’s casing tension (long story short surface aera that is fonction of max width). You could fill the “inside” of the tire, remove volume, it wouldn’t change anything.
I had given this one a pass, but you're right, a tire is not simple air spring, and compliance is not a question of air volume. On the other hand, it could be argued that a higher volume tire (or rather, a larger cross-section tire) allows using lower pressure, which in turn results in lower casing tension, and therefore more tire compliance. In that way, you could say a larger cross-section tire can indirectly provide more tire compliance.

rudye9mr
Posts: 498
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 12:01 pm

by rudye9mr

Completed but quite a few questions about tyres rather than wheels

I feel you can have low spoke tension but plenty spokes to have a stiff wheel...within reason.

MarkMcM
Posts: 154
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 4:24 pm

by MarkMcM

rudye9mr wrote:
Tue Jun 06, 2023 10:13 pm

I feel you can have low spoke tension but plenty spokes to have a stiff wheel...within reason.
Yes. As long as tension is sufficient that the spokes don't slacken in use (completely lose tension) , then additional tension will not change wheel stiffness.

jlok
Posts: 2400
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:30 am

by jlok

I thought the OP would need to study the tubular thread and wheel building thread but it's about marketing, no wonder the questions are somewhat shallow.
Rikulau V9 DB Custom < BMC TM02 < Litespeed T1sl Disc < Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc 1 < Propel Adv < TCR Adv SL Disc < KTM Revelator Sky < CAAD 12 Disc < Domane S Disc < Alize < CAAD 10

ichobi
Posts: 1793
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:30 pm

by ichobi

I am more inclined to believe this is from some manufacturer that want to get free marketing data.

TLN
Posts: 630
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2017 4:50 pm

by TLN

I got 27/30, failed 3,4, and 10 mentioned above.

Not all questions are worded correctly IMHO, plus 30 is a bit too many.
His: Orbea Orca OMX
Hers: Cannondale Synapse HM Disc

chrisw91
Posts: 56
Joined: Mon Mar 30, 2020 5:58 pm

by chrisw91

Similar to other posters, I might suggest the OP invests in a good wheelbuilding course before revising some of this "quiz"...

UpFromOne
Posts: 1181
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:23 am
Location: Olympic Nat'l Park, WA

by UpFromOne

Marketer's search for new buzzwords, perhaps?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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