On Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:11:56 -0000, "Clive George"
<
[email protected]> wrote:
>As per subject. Elsewhere somebody is saying that a stiff rim with few
>spokes will give a harsher ride than a more flexible rim with lots of
>spokes.
>
>How true is this?
>
>(I'm guessing with pneumatic tyres any effect will be lost in the noise)
You're guessing right. The flexibility of the rim isn't that much of
an issue, anyway; the stiffness of the completed wheel assembly is
considerably higher than the stiffness of the rim itself. IME, what's
more important is the inflation pressure (and to a lesser extent, the
size and construction) of the tire.
For purposes of comparison, consider this:
I have a Rev-X rim that was on the front of one of my bikes. When i
got the bike, it had a 700c20 tire mounted; to describe the ride as
"excessively vibratory" when that tire was inflated to max pressure
would be glossing over it somewhat. If I ran over a cigarette butt, I
could not only tell if it was plain or filtered, but whether this was
the first time it had been compressed. Reducing the pressure slightly
just resulted in pinch flats, although it did reduce the vibration
transmission a bit. I swapped out to a 700c28 tire on the front (the
rear was a 700c25 to begin with) that ran at a lower pressure, and the
vibration level was reduced quite a bit. I then swapped to a 700c32,
and got a fairly well damped ride. After months of nervously riding
that expensive wheel, I pulled it off and installed a fairly light,
old, non-aero 36-spoke wheel. Just for grins, I decided to try out
the 700c20 tire that had come with the bike. The vibration level
returned to what it had been; awful. I swapped to the 32, and it was
back to being pleasant.
I doubt that any of the low-count wheels is any stiffer than the
Rev-X.
--
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