Carbon Fibre wheels....are they worth it?

NovaCoder · Post by **NovaCoder** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:15 am

Anyone have any first-hand or even second-hand knowledge of upgrading the standard wheels (of a late model sports bike) to carbon fibre Dymags?

I've done some research on the subject and it's all a bit confusing. Some people say that they are the best thing since sliced bread and help the bike's turn-in rate while others say that the decreases in un-sprung weight makes for an unstable road-bike?

Yours in confusion,
NovaCoder

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 10:59 am

For the race track - maybe, for the street, especially crappy Australian roads - NO.

Carbon fibre is BRITTLE. It has high tensile strength, looks cool, weighs very little, but would fracture quite quickly if subjected to uneven road surfaces, pot holes etc.

I am not sure you'd get ADR on cf wheels at any rate for just that reason...

But for the track, then it would reduce the inertia of the wheels, which might give some speed/acceleration advantage, but yes, you'd lose some of the stability that comes with having two big fly wheels under the bike.

balanse · Post by **balanse** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:56 am

CF on the street is a waste of money. Sport bike turn in is already way overkill for street riding and unsprung weight, pfft.

Wank factor 8/10.

I can just imagine the boys at the tyre changing shop taking *due care* with a CF wheel too

Just use the wheels it came with and have a holiday with the money.

Post by **Wattie** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:25 pm

if your name appears on the Moto GP starters list, go for it.
if not, i wouldnt bother.
zx10 wheels are light enuff, use something like that

Johnnie5 · Post by **Johnnie5** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:42 pm

as mentioned , they are brittle

they have alimited life span before they crack

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:06 pm

yea no wheelies or stoppies with em on.....no potholes....and no money....

i got quoted abt $3-4k a set..fark theres 1/3 the cost of a new bike...

ZZRCHIKKY · Post by **ZZRCHIKKY** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:12 pm

carbon fiber rims are illegal !

and u would NEVA be able to insure them !!!

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:23 pm

ZZRCHIKKY wrote:carbon fiber rims are illegal !

That's what I would have thought. And if they're not legal there is probably a good reason.

If anyone cares why I think I know something about cf, resins, etc...it is because I used to work for Fibre Composite Design and Development, a research/commercial wing of USQ.

For a time I made material samples and tested them on their MTS TestStar dynamic load hydraulic test rig...I got paid to make beautiful samples of resins and layups, then destroy them

ZZRCHIKKY · Post by **ZZRCHIKKY** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:26 pm

sounds as high tech as nassa

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:28 pm

Almost!

photomike666 · Post by **photomike666** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:02 am

The cheaper alternative is Die Cast Magnesium (Dimags), reduces unsprung weight for better direction change, much stronger than CF and legal as far as I know.

A pair should set you back $1500-2000, but only worth it is your highly skilled and concerned with shaving 10ths of your lap time.

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:18 am

photomike666 wrote:The cheaper alternative is Die Cast Magnesium (Dimags), reduces unsprung weight for better direction change, much stronger than CF and legal as far as I know.

A pair should set you back $1500-2000, but only worth it is your highly skilled and concerned with shaving 10ths of your lap time.

mate would it make me 3 sec quicker per trip to the local cafe??

Gosling1 · Post by **Gosling1** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:11 pm

Neka79 wrote:...mate would it make me 3 sec quicker per trip to the local cafe??

if you stopped looking in the mirror so much, you would be 33 sec. per trip quicker......

Marchesini rims are the go for light wheels, but they are a WOFTAM for a road bike. Unless of course you have a *Show* bike and not a *Go* bike, in which case the c/f wheels would look pretty good. Big bikkies !!

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:13 pm

Gosling1 wrote:
Neka79 wrote:...mate would it make me 3 sec quicker per trip to the local cafe??
if you stopped looking in the mirror so much, you would be 33 sec. per trip quicker......

but if im not gunna enjoy the trip why bother going??