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On a road bike, the first item for improvement often involves the wheels. But there's a lot to choose from so here's a quick guide to understanding how to choose your road bike wheels without going wrong based on a few important criteria.
Why change the wheels on your bike?
The wheels mounted on a new bike are often very basic and heavy. So, when you want to upgrade your bike, you'll need to change them to dramatically improve the weight and performance of your bike.
Which wheels for which practice?
Depending on whether you ride your bike recreationally or competitively, your choice will not be the same type of wheels. Ditto, depending on whether you train in a very flat, hilly or mountainous area, you won't need the same type of wheels:
- you're training on roads with little gradient, you may want to look at wheels with high rims (greater than 50mm), but watch out for side winds that could blow you off the road.
- If your training grounds are hilly, you'll want to go with aerodynamic wheels, i.e., with medium profile rims (between 30 and 50mm).
- If you ride in the mountains, you will have to favor wheels with low rims (less than 30mm) and with few spokes to gain weight and relieve you a little in the climbs.
If you are a competitor, you may need to invest in several wheel profiles depending on the races you are used to take part in in order to be able to cope with all situations.
If your practice is more leisure oriented, rather than weight gain, what you will be looking for is versatility to deal with all geographical situations and strength.
Choosing your wheels based on the braking system
Depending on the braking system (disc brakes or rim brakes) installed on your bike, you will not be able to buy the same wheels. This is because the wheels are not compatible with both braking systems.
Since most bikes sold new now come with disc brakes, wheels that accommodate brake pads are becoming increasingly rare, especially when you want to go for high-end wheels.
What tires to choose for your wheels
When choosing your wheelset, you'll also want to consider the type of tires you want to install on it.
Indeed, wheels cannot accept both tubed, tubeless, and boyed tires, although many wheel models, with the tubeless ready designation, are now compatible with both tubed and tubeless tires.
Aluminum wheels or carbon wheels?
The choice between aluminum wheels or carbon wheels will depend on your practice...but also on your budget. Indeed, carbon wheels are lighter, but above all much more expensive than aluminum wheels.
Aluminum wheels are available on entry-level to mid-range models. Carbon wheels are generally reserved for high-end models.
If you have a seasoned or competitive cycling profile, investing in carbon wheels will allow you to gain weight, and performance through increased responsiveness.
If you're looking for a pair of all-purpose wheels or for a more leisure-oriented practice, choosing aluminum wheels will be more consistent.
How much should you budget for a wheelset?
The price of a road bike wheelset ranges from 200€ to over 3000€. In between, there is a wide choice, the materials change and these different wheels are not for the same use.
For less than 600€, you can find versatile aluminum wheels, which are already lighter than those originally fitted to a new bike.
To start significantly saving weight on your bike and get below 1500 grams per pair, you'll need to count at least between 500 and 1000 euros. In these prices, you can start to find the first models of carbon wheels.
Above 1000€, you will have access to a large choice of carbon wheels, especially with aerodynamic or very light profiles intended for the mountain.
With this guide, you now have all the elements in hand to change your road bike wheels. All that's left is to choose the ones that best suit your cycling profile.
