Carbon rims and spokes

BigG67
BigG67 Posts: 582
edited May 2010 in Road buying advice
I asked this in another thread, but to be fair it needs to sit alone.

Can anyone explain the relative benefits of the two different ways that spokes are finished on deep carbon wheels?

The first - as with Zipps - where the whole rim is structural and the spokes meet the rim at the inside edge. The second where the spokes go "through" the side/inside edge and meet the rim where they would if the wheel wasn't a deep section...as in Mavic Carbones.

Ta

Comments

  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,022
    I think the carbones are essentially a box section alloy rim with a non structural carbon aero fairing.

    Cons are weight.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    What you need to do is read the advertisements and visit the websites of both manufacturers. They will tell what great advantages and benefits their wheels have over every other brand. It may also have to do with the patent rights of either or both companies. If you're looking for some "revolutionary breakthrough" that will "propel you
    to the podium" I doubt that either of these wheels offer any such "benefit" over the other.
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,022
    You can re true structural carbon rims with exposed spoke nipples (e.g. Zipp, gigantex) more easily than on rims with hidden nipples
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Nah, you want the Mavics, because the rims fill with water and an already heavy wheel becomes even heavier....The 'carbon' bit with Cosmic is a bit of a misnomer, but 'Mavic Cosmic Couverture Plastique' doesn't quite sound right either.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • BigG67
    BigG67 Posts: 582
    dennisn wrote:
    What you need to do is read the advertisements and visit the websites of both manufacturers. They will tell what great advantages and benefits their wheels have over every other brand. It may also have to do with the patent rights of either or both companies. If you're looking for some "revolutionary breakthrough" that will "propel you
    to the podium" I doubt that either of these wheels offer any such "benefit" over the other.

    Friendly.... :roll: I only asked a fair question.
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    BigG67 wrote:
    dennisn wrote:
    What you need to do is read the advertisements and visit the websites of both manufacturers. They will tell what great advantages and benefits their wheels have over every other brand. It may also have to do with the patent rights of either or both companies. If you're looking for some "revolutionary breakthrough" that will "propel you
    to the podium" I doubt that either of these wheels offer any such "benefit" over the other.

    Friendly.... :roll: I only asked a fair question.

    Sorry if I offended. Only trying to say that, more than likely, only Zipp and Mavic wheel designers and engineers know the REAL reason behind why they do it that way. They tell us only what they think we want to hear and that involves coming up with a story(basically) about why the way they do it is the best way, when in fact it could be some sort of patent thing with the other companies that dictates how their wheels are built.
    In any case I'm sure both brands will more than likely be more or less equal in the long run
    and if one has some basic fault that the manufacturer didn't know about and it comes to light in wheel failures, well, then you'll know which is better.
  • BigG67
    BigG67 Posts: 582
    Sorry, I was knackered last night and a little touchy.

    Where I was coming from was that I'm trying to get past the "fluff" that the companies come up with and get to the real differences. I think that the shorter spokes on the structural rims make for a stiffer wheel but that could be bo%%ocks.

    I'd guess that the fairing style are cheaper to make as the carbon wouldn't need to be as strong and could be lighter??

    Anyone know what difference if any it makes?

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