Cam, the radial deflection for any bicycle wheel, carbon or not, is essentially nil because the spokes bear the load, not the rim. The rim makes no significant contribution to vertical compliance until the spokes are slack, which should occur very, very rarely with a well-built, highly-tensioned wheel. From an engineering perspective, the only benefit of a compliant rim is that it won't crack as easily in this scenario. I've yet to see a coherent explanation for perceived ride quality benefits the rest of the time.
July 12, 2017, 8:29 p.m. - Alex D
Cam, the radial deflection for any bicycle wheel, carbon or not, is essentially nil because the spokes bear the load, not the rim. The rim makes no significant contribution to vertical compliance until the spokes are slack, which should occur very, very rarely with a well-built, highly-tensioned wheel. From an engineering perspective, the only benefit of a compliant rim is that it won't crack as easily in this scenario. I've yet to see a coherent explanation for perceived ride quality benefits the rest of the time.