I'm dragging this back up, I'm curious about the Snowshoe downhill race and Thibaut Daprela's wheel. It seems pretty clear that the wheels at that race were getting abused, the rock gardens had to be brutal. That said, that wheel just exploded, and Thibault basically lost a shot at the series title.
What was interesting to me though were the Red Bull announcers comments during the NEXT race, where they mentioned that an aluminum rim would not survive the course at all. That didn't sound right to me - - out of the entire field of people racing there, including privateers, no one was on aluminum rims?! I can't help but wonder if pressure was put on the announcing staff to make those carbon rim claims.
I've seen a LOT of trashed aluminum rims, but they usually arrive on bikes that are rolled in, not carried. Lots of spoke nipple pull-through at the rim, and of course a lot of rim dents and flat spots. The pull-throughs are usually trash, but dents and flat spots can survive for a while with a little work, and maybe some tolerance for wheels not being perfectly true.
I can understand that the use of more carbon makes a stronger rim weight-to-weight than an aluminum one, but at the highest level when championships (and money?) are on the line - would something that fails more slowly and shows it's damage be a better choice than something that just shatters?
Sept. 21, 2021, 6:26 a.m. - benfour
I'm dragging this back up, I'm curious about the Snowshoe downhill race and Thibaut Daprela's wheel. It seems pretty clear that the wheels at that race were getting abused, the rock gardens had to be brutal. That said, that wheel just exploded, and Thibault basically lost a shot at the series title. What was interesting to me though were the Red Bull announcers comments during the NEXT race, where they mentioned that an aluminum rim would not survive the course at all. That didn't sound right to me - - out of the entire field of people racing there, including privateers, no one was on aluminum rims?! I can't help but wonder if pressure was put on the announcing staff to make those carbon rim claims. I've seen a LOT of trashed aluminum rims, but they usually arrive on bikes that are rolled in, not carried. Lots of spoke nipple pull-through at the rim, and of course a lot of rim dents and flat spots. The pull-throughs are usually trash, but dents and flat spots can survive for a while with a little work, and maybe some tolerance for wheels not being perfectly true. I can understand that the use of more carbon makes a stronger rim weight-to-weight than an aluminum one, but at the highest level when championships (and money?) are on the line - would something that fails more slowly and shows it's damage be a better choice than something that just shatters?