The advent of alloy wheels prompted many mountain-bike riders to replace traditional steel wheels to experience the advantages of lighter weight on the trail. The development of modern alloy wheels coincided with frame-and-suspension designs that further reduced the weight of bikes. While frames and suspension are important, the type of wheels on your mountain bike is key to your bike's performance and maintenance.
Construction Design
Inexperienced riders and consumers often think of wheels in terms of the rim alone.
In fact, mountain-bike wheels are composed of the tire, the rim, the spokes and the hub. The rims provide mounts for tires. The hubs provide mounts for spokes, and the spokes suspend the rims around the hubs. Regardless of the width and depth of the rim or the configuration of the spokes, alloy wheels are consistent in terms of construction design. The only steel parts used in the construction of alloy wheels are the spoke nuts that connect wire spokes to the rim.
Advantages
Possibly the most sought-after advantage of alloy wheels is the adaptation of clincher and tubular mountain bike tires. Modern-tire construction consists a steel-reinforced bead that provides a stable mount on thinner and lighter alloy rims. In addition to the advantage of tire adaptation, alloy wheels resist rust and corrosion that plague steel wheels. A rider can maintain a set of alloy wheels by washing them with mild soap and water and allowing the wheels to dry without concern for oxidation, rust or corrosion.
Repairs
Alloy wheels are both tough and resilient in mountain conditions. With a set of modern clincher or tubular tires, the wheels stand up to most bumps and landings off of moderate jumps. Impacts with large rocks and hard landings can damage any mountain-bike rim and affect alignment, causing the wheel to track incorrectly and rim brakes to operate inefficiently. Unlike steel rims that are hammered back into shape, the resilience of alloy significantly reduces repair and alignment. A wheel builder mounts the damaged wheel on a truing stand and tightens particular spokes to eliminate dents. A special gauge is used to align the wheel by precise tension of the spokes using a spoke wrench and a spoke-tension meter. A good wheel builder can true and align an alloy wheel in less than an hour.
Efficiency and Reliability
Overall, you can expect alloy wheels to perform consistently and provide the advantages of lightweight handling. With the exception of damage repairs, periodic maintenance ensures the reliability of alloy wheels on your mountain bike. Typical maintenance consists of lubricating the wheel bearings after riding in wet conditions and checking the spoke tension after riding in excessively rough terrain.
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