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Camping Critters and What To Do About Them
AH! The great outdoors, fresh air, sunshine, open spaces, critters. Yes critters…you know those uninvited little guests that can turn a fun camping trip into a less than pleasant experience. But despair not; with a little common sense and a few ...
The Core: Unleash Your Inner Caveman
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Tips on Riding a Narrow Trail
A narrow trail or single-track is one that is just wide enough for one biker a time. Since the trail is narrow, you might not have any option about where to go! You would also need to prevent the hitting of your pedals with the sides of the trail. Here ...
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The first bicycle wheels were from a horse drawn cart, made of wood with a metal band round the bicycle rim, very hard and very uncomfortable to ride. Then a man called Dunlop (Scottish) invented the pneumatic tire, this along with Macadam (another Scot) inventing the tar road surface made cycling a lot more comfortable.
The bicycle rim, like the bicycle frame hasn't changed much in design, its still round and always will be. From the first wooden rims the next were made of steel, then alloy and now if you can afford it, carbon. Of all bicycle parts the bicycle rim can make a big difference to how your bike handles. First the weight of your rim affects your sprinting and climbing as the weight will low you down, for a long, flat effort the weight isn't so important as when you get the wheels rolling the weight can help to keep them going. The shape of the rim can be important also, a flat rim is best for climbing as aerodynamics are not so important on a hill, a deep section, aero, rim will help you cut through the air, but in a cross wind could cause you handling problems.
Bicycle Rims Materials
The different materials used for rims are very important also, steel is heavy and if damaged can be difficult to pull back into shape, but because its so strong it is quite difficult to bend in the first place and steel is cheaper than all the other materials. Alloy is probably the most popular rim, it can be made in any shape and profile, flat or aero, but not too deep as it would then weigh too much, most deep section rims are of a alloy braking section nearest the tire which is then mounted to a carbon deep section for lightness and aerodynamics and a very beautiful looking bicycle rim. As with most things if money is no problem you can go for the best, this would be an all carbon rim, strong and very light, but there are a few problems with these rims, first they don't brake so well in wet conditions and you must use special brake blocks for carbon and they can be
expensive, also the rim has to be perfectly round and not have any bulges in the rim wall as this will make braking quite erratic, carbon is a difficult material to work with and must be well looked after.
Types Of Rim To Consider
There are also two types of rim to consider and this depends on which kind of tire you want to use, first there are tubular tires these are glued on to the bicycle rim, cost more and are difficult to repair after a puncture, but for racing they feel and ride wonderfully. Clincher tires have improved a lot recently and are nearly as good as tubulars for performance and are easily repairable and more reasonably priced. Most manufacturers make all styles in both systems.
So which should I buy? Not an easy answer, as there is so much to choose from, years ago you went to your local bike shop, picked out which hubs, spokes and rims you wanted and he would build your wheels, but now most rim makers also manufacture there own wheel sets, Mavic, Shimano and Campagnolo are probably the best known, check out there web-sites for all there new goodies, there are other brands and if you go to your local cycle shop or look in the bike magazines you'll find them. There is a lot to choose form, but they are all round.
About The Author:
Alastair Hamilton writes regularly technical articles on road and mountain bikes to some online bike magazines. Find interesting reviews on bicycle wheels at http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/bike-parts/bicycle-wheels.html and about rims, to move the wheels at http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/bike-parts/bicycle-rims.html
Copyright Alastair Hamilton - http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com/bike-parts/bicycle-rims.html
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