When having new wheels built, you have the option to use aluminium or carbon fiber rims. Here’s some info on carbon rims to help you decide on what’s best for you.
Carbon is becoming more and more popular as the quality of the rims improves and prices become less insane. The most popular carbon rims I offer are from the following local and international manufacturers:
- South Industries
These are locally made, by hand, in Cape Town. The quality and finish is superb and the after-sales support we get from the guys at South is incredible. South Industries only offer mountain bike rims.
They make XC-spec rims for 29ers and Enduro-spec rims in 29″ and 27.5″ sizes.
The rims are generally available within a week from date of order and you have a choice of white or stealth back graphics, or if you’re willing to wait and pay a bit more, you can choose almost any colour. - Nextie
These rims are made to order in China, and I import them on demand – according to your choice of wheel size, spoke count, rim width and graphics colour.
Nextie make road, gravel and mountain bike rims for all riding applications.
The Nextie rims take between 3 & 6 weeks to reach us in South Africa, as they’re literally made to order. If you choose not to have graphics on the rims, they ship sooner. Rims made with your choice of graphics take a little longer, but you get something truly unique.
The pros and cons of carbon rims
The pros of using carbon rims are lighter weight, improved aerodynamics and great aesthetics.
For example: a popular size of tubeless-ready 29er cross-country mountain bike rims with a 25mm internal width in alloy will weigh anything between 430g and 510g each, while an equivalent carbon rim will weigh between 300g and 375g each. That’s a rotating weight saving of up to 400g per wheel set, which is a lot.
For road cycling, aero rims made from metal are MUCH heavier than carbon, making carbon a much better choice for aero wheels.
The cons of carbon rims include the higher purchase price and the risk of damage due to hard impacts. (That said, if an impact is hard enough to break a carbon rim, it will DESTROY an alloy one.)
Most manufacturers understand this and offer excellent crash replacement policies.
Concerned about durability of carbon?
Finally, to see how strong some carbon wheels are, watch this video.
