I noticed most street motorcycles have solid alloy wheels, while offroad motorcycles have laced, or spoked wheels. Why is that?
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I noticed most street motorcycles have solid alloy wheels, while offroad motorcycles have laced, or spoked wheels. Why is that?
I am not sure but I remember a mate who did trials saying that spokes under tension are very strong because they pull the rim in towards the middle but still allow flexing in more than one plane so whereas mags may be lighter depending on the materials, sometimes even stronger, they are more rigid; thus I guess the flex of spokes suits the forces the wheels get under dirt-bike style riding (jumps and fast bumpy courses) as against fast hardtop racing?
Also I think spoked wheels are cheaper and easier to repair. If you damage a cast wheel, you pretty much have to replace it. Much easier to use a wrench or pliers for trueing or carry some spare spokes than it is to carry a whole extra wheel into the hills.
CC
Post-winter UK potholes aside, moto bikes are made to cope with harsher and more regular impacts than street bikes. Alloy wheels are generally more brittle than spoked wheels and so are more susceptible to fracture. Spoked wheels, as CC says, are more readily repaired. Handy if you’re in the middle of nowhere and forgot to take the MIG welder with you. :naughty:Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyCarl
That is not to say an alloy wheel cannot be produced to take a moto bashing, but the cost of such is eyewatering. Money better spent down the pub, what. :icon10:
From my mountain biking days, there were some solid wheels about, but they were found not to last on the terrain mountain bikes cover, hard impacts that blew out tyres tended to sometimes crack the wheels, and pre suspension bike days, spoked wheels were more comfortable.. Also with spoked wheels there is something about forces in the design, stored energy and such that actually helps a wheel to get moving from stationary. Thinking about it, the initial turning force via the sprocket moves the hub first before the energy transmitted via the spokes snatches the wheel into motion. The spokes could also act in equalising the forces from the terrain and the drive.
A pal asked why my bike has no cushion drive, I said I have not seen many off road inspired bikes with it, I guess, because cushion drive is more about a soft pull away from stationary. A wheel on slippy stuff needs all the energy it can get, to get moving, cushion drive I suppose would rob that power.
What Carl said. Plus spokes look way sweet.
How do you dig up these old posts. Heh, looking back I can see I had a lot to learn. Thanks for the reminder.Quote:
Originally Posted by GRF_Hans
here i thought this was a post on preference :confused1:, well I prefer spoked wheels they just look cooler on a bike .
there I said it and now back to your original programming :thumbsup:
iv found out that its more expensive to produce high quality spoked wheels these are specifically for offroad bikes that need the strength as allots are actually worse for taking impacts the bmw GS650 is now only with cast wheels as this savves costs this is only as its a dual sport not a full on enduro bike
I agree with what everyone has said but it also got me thinking, I never really considered it and I'm not really sure, but I also think that spoked wheels bear more weight toward the hub of the wheel. That would not technically be unsprung weight but just as if you swing a baseball bat backwards it is much easier because the weight is closer to the axis, in this case a persons shoulders and in the case of a wheel the axle, of course.
Spoke wheels can flex and somewhat conform to hard impacts.Solid allow wheels are rigid and prone to fracture on hard impacts.