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I have collected data on more than 400 road bike wheelsets from leading and less-known manufacturers to find the answer to the following question:
How much do road bike wheels weigh?
KEY TAKEAWAY
Road bike wheels weigh between 1000 and 2000g (with a few exceptions). Their weight depends on the rim material, brake type, hubs, spokes, etc. Good carbon wheels (rim depth of around 45mm) should weigh between 1300 and 1699g. About 75% of the wheelsets from my dataset fell into this weight range.
Continue reading to see visualized data of the weights of road bike wheels depending on their depth, material, type, weight distributions, the lightest road bike wheels, and more.
IMPORTANT NOTES
- This research includes wheelsets from the following brands: Black Inc, Bontrager, Cadex, Campagnolo, Corima, DT Swiss, ENVE, Easton, FFWD, FLO, Fulcrum, Giant, HUNT, Hayes, ICAN, Lightweight, Mavic, Mercury Wheels, Roval, Trifox, Vision, Winspace (Lún), YOELEO, and ZIPP.
- Weights and other technical details were taken from each product’s official website.
- Components like hubs and spokes also influence the overall weight, but to keep things simple, I didn’t take multiple variants into account.
- Data were collected in November 2021.
Wheelsets Data Info
Below, you will learn more about the road bike wheelsets I summarized.
Types of Wheelsets
I categorized the wheelsets depending on their type:
- Clincher
- Tubeless
- Tubular
The following chart shows their percentage representation in my datasheet.
Tubeless wheelsets dominate the market. Almost 70% of road bike wheelsets are tubeless-ready. Only 17% are ‘just’ clincher (not tubeless-ready), and 15% are tubular.
Rim Material
This chart details the material of the rims. Most are made from carbon (83%), and the rest are from aluminum (17%).
You learn more about how the material affects weight later in this article.
Brake Type
The type of brake wheels are designed for may also influence their weight. The following chart shows the percentage of wheelsets for rim and disc brakes.
In my road bikes statistics I proved that rim brake road bikes are in the minority. Therefore is no surprise that the offer of the rim brake wheelsets is also smaller (42.5%) than the offer of disc brake wheelsets (57.5%).
TIP: Browse the best road bike wheels from low-end to high-end.
Weight of Road Bike Wheels
The following chart shows the average weight of the wheelsets depending on the rim depth.
Due to the large volume of rim depths, I created intervals to compare the weights of wheelsets with different rim depths:
- 20-29mm
- 30-39mm
- 40-49mm
- 50-59mm
- 60-69mm
- 70-79mm
- 80-89mm
This categorization also allowed me to estimate how the weight of the wheelsets changes depending on the rim depth. Every 10mm of rim depth adds roughly 30 to 160g.
Please remember that I included only carbon road bike wheelsets and excluded wheelsets with two different rim depths (e.g., 65mm front and 75mm rear).
(Carbon) Road Bike Wheels Weight Distribution
To visualize the distribution of carbon road bike wheelsets’ weight depending on their rim depth, I created multiple intervals:
- 900-1099g
- 1100-1299g
- 1300-1499g
- 1500-1699g
- 1700-1899g
- 1900-2099g
The result reminds me of the Gaussian distribution. The majority (about 75%) of carbon wheels weigh between 1300 and 1699g.
Weight Depending on Wheel Type
As you probably guessed, tubular wheelsets are the lightest. This is because of the savings on the material (tubular wheels have no sidewalls).
Tubular wheels are about 15% lighter on average than clincher and tubeless-ready wheels. Tubeless and clincher wheels weigh more or less the same on average.
Weight Depending on Rim Material
Although aluminum road bike wheels are mostly shallow (they have a rim depth below 35mm), their average weight is higher than the average weight of carbon wheels (their rim depth varies between 20 to 88mm).
See the following chart.
What is a good weight for road bike wheels?
Based on the data above, a ‘good weight’ for road bike wheels is below the average of 1650g or less for aluminum road bike wheels and below the average of 1510g for carbon road bike wheels.
However, if we define ‘good weight’ depending on your riding style and the terrain you ride in the most, these numbers will vary (learn more).
Weight Depending on Brake Type
The brake type also influences the weight of the wheelset. For example, disc brake wheelsets are heavier by about 3% than rim brake wheels. This is a difference of about 40g.
The following chart combines the brake type with rim depth. The empty space in the 70-79mm interval is caused by no samples of rim brake wheelsets in this interval.
You might also be interested in these budget road bike wheels.
Summary
I hope you enjoyed reading these stats as I did when making them.
The key takeaway of my research is that about 75% of road bike wheels from my data set of more than 400 wheels weigh between 1300 and 1699g.
Their weight is mainly influenced by the material, rim depth, spokes, and hubs.
Please share these road bike wheels’ weight statistics or comment below.
Road Bike Wheels Weight FAQ
Sources
blackinc.cc
cadex-cycling.com
campagnolo.com
corima.com
dtswiss.com
eastoncycling.com
enve.com
ffwdwheels.com
flocycling.com
fulcrumwheels.com
giant-bicycles.com
hayesbicycle.com
huntbikewheels.com
icancycling.com
lightweight.info
mavic.com
mercurycycling.com
rovalcomponents.com
sram.com
trekbikes.com
trifoxbike.com
visiontechusa.com
winspace.cc
yoeleobike.com
Browse Other Cycling Statistics
I am currently riding an aluminum bike and consider upgrading its wheels. What are the differences between aluminum, $500 carbon, $1000, and, let’s say, $3000 carbon wheels?
Hi, Robert,
I also started riding in a group on an aluminum bike. I had good fitness so I could keep up. However the best immidiate upgrade to improve speed is to buy carbon wheels. They make a huge difference, especially on the flats and at higher speeds. You don’t have to spend $$$$ on a new road bike. Their weight is important, but not so much unless you’re just riding uphill. You can read my article on average cycling speed where I explain this further.
I have the most experience with wheels within $2000. And yes, you will probably notice more difference between $500 and $1000 wheels than between $1000 wheels and $2000 wheels. However, the differences are often marginal. I recommend checking my article on the best Chinese carbon wheels where you find plenty of affordable, yet quality wheelsets.
I hope it helps.
– Petr