Which depth and width?

[Abolive]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a set of carbon tubeless disc wheels to go with 28mm tires. I'm not a racer, my average speed is around 23/25 km/h.
Which depth and width would you recommend me? I'm looking at Farsport and Light Bicycles.

[TobinHatesYou]

Hello all,
I'm looking for a set of carbon tubeless disc wheels to go with 28mm tires. I'm not a racer, my average speed is around 23/25 km/h.
Which depth and width would you recommend me? I'm looking at Farsport and Light Bicycles.

Get all-rounders in the 40-50mm range unless you live somewhere very, very windy, then get 30-40mm deep wheels.

[choochoo46]

Your wheels will be more aero and behave better in cross winds if you get a outer rim width that is slightly wider than your tire's width (when mounted). So a 30mm or 32mm external width would mate well with a 28mm tire, depending which tire you get.

[bilwit]

Depends. Do you care about aesthetics? Generally matching the width of your downtube with the rim typically looks the cleanest to my eye, though some may have a taste for the overtly deep rim contrasting look. Is there a handling concern in the wind where you ride? Lighter riders can get tossed around with deeper offerings (60mm+) if you ride in areas that can be seriously windy on exposed roads.

Personally I thought the (old) R9100 Shimano 40/60 offering was a good standard. 40mm for all around or climbing, 60mm for the flat or fast days. light-bicycle only offers 45 or 65 though so I went with those. I have to say though that I've been using my 65mm's as the all arounder these days with the 45's only for rides with particularly a lot of elevation and steep sections. You even see pros these days riding 50-60mm rims in the high mountains (Simon Yates, Pinot, etc).

As for the width, do you want to ride with 28mm measured tire or simply just use 28mm branded tire? 28mm branded clinchers/tubeless will stretch out to be more in the ballpark of 30-31mm when mounted, in which case you want at least a 30mm wide rim to match it. For a measured 28mm ride, a 25mm clincher on a 28mm rim would be best, even some 23mm's depending on the brand/year.

[alcatraz]

35-38mm deep should suit you.

The challenge is to find something wide enough at that depth. Ideally you want something that matches your tire width.

[Abolive]

Hello all,

Sorry for this silence, I was not notified of your replies.
It can be windy Indeed around here.
I was more thinking a real 28mm.
I must admit being a bit vain, the aethetics matters a lot for me, and as there are supposed to be used on a Ritchey Road Logic, I tend to prefer shallow wheels. Hence one of my questions: is there any real davantage for me to go 35-45mm high given my speed is almost always under 30kph?

[alcatraz]

Structurally 35-38mm makes sense over lets say 30 or below. It performs very nicely at such a depth. It feels much more solid. It accelerates quicker and is generally more "fun to ride". The rims hold their shapes well and give you more freedom choosing spokes and spoke counts etc.

Even slower riders can benefit from a low depth aero rim. But that's not the main advantage as mentioned above.

Sure if you're a featherweight 50kg rider then 30 vs 38mm might be a moot point.

[Abolive]

Thank you, is it due to the extra rigidity ? On the other hand would a lighter rim not provide good acceleration and more flex/comfort?

[alcatraz]

Both a shallow and deeper rim benefits from a better material, but in a deeper rim the rim profile departs the "box shape" that we see in 20-30mm rims and approaches an oval.

Similarly to a pipe being stiffer the larger its diameter is, even if it doesn't become heavier. A thick walled 20mm rim is much flexier than a thinner walled 38mm rim. Just respect the max rider weight limits and don't go offroading on a road rim etc, to prevent it from buckling.

A 45mm deep ~27mm wide clincher can today be made in China at around 400gr for rim brake version. A 30mm deep rim can be made around 350gr. The 30mm rim would require heavier/more spokes to be comparable in feel to the 45mm rim. So the 100gr weight saving gets eaten up just to break even. Then there's the aero side of it.

A question worth asking, would you like a modern feeling wheelset? For some situations there may not be any need for it. Let's say it's a commuter or shopping bike.

[Hexsense]

Deep wheel almost always faster overall, in average of the whole ride. However, while shallower is slower overall, it's faster at the crucial moment, up hill attack in the race.

Not racing means you don't have a crucial attack moment uphill. Thus, weight is very little important.
In this case, deepest that you can handle in crosswind and as wide or a little wider than your tire.
In my mind, Light-Bicycle WR50 (50mm deep, 32mm wide) front and WR65 (65mm deep, 32mm wide) rear whould be perfect. The down side is that people JUDGE riders on deep wheel going slow... If you don't want to deal with the peer pressure then drop down to WR38 (38mm deep) front and WR50 rear works too.
Mind you, it's to not about you aren't fast enough to get benefit from deep wheel (which you are fast enough, even 15 km/h avg rider benefit more from more aero wheel than light wheel). It's about social acceptance.

[kytyree]

Thank you, is it due to the extra rigidity ? On the other hand would a lighter rim not provide good acceleration and more flex/comfort?

Using 28mm tires, both as measured and as listed you're not going to have issues with comfort. From 50mm deep 17 wide rim to 303's at 25mm internal, 28's are plenty comfortable run at appropriate pressures. If your roads are bumpier than mine you probably need a gravel bike.

Aerodynamics have already been mentioned. If you do much descending, or riding curvy roads you'll probably appreciate a bit wider rim and how it handles. It's subtle but my wider rims do feel really nice when it comes to turning, the tire has a better profile compared to a 28 on something like a Bora One clincher that's narrow compared to the newest stuff.

The modern wide rims running from around 30mm to 45mm of depth are quite good in cross winds. Not being blown around in crosswinds can be hard to appreciate but I still ride deeper narrower wheels on one of my bikes and it is noticeable going back and forth between wheels sets. I love my Bora One 50's but I don't take them out much anymore when it's really blowing around here, it's a much easier day on something shallower.

[Abolive]

Thank you for your reply.

[AJS914]

I must admit being a bit vain, the aethetics matters a lot for me, and as there are supposed to be used on a Ritchey Road Logic, I tend to prefer shallow wheels. Hence one of my questions: is there any real davantage for me to go 35-45mm high given my speed is almost always under 30kph?

If you aren't racing, trying to hold a wheel in a fast group ride, or going for Strava KOMs then the best wheels are probably the ones that look the best to you, fit your bike well, and fit your budget.

When looking at wider rims, make sure they will fit your bike. If you have a rim brake bike you could experience clearance issues if you go for a wide rim and a 28mm tire that baloons out to 30-32mm. If you have a disk brake frame, then you can probably go wider without an issue.

[Abolive]

I think you nailed it. The frame having small diameter tubes, I'd prefer low rims.
You confirm what I thought given my level of performance.

The LB R25 looks good to me. The inner width is 17.9mm. would it mate well with a 28mm tire (measured)?

[choochoo46]

The LB R25 has a 25mm outer width so when paired with a 28mm tire you'll get the lightbulb effect. So that combo won't be aero efficient and you'll get more more air detachment, so cross wind performance will also suffer.

I'd suggest instead the LB WR35 (32mm external, 25mmi internal). The wider rims will give you better crosswind stability, a wider contact patch for better cornering, and will also be more comfortable.