Spoked vs Cast/ Mag wheels

[bmc5733946]

Just for giggles I've weighed the very nice MT 3.00 x 18 inch 1000S cast rear wheel I purchased to replace my splitting rear spoked 3.00 x 18 Mille GT wheel. The wheels were weighed complete with brake rotor but minus tire / tube, 24.80# against the original spoked rim, 21.82 :difference = +2.98#. My measuring instrument is a cheapie but I'll believe that. Now if the tube in a tube type tire weighs more than 2.98# it is a break even proposition. The smaller 2.15 x 18  Lester rear mag that I have is quite heavy at 19.08 without a brake rotor and bolts. I had heard it said that Guzzi cast wheels were punitivey heavy, I no longer believe that! The front may be a different matter. We'll see when the matching cast wheel arrives from Germany. These cast wheels are marked MT so are rated for tubeless use which I will prefer. About $600 to complete the conversion versus over $600 to replace the rims for the spoked wheels.

Brian

[Scout63]

Just for giggles I've weighed the very nice MT 3.00 x 18 inch 1000S cast rear wheel I purchased to replace my splitting rear spoked 3.00 x 18 Mille GT wheel. The wheels were weighed complete with brake rotor but minus tire / tube, 24.80# against the original spoked rim, 21.82 :difference = +2.98#. My measuring instrument is a cheapie but I'll believe that. Now if the tube in a tube type tire weighs more than 2.98# it is a break even proposition. The smaller 2.15 x 18  Lester rear mag that I have is quite heavy at 19.08 without a brake rotor and bolts. I had heard it said that Guzzi cast wheels were punitivey heavy, I no longer believe that! The front may be a different matter. We'll see when the matching cast wheel arrives from Germany. These cast wheels are marked MT so are rated for tubeless use which I will prefer. About $600 to complete the conversion versus over $600 to replace the rims for the spoked wheels.

Brian

I can’t imagine a pound or so would make a difference on a street bike Brian. More important to me would be looks and then cost.  I loved the Borranis for my G5 but stripping, blasting and spoke replacement was time consuming and pretty costly.  The Guzzi cast wheels seem like a great upgrade.

[lucky phil]

Just for giggles I've weighed the very nice MT 3.00 x 18 inch 1000S cast rear wheel I purchased to replace my splitting rear spoked 3.00 x 18 Mille GT wheel. The wheels were weighed complete with brake rotor but minus tire / tube, 24.80# against the original spoked rim, 21.82 :difference = +2.98#. My measuring instrument is a cheapie but I'll believe that. Now if the tube in a tube type tire weighs more than 2.98# it is a break even proposition. The smaller 2.15 x 18  Lester rear mag that I have is quite heavy at 19.08 without a brake rotor and bolts. I had heard it said that Guzzi cast wheels were punitivey heavy, I no longer believe that! The front may be a different matter. We'll see when the matching cast wheel arrives from Germany. These cast wheels are marked MT so are rated for tubeless use which I will prefer. About $600 to complete the conversion versus over $600 to replace the rims for the spoked wheels.

Brian

Depends what model Guzzi wheels you're talking about, V11 Sport wheels weigh a ton. Almost 3 pounds heavier is quite a lot probably around 2 when you add the weight of a tube. The other major consideration is not only the total weight difference but where the weight is carried on the wheel. If the heavier wheels weight is all carried at the rim then that 3 pounds will make a very significant difference to the way the bike performs dynamically as opposed to if its at the hub. That extra weight is also all unsprung weight as well so extra work for the suspension to do.

Ciao

[Huzo]

A few years ago I put spoked wheels on my Norge, replacing the standard cast ones.





They “look” lighter, but the difference is negligible.

[lucky phil]

A few years ago I put spoked wheels on my Norge, replacing the standard cast ones.





They “look” lighter, but the difference is negligible.

Do you run tubes on these wheels? The design looks conventional from the low res images. There is a fair amount of info on converting std spoke wheels to tubeless on the RE forums including the novel technique of cutting a normal tube circumferentially spreading it across the rim and it seating between the rim and the tyre bead and trimming the excess. I wouldn't do it but it seems to work. The other methodology is rim sealing tape.

Ciao   

[Huzo]

Do you run tubes on these wheels? The design looks conventional from the low res images. There is a fair amount of info on converting std spoke wheels to tubeless on the RE forums including the novel technique of cutting a normal tube circumferentially spreading it across the rim and it seating between the rim and the tyre bead and trimming the excess. I wouldn't do it but it seems to work. The other methodology is rim sealing tape.

Ciao

Tubeless since Jan 2016.
Fixed one leaking spoke nipple since that time.
Rmember they are blind nipples on the Bellagio which was the donor bike.

[lucky phil]

Tubeless since Jan 2016.
Fixed one leaking spoke nipple since that time.
Rmember they are blind nipples on the Bellagio which was the donor bike.

 

Ciao