I watched a video posted by the famed level-five vegan cyclist, DurianRider on YouTube in which he casually stated that alloy wheels are just as good as carbon, better actually… and that carbon wheels don’t make you faster. He went on to claim that a non-aero shallow-section wheel isn’t going to hold you back that much, all the while coming at it from the angle that “the industry” is trying to pull a marketing scam on unsuspecting cyclists by claiming carbon wheels are “better”… or something.
There’s a lot of crazy to unpack.
The funny thing about DurianRider’s videos is he often takes the least defensible position… and dies on that hill. He does lay out the crazy in an Australian accent, though. He’s got that going for him.
But, in true nutter fashion, he’s not all wrong. My wife’s got a set of Campognolo Eurus wheels on her 18-ish pound steel Assenmacher that will roll forever. They’re astonishingly light and the freest spinning wheels I’ve ever encountered. There’s no doubt they’re an excellent case in point for the aforementioned Durian. On the other hand, my Ican 50-mm carbon clinchers are absolutely badass above 20-mph. I’ve ridden the exact same bike with a deep carbon rim and shallow alloy rim and there’s no question the carbon wheels are faster.
Against a decent set of shallow-section alloy wheels, I’d take the carbon set every time. The carbon wheels, pound for pound, will be deeper (and therefore faster), than the alloy wheels. Now, can you score a good deal on some decent alloy wheels? Absolutely.
What a long way that bike has come from the early days! I bought those Vuelta Corsa wheels on Nashbar for $350 out the door.
NOW, just to throw a monkey in the wrench, this discussion hits a snag when we start talking about our tandem wheels, by Rolf. They’re no 50s, but they’re light (1,600 grams for the set), aero, badass and alloy. I see no reason to trade up for carbon. None. Those wheels are bomb proof and utterly badass.
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