detour Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 i am looking at buying a g.s.and doing some light adventure touring and have found a decent deal on a 05 with cast wheels.i would like to hear some feedback on the pros and cons of cast vs. spoke to see if i have overlooked anything.i dont plan on major offroading but plenty of gravel roads and semi lightweight off the beaten path rides with due diligence. Link to comment
Ken H. Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 gravel roads and semi lightweight off the beaten path rides with due diligence. For that level of stuff I think the cast ones will be fine. Link to comment
Firefight911 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 gravel roads and semi lightweight off the beaten path rides with due diligence. For that level of stuff I think the cast ones will be fine. I agree with Ken. You'll be fine with what you describe. As soon as you start throwing in some hard edged pot holes and bigger than baseball sized rocks I'd start looking for a set of spoked rims. Link to comment
10ovr Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Spoked Wheels, Buy The Best,Cry Once !!!!!! Link to comment
velomoto Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Spoked Wheels, Buy The Best,Cry Once !!!!!! What is it that makes spoked wheels better for off road? Link to comment
10ovr Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Ive seen 3 cast wheels crack after hitting a pot hole,,One the cast spoke broke right through the rim,,No make that 4,A guy at the last Torrey broke the front rim,, Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Spoked Wheels, Buy The Best,Cry Once !!!!!! What is it that makes spoked wheels better for off road? Cast wheels have loads concentrated at 3 or 5 points, where the spokes mate with the rim, and long spans in between subject to large bending loads. Wire-spoke wheels have the support very evenly distributed along the perimeter of the rim by dozens of spokes. I expect there's probably more to it than that due to the fact that a wire-spoke wheel has all of its spokes under constant tension, and (as a result) the rim itself under constant compression. The short, sweet version is that they're stronger. Link to comment
KDeline Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The short, sweet version is that they're stronger. But you just couldn't say that could you........ Link to comment
John Bentall Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The short, sweet version is that they're stronger. But you just couldn't say that could you........ Of course he could. But Mitch has been around long enough to know that the next post will be "Why?....I know a guy who broke a spoked wheel.....etc, etc," Link to comment
RichEdwards Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 As well as being stronger, the spoked wheels say GS! Link to comment
tallman Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Ive seen 3 cast wheels crack after hitting a pot hole,,One the cast spoke broke right through the rim,,No make that 4,A guy at the last Torrey broke the front rim,, Only relevant if a similarly loaded GS w/spokes hit the same hole, same speed, rider weight, load, etc.. and didn't have an issue. FWIW we've not seen a single issue w/cast wheels. We have seen 3 spoked wheels that went out of true and are bears to get back right. (think time and $$$) In Phytheosircys the spokes ARE stronger. Most would recommend spokes. Depending on the type of riding... I've seen more than one 1200 GS w>100k and cast wheels, no issues. YMMV Link to comment
Ken H. Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We have seen 3 spoked wheels that went out of true and are bears to get back right. (think time and $$$)And of course that's another good point; spokes require maintenance, cast wheels don't. Link to comment
Heywood Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Actually both of the wheel types you're refering to are "spoke wheels". The correct term for the wire spoked wheels would be "laced". Link to comment
DaveC Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Cast wheels have loads concentrated at 3 or 5 points, where the spokes mate with the rim, and long spans in between subject to large bending loads. Wire-spoke wheels have the support very evenly distributed along the perimeter of the rim by dozens of spokes. I expect there's probably more to it than that due to the fact that a wire-spoke wheel has all of its spokes under constant tension, and (as a result) the rim itself under constant compression. The short, sweet version is that they're stronger. I would also add; spoked wheels typically use steel rims. Steel is stronger than aluminum and can tolerate more impacts without cracking. As with any design choice, there are pro's and cons to each choice. For your type of riding however, I think cast wheels would be fine, unless you ride in an area with a lot of bad pot holes. Steel wheels with spokes are much stronger, but are heavier than cast wheels. It is also easier to deal with flat tires on a cast wheel as there is no tube, and many times you can fix it with a plug along side the road. Link to comment
JR356 Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I would also add; spoked wheels typically use steel rims. Steel is stronger than aluminum and can tolerate more impacts without cracking. As with any design choice, there are pro's and cons to each choice. For your type of riding however, I think cast wheels would be fine, unless you ride in an area with a lot of bad pot holes. Steel wheels with spokes are much stronger, but are heavier than cast wheels. It is also easier to deal with flat tires on a cast wheel as there is no tube, and many times you can fix it with a plug along side the road. This is not true with BMW and formerly a lot of high end sportscars(think Ferrari) all use an aluminum alloy rim,not steel. In addition BMW designed their most recent "wire "wheels as a tubeless design,changing tires and any repairs are just as easy as any regular wheel. JR356 Link to comment
tallman Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I would also add; spoked wheels typically use steel rims. Steel is stronger than aluminum and can tolerate more impacts without cracking. As with any design choice, there are pro's and cons to each choice. For your type of riding however, I think cast wheels would be fine, unless you ride in an area with a lot of bad pot holes. Steel wheels with spokes are much stronger, but are heavier than cast wheels. It is also easier to deal with flat tires on a cast wheel as there is no tube, and many times you can fix it with a plug along side the road. This is not true with BMW and formerly a lot of high end sportscars(think Ferrari) all use an aluminum alloy rim,not steel. In addition BMW designed their most recent "wire "wheels as a tubeless design,changing tires and any repairs are just as easy as any regular wheel. JR356 Exactly, and this may, or may not, contribute to wheel trueness, or lack thereof. Wire spokes w/tubeless are nice and convenient, and the best choice, unless... Link to comment
detour Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 thanks to everone who responded and now i am even more unsure what i want to do.like i said i am going to be doing what i consider light weight adventure but i am also planning on includung the alcan highway in the trip which i have been down in a car but not bike and from what i understand it is hit and miss condition wise.also has anyone got any input on the collapsible vario panniers,thats what this bike comes with that i am looking at. Link to comment
JR356 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 thanks to everone who responded and now i am even more unsure what i want to do.like i said i am going to be doing what i consider light weight adventure but i am also planning on includung the alcan highway in the trip which i have been down in a car but not bike and from what i understand it is hit and miss condition wise.also has anyone got any input on the collapsible vario panniers,thats what this bike comes with that i am looking at. Since the Alcan is done by any number of bikes,including Harleys,you will be fine on your GS,no matter what wheels. The vario panniers have one big issue,if you go down and the mounts get broken,there is no easy field repair to allow continued use of the bag. Best bets are Jesse,Happy Trails,Micatech,Touratech hard cases,or getting a Givi,Touratech,Wunderlich,or the GS Adventure rack system and installing soft bags from Motosport panniers,Ortlieb,or other sources. Are you on www.ADVRider.com,thats the place for GS info. Look specifically in the GSpot section. Stay out of "Jo Momma" unless you have really thick skin!! JR356 Link to comment
DaveC Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 This is not true with BMW and formerly a lot of high end sportscars(think Ferrari) all use an aluminum alloy rim,not steel. In addition BMW designed their most recent "wire "wheels as a tubeless design,changing tires and any repairs are just as easy as any regular wheel. JR356 I own a F650GS, and I am 90% sure that it has steel rims. I will get a magnet out and test this when I get home in a few days. I know that many high end sports cars use alloy wheels, but that is irrelevant. We are discussing BMW GS rims. Link to comment
SeanFromTX Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 As well as being stronger, the spoked wheels say GS! Link to comment
Ken H. Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 As well as being stronger, the spoked wheels say GS! Kind of depends on what you are trying to "say" with your GS! now doesn't it? Link to comment
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