Resources
I thought it would be helpful to create a resource page that you can always come to for all of your bike wheel needs. I’ll add to it as I learn more. I recommend bookmarking it for your reference and convenience. Enjoy!
Major Wheel Manufacturers
- Mavic: one of the leaders in the cycling industry. You see their wheels everywhere people are riding competitively.
- Shimano: the other major player in the cycling equipment industry. They don't just make fishing reels.
- SRAM: relatively new to the bike wheels industry. They're known for innovation and performance and shaking things up.
- Easton: very focused on their triathlon wheelsets.
- Zipp: very fast and expensive wheels. Experts in aerodynamics and carbon rims.
- Fulcrum Racing: Campagnolo spin off to compete with Mavic. They've got a very competitive line of wheels geared mainly towards racing.
Wheel Building
- Sheldon Brown: Even in death, Sheldon Brown still stands tall as one of the best Internet resources when it comes to wheelbuilding. Go do a deep dive on his site, exploring the intricacies and joys of wheelbuilding. We'll wait for you.
- Master Wheelbuilding
: watch and learn from an expert wheel builder. Watching Bill Mould saved me several hours of headaches when trying to build my own wheels. Very patient, and clear teacher.
- The Bicycle Wheel 3rd Edition
: an engineer's wheel book. Jobst Brandt provides a good book to learn and refer to, backed by engineering data.
Forums
- RoadBikeReview.com: great resource for road bike reviews and opinionated discussion
- MTBR.com: the top forum for mountain bike related discusions. Very active.