Track Wheels: Smoke and Mirrors
Hi, I started researching track wheels for my bike recently and got instantly puzzled why and how this world is so different from the road bike wheels.
- Is the weight of the wheel similarly relevant in track as it is in the road racing? Does a lighter set of wheels result in real speed gains? I appreciate that there's no climbing involved and perhaps riders aren't as crazy about shedding extra ounce by going carbon wherever possible. I know some riders who have wheels around 2kg and don't mind that
- It appears that the track wheels are manufactured largely by a different subset of companies - I dont find them from the road wheel manufacturers (minor point but still...)
- Does anyone have an experience with OEM carbon track wheels from China? For example, a carbon track wheelset set at mere 1350 grams can be found on AliExpress - is there a catch somewhere? I had some luck with the road wheels from China before, is there a reason why a track wheel could be faulty?
Appreciate your thoughts!