Commuting to work via bike is honestly the best thing for multiple reasons, its cheaper, its enjoyable, and it has so many health benefits. I’ve been commuting around Sydney on a road bike for years now and have ridden a wide array of wheels:
- Aluminium clinchers (the standard for most road bikes)
- Carbon tubulars (the racey deep-dish wheels which the pros ride)
- Tubeless disc brakes (the new wave of road bike wheels)
I’ve loved riding on each of them for all different reasons, so I’m going to sum up my experiences with each of them, and what I’d recommend in what scenarios. A bit of background, my commute is 13km each way, and goes straight through the CBD to Randwick. Now onto the wheels.
Carbon Tubular Wheels
First of all, these are by far the most expensive of the bunch, but they are incredibly fast and light (which unless you’re commuting a long way without traffic lights, doesn’t matter). That is where the pros stop, if you get a puncture, which almost every commuter will encounter at one stage, you need to replace the whole tyre. Not only does this mean a miserable walk to work, but it also means an expensive trip to the bike shop. Oh and the braking is nowhere near as good as even aluminium clinchers, especially in the wet; on this ground alone I wouldn’t recommend carbon wheels for commuting. In my mind, it is simply not worth the hassle, which is why I sold my carbon tubulars soon after getting them and coming to this realisation. They also look expensive which makes your bike much more attractive to thieves which are always a consideration.
Aluminium Clincher Wheels
They are the workhorse seen on most bikes, especially ones pre 2015, they are cheap, relatively strong, relatively light, and very durable, and it’s easy to change a tube on the go. Even if you happen to come off and bend your wheel, or hit a pothole, you can typically true them cheaply at a bike shop. I’ve used aluminium clinchers for the majority of my 3+ years commuting through the CBD, they are great in the vast majority of situations but I have had a few dodgy times riding through the city in traffic in the rain and my brakes just not being quick enough to stop me. That being said, aluminium clinchers are definitely a great all around wheel for commuting, doing everything well enough, as are cheap which is also very important
Tubeless Disc Brake Wheels
Onto the newest wheels of the bunch, aluminium disc brakes. These have been absolutely game-changing for me, the braking is absolutely unparalleled, you can stop so quickly compared to both other wheels, and even quicker in the wet. They do add some weight (generally around 1.5kg) to a bike, but as I alluded to earlier, that’s not too important when we’re talking about commuting, it’s not the Tour de France after all. Now onto the fact they are tubeless, which is also great. Tubeless wheels are exactly as they sound, they have no inner tubes, but you can put tubes in and they run exactly the same as normal clincher tyres. If you do opt to run them tubeless you have to put a sealant in them which can be messy but seals almost all punctures whilst your riding, or if its a big one, it’ll seal it after a quick re-inflation and spin.
Overall, each set of wheels have their pros and cons but in my mind for a commuter, disc brakes are an incredible tool to have at your disposal, so if you are looking to buy a bike new, definitely opt for discs, the added safety in terms of braking is priceless. If you have a bike and are considering getting a new one, I probably wouldnt say its worth upgrading purely to get disc brakes, but if you’re in the market for a new bike, again, definitely disc brakes. DONT buy carbon tubulars for commuting and if you’ve already got aluminium clinchers, or are on a strict budget, they have been around for a long time for a reason, they just work. Happy commuting everyone.
Harrison Hansford 