Amateur cyclists' relationship with the sport is less than simple, so why should professionals be expected to love it all the time?

The bike's owner and members of the public confronted George Jhugroo as he cut through a lock, the 24-year-old arrested in hospital as he sought treatment for injuries sustained during the "altercation"

The bike ridden by Lidl-Trek riders at the Tour de France warm-up race features both model names

After securing himself the first Maglia Rosa of his career at the 2024 Giro d'Italia by just short of ten minutes from his nearest challenger, Tadej Pogacar will switch his attention to the Tour de France at the end of this month as he attempts to become the first man since Marco Pantani to complete...

The German rider only started cycling two years ago yet gave a herculean performance for the win

With one stage down at the 2024Criterium du Dauphine, there is still everything to play for in the general classification. One of those very hopeful of securing victory and the Maillot Jaune in the process, is UAE Team Emirates' leader Juan Ayuso.The training camp went very well, Ayuso reflected...

Last night, 31-year-old Andrew Strempke took first place at the 2024 Grand Loop and set a new singlespeed record in the process, finishing the 365-mile route in just 2 days and 8 hours. Johnny Price was at the finish line in Nucla, Colorado, to hear from Andrew and snap a few photos of the other top finishers...The post Andrew Strempke Wins 2024 Grand Loop + New Singlespeed Record appeared first on BIKEPACKING.com.

Australian Lachlan Morton finally nets the win at the 200-mile Unbound Gravel race in a two-up sprint with American Chad Haga.

CyclistRoad and gravel bike rim width: Whats best and why?Back when most road bikes used rim brakes and gravel bikes hadnt been invented, rim width was barely a consideration, but these days its an important spec detail thats worth paying attention to whether youre shopping for a new bike, new wheels, or a replacement set of tyres.It used to be the case that almost all roadies believed narrow tyres were faster, so rims rarely needed to support tyres wider than 28mm. In any case, rim width was naturally limited by the available space between your rim brake pads. This situation rolled along happily enough until a few innovations arrived in quick succession.First, disc brakes suddenly meant rim design wasnt restricted by the requirement to also provide a braking surface. Secondly, advances in physics and aerodynamics led to the understanding that wider rims and road bike tyres can often be more aerodynamic and faster rolling.Finally, the style of bikes people wanted to ride and the attributes they prized changed. With greater interest in grip and comfort among roadies, along with wider gravel tyres, suddenly everyone wanted wider tyres. To provide support to these increasingly swollen treads, rims also began to grow in width.Now rim width is not just a measurement but a selling point. A key factor when buying a bike or upgrading your wheelset, well explain which width is correct for you Related Posts Bike tyre pressure guide: How to choose the best pressure Disc brakes vs rim brakes: Everything you need to know Are wider tyres faster? Best road bike tyres 2024: 10 of the best tyres for all occasions Best road bikes: Best bikes from under 1,000 to over 10,000 How is bicycle rim width measured?Bicycle rims have an inner and outer width. The internal rim width is the more crucial. You can find this by measuring the distance across the interior of the rim. The measurement is taken between the crotchets (or hooks) that hold the tyre bead in place, or simply between the inner walls of the rim on a hookless rim.The exterior width wont affect tyre compatibility, although it does influence aerodynamics. You can find it by measuring across the widest part of the rim from one outer surface to the other.Rather than measuring, you could also look up the rims ISO (International Standards Organisation, or ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) number. The first part of this number is the bead seat diameter (BSD). This describes the diameter of the rim at the point where the tyre bead sits. A standard 700c wheel will have a BSD of 622mm.The second number is the inner rim width. This can range from a little above 15mm on older road rims to well over 20mm on the latest carbon models. Gravel and mountain bike rims can be significantly wider.For example, Mavics Ksyrium S wheelset has an internal rim width of 19mm, so its ISO/ETRTO number would be 622-19.Tyre width vs rim width:Whats the best rim width for road bikes?James YorkIn recent years, elite racers have gone from using 23mm tyres to often employing models as wide as 32mm. Given that they are grippier, comfier, and safer, many road bikes now come with 28-32mm tyres as standard.Even for dedicated racers, 30mm is close to becoming the new normal.To accommodate these wider tyres its a good idea to look for an internal rim width around 20-25mm. Matched to a carbon rim with an exterior a couple of millimetres wider than the tyre itself, this should provide the best aerodynamic profile without adding excessive weight. Resulting in a smoother and faster ride, youll be happy you made the switch.Need a little more detail on why? Lets get into it.Rim width and aerodynamicsGoing fast on a road bike often comes down to aerodynamics. To make a wheelset aerodynamically efficient, the shape of both tyre and rim need to be considered together. This is important as using a rim thats slightly wider than your tyre will generally result in the most aerodynamic profile. Traditionally, rims have held tyres that balloon outwards above them.However, this has been proved to be a poor arrangement for smoothing the airflow over both components. Instead, a rim that slightly overhangs the tyre by around a millimetre provides a better silhouette. This was an easy enough proposition when people stuck to using 23mm tyres. However, as riders have shifted to wider tyres in search of greater comfort and improved real-world performance, rim widths struggled to keep up.Happily, the emergence of disc brakes has freed designers to reconsider the shape of the rim. Combined with carbon fibre construction, its now common to find road bike rims with exterior profiles up to 30-32mm wide. Ideally suiting them to use with tyres around 28-30mm wide, some firms such as Hunt even build out the sides of their rims to increase the difference between the tyres width and the width of the rim.Other factorsBeyond the high science of aerodynamics, changing the width of your rims will affect the shape of your tyres. While tyres have a nominal width that roughly corresponds to the distance across their widest part when inflated, their actual width will change depending on the dimensions of the rim theyre mounted to. The average road tyre can actually lose or gain a couple of millimetres of width depending on the rim its fitted to.At the same time, using the ideal width rim will lend the tyre a better shape. A little blunter and less light bulb-like, the shape imparted by a wider rim will provide a larger volume of air, a more gentle radius, and less deformation. Letting your tyres roll smoother and some cases faster, its a great way of improving their performance.Rim width, tyre volume and tyre pressureIn recent years road cyclists have realised that while pumping your tyres rock hard might feel fast, the inability of high-pressure tyres to absorb vibration actually makes you slower. This reduction in average tyre pressures has also accelerated the switch to wider rims. You can dig into the science with our in-depth feature on how wider tyres and lower pressures can make you faster.Unfortunately, narrow tyres like the 23mm models formerly found on most bikes dont like to be run too soft due to their low volume. Instead, if you want to run lower pressures on your road bike, youre better swapping to tyres in the 28-32mm range. This trend for wider rubber means even basic wheelsets have generally increased a few millimetres in width over the past decade to better accommodate broader tyres.Matching tyre width and rim widthOf course, almost any width tyre can be made to fit onto the rim of a correct diameter wheel (one key exception being road systems that have safety-critical compatibility criteria). However, this doesnt mean that every tyre will be happy when fitted to any old rim.Generally, wider tyres pair better with wider rims. Imagine a balloon. Think how the knot pinches its shape at the bottom; this is a bit like a very narrow rim constricting a wide tyre. You might get a nice round shape, but how stable will it be to ride on?Next, think of the tyres on a car. The width of the rim and the sides of the tyres casing are almost equal; this provides a very stable pairing. The final alternative is a rim thats too wide for the tyre; this is often what happens if you try and run a narrow 23mm tyre on the latest wide road rims. As the tyre tries to span the gap, it loses its depth and takes on a flattened profile. This harms handling and, in extreme cases, can be dangerous. Its why matching rim and tyre width is essential.The ETRTO provides recommendations on which tyre widths are compatible with which rim widths. For example, it suggests that a 25mm internal width rim should be used with a tyre no narrower than 29mm. However, given that these are just recommendations and not hard and fast rules, there are some discrepancies depending on the tyre and rim manufacturer. Our advice would be to cross reference the ETRTO guidelines with the rim and tyre makers recommendations to ensure youre opting for a suitable pairing. A note on hookless rimsHookless rims do without the traditional crochet or hook that normally helps hold the tyre in place. This design generally saves a little weight and means the rim maker can manufacture more easily. Its a trend that weve seen more of in recent years, but is yet to take over due to concerns around tyre compatibility. Hookless adds another level of usage complication that many riders are happy doing without for now.Whats the best rim width for gravel bikes?Selecting a rim width for gravel bikes can be a bit trickier. With gravel bikes almost universally using disc brakes, theres no reason not to also use wide rims. But how wide?If youre using tyres in the 33-38mm range, a wide stance road rim will work fine. Alternatively, gravel-specific wheelsets will often have rims with an internal width in the 23-29mm range. As you start to push beyond 40mm tyres or switch to more mountain bike-style tyres, you may want to go even wider, as this will provide better support and stability, especially at lower pressures.If you use your gravel bike as a do-everything machine, an internal dim width of 21-25mm is the sweet spot, as this will work well with everything from 29mm road tyres to moderately chunky gravel rubber.Need help choosing some tyres? Read our guides to the best road bike tyres and the best gravel bike tyres. Related Posts Bike tyre pressure guide: How to choose the best pressure Disc brakes vs rim brakes: Everything you need to know Are wider tyres faster? Best road bike tyres 2024: 10 of the best tyres for all occasions Best road bikes: Best bikes from under 1,000 to over 10,000 The post Road and gravel bike rim width: Whats best and why? appeared first on Cyclist.

With the 3rd of June marking World Bicycle Day for 2024, anyone and everyone are likely to be out on their bikes for a training ride or just a casual spin of the pedals. Included among those out on the bike though, was the recent Giro d'Italia winner, Tadej Pogacar.Being joined by Belgian Classics...