Let’s talk about motorcycle wheels

I guess many friends are not very clear about the basic parameters of wheels. Everyone will confuse the size of the wheel with the size of the tire when talking about wheel size. For example, I ask How wide is your wheel? You said my wheels are 17 inches wide and 160mm wide. There is an obvious confusion here between the width of the tire and the width of the wheel.

Generally, when we describe the size of a motorcycle tire, it is like "160/60-17 55H", right? So you know how we describe motorcycle wheel size?

Motorcycle wheel size is usually described as "MTAA*BB". Among them, "MTAA" is the width of the wheel hub, and the AA unit is still inches, 1 inch = 25.4mm. "BB" is the diameter of the wheel hub, which is the last R when we describe the tire. For example, R17, then BB is 17. The first thing to explain is that there is a matching range between wheels and tires. It does not mean that you can change tires to as wide a width as you want while keeping the wheel hubs unchanged.

Still looking at the common tire type with an aspect ratio of 60, a MT5.0 wheel can be used with widths of 160, 170, and 180 according to the wheel and tire matching table (the latest version is GB T2983-2015) tires, but considering the aspects of fuel consumption, handling, and wear resistance, the best tire width should be 170/60-**, because generally the middle value will not be wrong in most cases.

After talking about the size, let's talk about the style. There are two types of motorcycle wheels: spoke wheels and aluminum alloy wheels.

Spoke Wheel:

Advantages: Relatively good elasticity; the wheel hub is overall lighter; if you encounter a big impact on a bad road, it may only damage part of the steel wire and can be partially repaired, so spoke wheels for ADVs, off-road vehicles, and climbing vehicles are practical. I don't think it has anything to do with whether it looks good or not.

Disadvantages: If the steel wire is damaged, it must be repaired through spoke adjustment, which is cumbersome and must be completed by professionals; even if it has not been severely impacted, daily inspection and maintenance are still required, which is time-consuming and laborious; car washing and cleaning are more troublesome; the equipment is very Cars with top spoked wheels may shake left and right while driving; the road feel is blurred when cornering.

Aluminum alloy wheels:

Advantages: The wheels are flatter, less likely to swing left and right during driving, less likely to rust, and easier to maintain.

Disadvantages: The buffering capacity is relatively poor. When encountering a large impact, it is easy to deform or even break. If the deformation is serious, there is basically no possibility of repair. Therefore, both have their own pros and cons. Whether or not they are equipped with spoked wheels must depend on the positioning and main purpose of the car. It really has nothing to do with whether it is thick or not. Show cars and concept cars can have any appearance, but for cars that actually need to be put on the road, it's better to be realistic.