Wire-Spoked Wheels vs. Alloy Wheels—Which Are Better? | MC Garage

Here’s another technology matchup from the MC Garage: Old-school wire-spoked wheels versus modern one-piece alloy wheels. What’s the difference, and which design is better? That all depends…

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Most motorcycle wheels fall into one of two categories: You’ve got your wire-spoked wheels and your one-piece alloy wheels. What’s the difference, and which design is better? We break it down for you in this video from the MC Garage.

What Are The Benefits Of Wire-Spoked Motorcycle Wheels?
Back in the 1960s, motorcycles came with wire-spoked wheels. Then, in the 1970s, one-piece alloy wheels rolled onto the scene. These days, the vast majority of bikes come with cast wheels. But, we still see wire-spoked wheels on modern-retro motorcycles—like Honda’s CB1100—and on motocross, dual sports, and serious adventure motorcycles. So, what’s up with that?

Spoked-wheels still hold a fairly large market share because they outperform cast wheels in one respect, and that is durability. Spoked-wheels have more flex and give so they are much more tolerant of rough and abusive terrain. Which is exactly why you put them on a bike that will see the dirt. Spoked-wheels are also easier to repair, so if you do happen to bend a rim or smash some spokes, you can replace the individual parts. Meanwhile, cast wheels are brittle and when they fail, they tend to bend harshly or break. And then you’re on the hook for a whole, new wheel.

So, durability and ease of repair are the primary reasons we see spoked-wheels on dual sports and motocross bikes, but there is a styling aspect to consider. Motorcycles like the BMW R nineT Scrambler have spoked-wheels not because BMW wants you to thrash the bike off-road, but because it suits the image that BMW is after. The same goes for all of the other modern bikes that are looking to capture a little bit of that classic look and feel.

What Are The Benefit Of Cast Motorcycle Wheels?
Even with all of the cruisers and modern-retro motorcycles out there on the road, allow wheels are still more common, and that’s for a couple of reasons. First and foremost is manufacturing. Big companies like Honda and Kawasaki crank out thousands of alloy wheels without any human involvement in the process and that makes them cheaper. Meanwhile, spoked-wheels still entail some amount of manual labor. More importantly, alloy wheels are much more rigid than spoked-wheels and it adds a lot of benefits to road riding. To name just a few, alloy wheels can handle bigger tires, more horsepower, and they are going to handle better.

Alloy wheels are also universally tubeless, which makes tire change and plugging punctures a lot more simple. Some modern, high-end spoked wheels are sealed and tubeless, but the vast majority of them run tubes.

Which Is Better?
And finally, we have the topic of weight, which is a huge point of contention when we did our regular vs upside-down fork comparison. Just like forks, there is no hard and fast rule that says that one design is going to be lighter than another. It is wholly dependent on the motorcycle and the given application. Of course, a $4,000 set of forged magnesium racing wheels is definitely going to be lighter than any spoked-wheel design out there, but most alloy wheels are made of cast aluminum and they are fairly heavy.

In any way, weight is not a concern here. When these two wheels face-off, it’s all about rigidity versus durability. So there you have it, the primary differences between these two wheel designs. I hope you learn something! Make sure to subscribe to us on YouTube. Thanks for reading and watching!

[seasonedtoker]

You gotta admit alloy wheels on a classic bike are slightly disturbing

[paulk]

Riding 36 yrs, and ive just learned something new. Thanks for that.

[scottsspeedtriplechannel]

I just watched your spoked and mag wheel video. I was taught at a motorcycle school for mechanics that there is a major difference between the two types of wheels.
That is how they carry the weight of the motorcycle. A cast wheel carries the weight between the bottom of the rim as it sits on the ground and the axle whereas a spoked wheel carries the weight between the top of the rim and the axle.
Basically a cast wheel supports the axle and on a spoked wheel the axle is " hung" from the top of the rim.
What this means for performance or rideability, I don't know. But if you think about it, it is true. Spokes are not strong enough to support the weight of the bike from below.

[abyssalzone]

Do a video on Clutch-less shifting (power shifting) versus a quickshifter versus regular shifting

[ubayyd]

We also have the one piece *carbon fibre* wheels, like on the Ducati Superleggera, probably perform the same as alloy wheels but are just wayyyylighter.

[bobthebuilder]

Yet ANOTHER excellent video covering a somewhat complex and controversial motorcycle topic. Great job!

[TheInja]

I appreciate the comparisons and you guys teaching the differences of each. Great channel.

[observingrogue]

With the potholes of our poor infrastructure, wire wheels have an extra reason for road use. It's so great to see a comparison of the 2 types. I started really liking wire spoke wheels, because of how customizable & personal they are.

It's easy to replace damaged parts. but it's also easy to change the rim diameter & width, and keep the same hub. I don't have to find some company, to cast & form me, a fully custom wheel, when I want to use different tires. I'm learning how to professionally lace & true wire wheels. It seems very therapeutic.

Those are my reasons, but I never thought about the extra durability of them. As for light weight. Titanium spokes exist. And at least for bicycles, there are carbonfiber rims. I haven't yet looked up carbonfiber rims for motorcycles. But I know carbonfiber wheels exist, for bicycles, motorcycles, and cars. Very strong & light, just very expressive.

[KTM_Trooper]

that wire spoke wheel in the video!! im in love!!!!

[mymajorcompanynz]

Visit every so often as your titles catch my attention.Once again you are still the best with plain no nonsence explanations.

[Filip_Phreriks]

You are great Ari! You explain technical topics in a way anyone can understand.

[arijit]

I like spokes, I have seen lot of cracked alloys on bad roads to be comfortable with them.
The worst I had with spokes was a bent spoke when I crashed into a ditch. Came back replaced it good to go again.

[rufusleehung]

Thorough, succinct, straight to the point. Informative, educational, confidently conveyed with a clarity that serves to impart a certain credibility upon the messenger, leaving no doubt on factual content of the message. BRAVO !

[maxheadflow]

As far as rigidity goes, a wire spoke wheel can do about the same as a good mag. Some flex can help. It will not do too bad in the weight department either if you use a good alloy rim. To get sufficient stiffness you need to run an alloy rim.. Most steel rims flex at the spoke entry allowing the wheel to twist some. I've always seen a pretty drastic improvement when going from steel to alloy rims.

[transcendium]

I was thinking about this in morning...and saw this video in evening... what magic is this?

[PAVANZYL]

In the 1970s Honda used a cross between spokes and solid alloy - Comstar, it was called I believe. It looked more like a cast wheel but had about 4 - 5 " steel spokes. Honda said that they offered the best of both worlds - tubeless rims and the flexibility of steel. I had them on my CX500. Never had a problem with them but apparently they did not look quite right for the customers and were discontinued. Care to comment on them?

[jgpwlcs]

You guys need to post more! These videos are like crack

[griffithd]

I'd like a video on the naming conventions of some bikes, like FZs, GSXR, KLR, etc... or just a breakdown of the differences of single, twins, tripples, and the other engine types and layouts (power, characteristics, blah blah blah)

[Allen-equf]

Mag wheels can run tubeless, and therefore can be plugged on the road. A HUGE advantage!

[debunkthejunk]

I had a Spirograph as a kid so spoked wheels are my fav. There's also something to be said for the "ancient" technology keeping up with the times. Mag wheels have their merits but they necessarily better, just different.