You obviously haven't witnessed composite parts tested to destruction!
Each fiber can carry a lot of load, but when it reaches its limit, the failure is catastrophic.
If your wheels are designed with an enormous factor of safety, you'll probably be OK, but be forewarned; if you encounter a misplaced pothole or debris on the road and hit it at speed, the safety margin may not include such events. Then you will discover firsthand just how exciting a structural failure with carbon fiber can be...
Stick to forged Al or Mg. Maybe someday soon someone in the wheel business will "discover" Aluminum-Lithium and you'll get the best of both worlds, low weight and high stiffness.
this argument never made any sense to me. if you "hit a misplaced pothole or debris on the road and hit it at speed", al, mg, or STEEL isn't going to make a difference. you're probably going down and replacing the entire bike if you survive. i don't think the argument of how a flattened and/or bent metal wheel is theoretically better than a shattered cf one will matter much.
I will take my chances with the BST's over any Magnesium wheel on this planet. Mg may be light but it has an extremely low modulus of elasticity as well as a very poor fatigue resistance, OK for the track but crazy poor for road use.
I've got BSTs on my SS, and Marchesini forged magnesiums on my ST2. Weight difference is minimal (300g each, front and rear), but the BSTs feel much more lighter, probably due to most of their weight being at the hub. Never have had a problem with magnesium wheels, and the EPMs on my LeMans are 24 years old.
Tom
21 - 26 of 26 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
A forum community dedicated to all Ducati owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, superbike racing, maintenance, and more!