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Endurance runnersHow the BIKE wheel test works

Robert Kühnen

 · 01.06.2020

Endurance runners: How the BIKE wheel test worksPhoto: Robert Niedring
Endurance runners: How the BIKE wheel test works
Endurance run, crash test and freewheel torture: Twelve MTB wheels from Cross Country to Enduro had to prove in the BIKE test whether they are long-lasting fun and whether carbon outperforms aluminium here too.

Welcome to the most comprehensive test of trail wheels we've ever conducted at BIKE. You can even hear the hard pedalling of the test machine through your hearing protection: clack, clack, clack! The freewheel torture is a new part of the BIKE test and takes place in the Syntace halls where we set up for parts of the test.

In the same room are the drum machines, which show what happens when the wheels are constantly subjected to high loads. Bumps on the drum and skewed running put a strain on hubs, spokes and rims, just like when you're riding fast on the trail.

Anything that rolls through 3000 kilometres without triggering the limit switches is guaranteed to be tough. The torture is completed by destructive tests in the BIKE laboratory, where we also record weights, inertia, stiffness, etc.

How BIKE tests: Mountain bike wheels

Here you can see the test benches on which we tested the wheels and get a glimpse behind the scenes of the BIKE wheel test. You can read the entire "Endurance runner" wheel test in BIKE 7/2020 - currently available in print or as a digital version for iOS and Android.

Are you keen on mountain biking? Get out and go! Order the latest issue of <a href="https://www.delius-klasing.de/bike" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BIKE for free delivery to your home</a>, or read the digital edition for €4.49 in the BIKE app on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/en/app/bike-das-mountainbike-magazin/id447024106" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">iOS device</a> or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pressmatrix.bikeapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Android tablet</a> .Photo: Delius Klasing Verlag Are you keen on mountain biking? Get out and go! Order the latest issue of BIKE for free delivery to your home, or read the digital edition for €4.49 in the BIKE app on the iOS device or Android tablet . Wheel life in fast motion: the rear wheels complete up to 3000 kilometres on the Syntace drum test machine, which is equipped with six obstacles. This simulates millions of impacts on the trail and several years of wheel use. Termination criterion: lateral impacts of over 10 millimetres.Photo: Robert Kühnen Wheel life in fast motion: the rear wheels complete up to 3000 kilometres on the Syntace drum test machine, which is equipped with six obstacles. This simulates millions of impacts on the trail and several years of wheel use. Termination criterion: lateral impacts of over 10 millimetres.
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Rapping 2: The front wheels are tested in the same way as the rear wheels, with a slightly higher trip threshold. On average, however, the front wheels last longer because they are more symmetrical. Like the rear wheels, the front wheels are loaded with 60 kilograms.Photo: Robert Kühnen Rapping 2: The front wheels are tested in the same way as the rear wheels, with a slightly higher trip threshold. On average, however, the front wheels last longer because they are more symmetrical. Like the rear wheels, the front wheels are loaded with 60 kilograms. First loose, then off: We mark the nipples to determine whether the spokes have loosened. Typically, the spokes loosen before they break.Photo: Robert Kühnen First loose, then off: We mark the nipples to determine whether the spokes have loosened. Typically, the spokes loosen before they break. Extreme differences: Some wheels only manage a good 100 kilometres on the test bench. The best manage 3000 kilometres unimpressed. Loose and broken spokes are the most common reason for the premature end of the endurance test.Photo: Robert Kühnen Extreme differences: Some wheels only manage a good 100 kilometres on the test bench. The best manage 3000 kilometres unimpressed. Loose and broken spokes are the most common reason for the premature end of the endurance test. Spoked out: Half of the spokes on the brake side broke during the endurance test. Bent spokes perform significantly worse in the test than straight-pull spokes.Photo: Robert Kühnen Spoked out: Half of the spokes on the brake side broke during the endurance test. Bent spokes perform significantly worse in the test than straight-pull spokes. Kawumm: The plastic test body hits the rim and simulates punctures; the wheel is clamped at an angle of 20 degrees. The impact test in the BIKE lab comprises five impact stages.Photo: Robert Kühnen Kawumm: The plastic test body hits the rim and simulates punctures; the wheel is clamped at an angle of 20 degrees. The impact test in the BIKE lab comprises five impact stages. Good-natured, but soft: aluminium usually starts to dent slightly from the second impact stage. The picture shows the dent after a level five impact. Smaller dents can be bent back.Photo: Robert Kühnen Good-natured, but soft: aluminium usually starts to dent slightly from the second impact stage. The picture shows the dent after a level five impact. Smaller dents can be bent back. Brittle but strong: carbon withstands impact tests better than aluminium. The material generally does not buckle and withstands harder impacts without damage than aluminium. The picture shows slight delamination after a level five impact.Photo: Robert Kühnen Brittle but strong: carbon withstands impact tests better than aluminium. The material generally does not buckle and withstands harder impacts without damage than aluminium. The picture shows slight delamination after a level five impact.
Warm-up: This machine runs in the rotors before the actual test. The grease is distributed and the pawls or toothed discs can engage more quickly.Photo: Robert Kühnen Warm-up: This machine runs in the rotors before the actual test. The grease is distributed and the pawls or toothed discs can engage more quickly. A rotor life compressed into 20 minutes: The rotors are abruptly loaded with torques of up to 200 Nm. This is how we check whether abrupt power transmission, as in technical uphills, is damaging the drive. Sensors report if the rotor slips.Photo: Robert Kühnen A rotor life compressed into 20 minutes: The rotors are abruptly loaded with torques of up to 200 Nm. This is how we check whether abrupt power transmission, as in technical uphills, is damaging the drive. Sensors report if the rotor slips. Precisely monitored: Wireless torque sensors, which send data over 6000 times per second, monitor the service life test of the rotor.Photo: Robert Kühnen Precisely monitored: Wireless torque sensors, which send data over 6000 times per second, monitor the service life test of the rotor.

You can read the entire "Endurance runner" wheel test in BIKE 7/2020 - currently available in print or as a digital version for iOS and Android.

Are you keen on mountain biking? Get out and go! Order the latest issue of <a href="https://www.delius-klasing.de/bike" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BIKE for free delivery to your home</a>, or read the digital edition for €4.49 in the BIKE app on the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/en/app/bike-das-mountainbike-magazin/id447024106" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">iOS device</a> or <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pressmatrix.bikeapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Android tablet</a> .Photo: Delius Klasing Verlag Are you keen on mountain biking? Get out and go! Order the latest issue of BIKE for free delivery to your home, or read the digital edition for €4.49 in the BIKE app on the iOS device or Android tablet .
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