Why Do Some Rims have Holes drilled in?

[stoley]

I was looking at pictures and seen that some rims have holes, like maybe one inch holes drilled all the way around the rim between the spokes, Is this to make It lighter? And what about the front rims that are drilled on the side all the way around? I will sleep better when I know the answer :P

Stoley

[Gaps720]

i'd say its mostly for looks as it doesn't save much weight at all. you'd be better off laying off the candy bars for a week if you want to save weight. but yes, people do it to save weight and make their bikes look all swanky. the front rim sidewall drilling is the same... their is just a disk on the front so the sidewall is able to be drilled out as well without fucking up your braking.

[stoley]

Holy shit thats funny, Laying off the candy bars eh? lol Nice, but thanks for that anyways, Wouldnt that make the rim weaker? It looks hella cool though.

[felix]

Depending on the size of the holes it saves a lot of weight!
150g less on a wheel that you have to accelarate is nice.
Of course it weakens the rim, but as long as you don't go crazy with the drill, it will still last a while.

[Steve311]

A light bike IMO is a must. My rig started out at 31 lbs and is now down to 26 lbs and it doesn't wear me out like it used to. A quarter lb here and there does add up. But ya gotta be a smooth rider if you start compromising the integrity of your parts.

[Trialsaddict]

Like Felix said, drilling does help in the rotational weight. Depending on the size of the holes etc, it will make some difference.

Now that rims are being made much wider, its good to drill them out to save weight. Because they are soo wide, strength isn't sacrificed as much. They do look cool too.

[stoley]

A big thank you to everyone that answered my questions and helped me out, I'm new here and have a lot to learn about the technical side of trials, and also about trials itself. Merry christmas to all!

[AgrAde]

saving weight on lots of little bits of your bike all adds up to a pretty nice weight loss.

holes are there because we need wide arse rims for the stability not the strength.