Wheel Weight Information Guide -

We sell all three manufacturers of High Quality Lightweight Rims.  From what we have seen and read, All three have similar weight savings over stock. They are all made with high quality materials as well.  It comes down to rider preference and Most of all.... Availability.  The following Information, while stating the name Marchesini, Applies similarly to the Marvic and Blackstone Carbon Fiber Rims as well.

Weight - A stock rear GSXR wheel weighs about 17.5 lbs. bare.  The same size Marchesini Forged mag weighs 8.8 lbs! The Fronts - Stock 13.5 lbs while the mag weighs only 6.4 lbs.   That is a combined weight savings of 16 lbs - and it's unsprung weight! Unsprung weight is where it makes the most difference. Some racers opt for titanium axles and bolts for the same reason - but titanium components save only ounces. A titanium axle alone can cost around $300.00 each! For the weight saved, light weight wheels are a huge bargain.
The Forged Aluminum Marchesinis weigh an additional 4.2 lbs each. Compare the price of our Aluminum Wheels to stock replacements!

Lighter wheels can improve the performance of your Race Bike in  FOUR ways;

    1. Lighter wheels can make your bike faster 

Think of it this way - imagine the amount of energy you need to spin the front tire of your car/truck when it's jacked up and off the ground. Now think about the energy it takes to spin the tire on your ten speed bicycle. Big difference right? The ten speed wheel spins easier because it weighs less! -Yes, there are variances - friction in the bearings, etc., but the biggest reason for the difference is the mass (weight) of the wheel/tire itself. It's the engine that spins the wheels/tires of your race bike. If it takes less energy to turn those wheels that horsepower can be used for other things - like greater top speed or increased acceleration.
The Weight savings is approx. 7 - 9 lbs per rim.
That comes out to:    16 oz.  x  8 lbs =  128 oz  Weight savings on  average per Rim
It's huge when you take into account that 1 oz. on 17" Rims is = to 25 lbs of rotating mass at 100mph.
So, if we do the math, 128 oz. x  25 =
3200 lbs of rotating mass is removed from your rims.
That is Huge.
Think how much faster your bike can accelerate without that weight. 
And how much faster your top end is, without that weight

    2. Lighter wheels make your bike easier to turn
 
We'll delve into a little physics here to explain this, but we'll make it painless - When you turn, the bike goes from straight up and down to some degree of lean - some angle from vertical. Because of the gyroscopic effect of your wheels the bike tends to resist this change.That's right - those wheels turn into big gyroscopes when they spin! The "gyro effect" is what tends stand the bike up when you ride. When the wheels spin they make the bike want to stay up. You can demonstrate this on your bike - find a safe place and ride your bike at about 30 mph and take your hands off the bars. The bike stays up because of the gyroscopic effect of the wheels. As the bike slows the gyro effect lessens and if you keep your hands off - the bike tips. The amount of "gyroscoping" is dependent on two things - how fast your wheel/tires spin and - that's right - how much they weigh! One ounce of weight on the rim of a 17 inch rim turns into 25 lbs at 100 mph (here's where the physics guys would go into the "mass and acceleration" discussion, but we're going to skip it...) - we want  the bike to tip - to change from vertical to lean - and the faster we can go from vertical to leaning the better. That's what is meant by a bike's "turn in" ability. The easier it is to lean into that corner the easier it is to take it faster. We're not about to reduce the speed of the wheel, so to lessen the gyro effect we reduce the weight of the "spinning mass".This is usually the most noticeable difference after changing to lighter wheels. Racers say the bike feels lighter when it weighs virtually the same - it just fights you less....

 
 3.Lighter wheels Help your Bike STOP Quicker 
With all the reduced Rotational mass, your bike will be able to stop much quicker.
Think about it.  This could mean the difference between slamming into the back of that Car
That just pulled out in front of you, or stopping 5 feet short.  All because of these light weight rims.
 

    4.Lighter wheels help your suspension work better 

You may think that the springs in your front/rear suspension hold your bike off the ground - it does seem logical doesn't it? They don't - solid bars could do that. Try to visualize it this way - the springs try to hold the tire in contact with the road - they push the tires down. But -  the road has imperfections, some big (bumps/ripples), some small (imperfections in the surface) that try to "bounce" your wheel/tire off. When your tire bounces, even a teeny tiny bit, your traction goes to zero! All of this bouncing is really just up and down motion that is starting and stopping. Again physics tells us that the energy required for all this starting and stopping is a function of (of course) weight. This what all that talk about unsprung weight is about when you read it in the magazines. When your springs have to handle less weight they will naturally do a better job of holding the tire against the road.  To us road racers that means greater traction - the rubber is in contact with the surface more of the time. That means better grip in the turns which translates to increased corner speed and lower lap times. Better traction also means less wheelspin and that means better drive out of the turns - an additional bonus.

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