Wheel Accessories Guide
In the wheel accessories category, you’ll find the parts that connect to the rim of the wheel like tubeless valves and rim tape. You’ll also find replacement decals for your rims here as well as tyre inserts.
Tubeless Valves
Tubeless valves are required for tubeless wheels and tyres as there is no inner tube with valve attached. When using tubeless sealant, the valves sometimes block and need replacing. Usually, the valve core can be replaced without needing to use a whole new valve body.
Rim Tape
Rim Tape is available in two types:
Tubeless Rim Tape is for tubeless wheels & tyres – match the tape width to the internal width of your rims
Rim Tape is for use with inner tubes – width is less critical here as the tape only needs to cover the spoke nipples.
Sometimes searching for the right part for you wheel can be confusing. See the explainer below with links to all the places where you can find parts associated with bike wheels.
Skewers & Axles
Replacement QR skewers for quick release axles and bolts for through axles can be found in this category.
Shop Skewers and Axles
Wheel Accessories
This is where you will find tubeless valves, valve cores and valve caps as well as rim tape and replacement decals for the wheel rim.
Shop Wheel Accessories
Wheel Spares
Components like end caps, axle caps, disc brake conversion kits and axle conversion kits can be found in the wheel spares category.
Shop Wheel Spares
Jargon Buster
Bolt On – an axle that is incorporated into the hub with nuts on the end. Designed to work with traditional 9mm or 10mm dropouts. AKA nutted axle.
Bolt Though Axle – an axle that goes through the hub body and fixes to the fork or frame of you bike. Usually 12mm 15mm or 20mm.
Brake type – wheels are designed to work with specific brake types; disc or rim. Disc brake wheels will either have a 6 bolt or a centre lock fitting.
Clincher – most common type of rim on all bikes works with tyres that have a bead. Tubular tyres on road bikes are different.
Eyelet - A fitting in the rim that holds the nipple in place.
Freehub – The freehub allows the rider to stop pedalling whilst the bike is still moving forward. The rear cassette is attached to the freehub body - 7 speed and above.
Freewheel – an early version of the freehub where the freewheeling mechanism is attached to the sprockets rather than the wheel hub – 5, 6 & 7 speed.
Hub - The centrepiece of the wheel, from which the spokes branch out to the rim. Rotates around the axle, which is an external component attached to the fork or frame.
Hub flange - The collar of the hub that the spokes attach to.
Lacing - The pattern in which the spokes are threaded when building a wheel. The exact same wheel threaded in a different pattern can produce a completely different ride character.
Nipple – The small component that the spokes screw into at the rim.
Rim - The outermost component in a wheel. The bit the tyre sits on.
Rim tape - tape that covers the nipples inside the rim to protect the inner tube – see also Tubeless rim tape below.
Spoke - The rods connecting hub to rim. J-Bend spokes are most common – they are identified by the bend at the hub end, and thread into the nipple at the rim. Straight-pull spokes have no bend and, as they are often proprietary to the wheel they are made for, are less readily available in bike shops.
Tubeless – Technology that allows does away with the inner tube
Tubeless rim tape – Rim tape that makes an air tight seal around the rim of tubeless compatible wheels
Tubeless Sealant – latex based liquid that you put inside tubeless tyres to get a good airtight seal. Tubeless sealant will self-repair small punctures.
True - A straight wheel is called ‘true’. If it gets a wobble, usually caused by the spokes unequally going out of tension, it is out of true.
Valves – The port of the bike that is used to inflate and deflate the tyre. There are two types of valve for bikes. Schrader valves are the same as those on car tyres while Presta valves are narrower bike specific valves designed for high air pressures. Valves are attached to the rim in tubeless set ups or included with the inner tube on traditional wheel setups.
QR – Quick release. Designed to work with traditional 9mm or 10mm dropouts. A quick release skewer fits through the wheel and allows you to quickly change the wheel.
Thru axle / TA – See Bolt Through Axle above.
Wheelset – both the front and the rear wheels are included in the wheelset
