If you’re shopping for carbon wheels, you know it’s a big investment. You want wheels that are light, stiff, and strong enough to handle the road ahead. But did you know the way the carbon is put together makes a huge difference in performance? Most carbon wheels on the market are built using a traditional method called "hand-laying." At Venn Wheels, we use a more advanced, automated process called "filament winding." Here is a simple breakdown of the difference—and why it matters for your ride. 1. The Traditional Way: Hand-Laid Carbon Imagine building a paper-mâché model. You take pre-cut sheets of carbon fiber fabric (often soaked in resin), place them into a mold by hand, and overlap them to build up the rim's shape. The Process: It's like a very expensive arts and crafts project. Skilled workers lay down hundreds of individual pieces of Durable carbon gravel wheelset for racing fabric, one by one. The Problem: Because it’s done by humans, it’s impossible to be perfect every time.