....which is actually an alloy and not 100% magnesium. Any corrosion to a mag would have to be quite severe to damage the integity of the wheel, and certainly would be visible besides.......
Ride what you want, Trauma. It's no skin off my nose if you visit the center that bears your namesake.
Virtually ALL metals are alloys to one degree or another. An alloy is simply a metal mixture, sometimes based on the named element. Titanium, aluminum, iron, and copper are all examples. Sometimes the name is different.....steel is an iron alloy...stainless steels are often nickel based like 304, but sometimes are based in iron like 440C. Raw materials are rarely used in structural elements. I'd say NEVER in lieu of rarely, but I don't know everything quite yet.
Titanium is generally an alloy of titanium, aluminum, and vanadium. Steel is typically an alloy of iron, carbon, vanadium, nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and others. Magnesium is typically alloyed with aluminum, zinc, copper, and others. Aluminum is typically alloyed with magnesium, zinc, manganese, and silicon. Even the substance we commonly call iron is an iron alloy.
Pointing out the word alloy is a semantic game that makes no sense, as raw magnesium is NEVER used in castings for wheels or other structural elements....at least not for the last fifty years. The raw material suffers VERY greatly from the aforementioned corrosion and several other problems.
You are incorrect about seeing the damage due to corrosion of magnesium wheels, too. It occurs beneath the paint and often causes no bubbling or cracking of that paint. The metal corrodes, then fails. I have seen mistreated wheels fail in this mode. I don't want to be aboard when it happens.
In all seriousness, if properly maintained I'm sure magnesium wheels are safe. I simply don't want to take on that risk when I feel like I can assume less risk with lighter wheels in carbon. Many metals fail in the same mode.....little or no deformation, then snap.....but we don't eschew their use in structural elements. Many higher strength aluminum alloys act in this manner, as does cast iron. Often the layman cannot detect structural damage (generally in the form of permanent deformation or change of cross section) to metal elements even when it's obvious to experts.
Wow....anyway, ride what you want....but most of the arguments presented here in opposition to carbon wheels are inane from this engineer's perspective.
As to vendors advertising....would you expect less? Ever heard the story of the frog and the scorpion? As long as I get relevant information from the ads I'm cool with it. I've learned of several products I'd never have seen otherwise via just such postings on this and other forums.
In this matter, as in your choice of wheels, you are welcome to your own opinions and biases, and I appreciate you (and others) taking the time to post them for consideration here. Opinions and experiences are what make internet forums so functional and useful.
My opinions are probably worth exactly what you paid for them.
