A carbon rim starts as layers of carbon fiber cloth and resin, pressed into a mold and cured. The part we see is the outer layer of cloth, and its pattern differs from one rim to the next. Some rims look like plain dark carbon, some show a fine diagonal grid, and some carry a pattern that runs around the rim like a pair of wings. All of these come from the weave, and each one is made in a different way.

Why do carbon rims have different weave finishes?

A carbon rim is not made from a single kind of fiber. Most of the body is built from unidirectional plies, stacked at different angles so the finished part can carry the loads it sees. The outer layer has a different job. It protects the structure, it helps control resin during curing, and it is the only part we ever look at. Change that layer and the rim reads as a different product, even when everything underneath is the same.

So the weave finish is mainly designed to offer the wheels brand more visual options, and for separating product lines or setting difference brand positioning.

What's the mean and difference of between carbon weave like UD, 3K, 12K, Plain, Twill, Marble, Butterfly etc.

UD (Unidirectional): fibers running one way
UD cloth is not woven. Every fiber runs parallel in one direction, held together by a light binder or a thin thread. With nothing crossing over them, the fibers pack tightly, which gives the high fiber volume and the strong result. A rim gets its stiffness from the angles its plies are laid at, not from the cloth. On the surface, UD looks plain and even, with a fine linear grain and no visible grid. Most of rims are used UD.

3K Plain and 3K Twill: 3000 filaments per bundle
Both use 3K fiber bundles. Plain weave alternates over and under adjacent bundles to create a compact checkerboard. Twill, often in a 2×2 pattern, forms a diagonal texture and may drape more readily over certain shapes.

The cloth is dense, and that density has a practical use. Also we often place a 3K layer inside the rim bed to even out the fiber to resin ratio during curing, and around the spoke holes to reduce flaking when the holes are drilled.

12K Plain and 12K Twill: 12000 filaments per bundle
12K follows the same twill logic with much larger tows, so each block in the pattern is roughly four times the size of a 3K block. Wider tows mean fewer passes during layup, and the finished surface reads as stiffer and bolder. The blocks are large enough to stay visible from a distance, which suits deep rims where there is space to show the pattern.

Butterfly Weave: a pattern built from shaped plies
Butterfly pattern is a kind of custom layup, shaped pieces of fiber are placed at set angles so the pattern opens out from the center and repeats around the rim like a pair of butterfly wings. The pieces are cut and positioned by hand, it takes longer time and more labor to finish. The extra layout work is why it is treated as a premium finish.

Marble Finish: grain without a grid
A marble finish comes from arranging UD fiber and resin so the grain flows in irregular, stone like lines instead of a repeating grid. There is no pattern to line up, so no two rims come out quite the same.

Forged Finish: fractured speckled grain from randomized short fiber layup
Forged uses chopped UD carbon segments distributed randomly in resin to create a fractured, hammer-forged texture, with no repeating grid or continuous flow. Individual carbon fragments scatter and orient irregularly across the rim, so no two rims share the same arrangement. It is not a woven cloth pattern, relying entirely on randomized fiber placement for its signature look.

Although these carbon weave have different weave pattern on visual, performance is not compromise, the strength and stiffness come from the materials, layup method. A woven surface adds a few grams. The 3K layer inside the rim bed helps control resin content and protects the spoke holes during drilling, which matters for durability rather than speed. Beyond that, two rims with different outer weaves test very much the same.

Custom weaves: Patterns we can develop

The weaves above are the ones in regular production, and they are not the limit. If you have a pattern you like, a rim to use as a reference, or artwork of your own, our engineering team can work out how to build it as a real layup. Mixed weaves and exclusive patterns are both possible, and a pattern developed this way is not offered to anyone else. Our team(info@ornanbike.com) is here to help you make the perfect choice.

Explore the ornanbike custom weave 700C carbon rims
The ORNANBIKE Custom Weave 700C Carbon Rims series was built with a surface you can make your own. It includes 25mm, 25mm and 32mm, can carry a different weave, and any of them can be developed into an exclusive pattern from your own artwork. Depths run from 30mm to 85mm depending on the width, so the same surface can sit on a shallow climbing rim or a deep aero one.

The platform at a glance：

• 3 internal widths: 25mm for road (28C to 65C tires), 25mm for CX and gravel (30C to 70C), and 32mm for adventure gravel (40C to 70C, in standard and undulating wave profiles).
• Depths from 30mm to 85mm: from light climbing rims all the way to deep aero rims.
• Material: Toray T700 and T800 carbon. Flyweight rims start at around 380 g.
• Tubeless ready clincher, disc brake, custom drilling (24H or 28H, other hole counts welcome; the undulating 32mm wave rim stays at 24H).
• Weave options: UD, 3K and 12K twill, butterfly weave, marble grain, and custom patterns developed from your own artwork.
• Personal touches: gloss or matte finish, custom paint colors, decals and logo printing.
• Full wheel builds available with steel spoke hubs (RD20, RD25) or carbon spoke hubs (SD17, SD18), straight pull spokes, 36T ratchet freehubs, and Shimano, MSR, XDR or N3W bodies.
• Backed by: testing that goes beyond ISO 4210, UCI compliant designs with certification support and a 2 year quality warranty.

If you have a pattern in mind, or just want to see the series in detail, open the product page or send us your question. We can walk you through the weave options and what is possible for your design.

• View the Custom Weave 700C Series: https://www.ornanbike.com/custom-weave-700c-carbon-rims-23-5-27-5-32mm-internal-width_p20html
• Contact ORNANBIKE: info@ornanbike.com