I am about to get a 1990s LOOK road bike built up, I have been collecting the parts for years. A few months back a set of Corima 48mm carbon used wheels came up on eBay at a good price, and I bought them. I am an MTBer and I am not sure right now how much I will use the road bike. I am having second thoughts about the safety of the wheels from a braking perspective, and am thinking maybe a pair of wheels with an aluminium braking surface might be better (safer). I try my best to stay away from roads on the MTB but obviously this will not be quite as easy on a road bike. Is the braking performance of carbon wheels reliable? Especially in the wet? Or am I getting concerned about nothing?
Build it and enjoy that feeling of absolute panic when you brake for the first time in anger and it feels like nothing is happening at all.
With the right pads and setup, they will work, you do just have to adapt your thinking and reactions to cater for the feeling, variation due to being wet and performance.
Just do not expect them to feel like disk brakes on your mountain bike, but this will apply to alu wheels as well.
I'd not plan to ride carbon rim, rim brake road wheels in the wet regularly, and I'm not that fussy about safety stuff normally.
But if it's for a summer/nice spring and autumn-days type bike that might ocassionally see a bit of moisture, leave them on. They will probably feel very fast and fun.
Corima make really very good wheels. I wouldn't worry about them. Closely inspect the brake track under a raking light, what does it appear like? If it looks unblemished, they'll be fine - sometimes if the resin has been overheated you'll see small pin prick holes between the fibre layup (on a 3k track) where the resin has been pulled out, this tends to happen before you get to the point that the brake track has warped. As soon as the brake track is warped you'll know instantly from the heavily pulsing brakes.
Rider weight plays a massive part in whether the brake tracks are likely to be a problem, there's only a handful of the steepest roads in the uk which may be a concern for riders well over the 200lb mark. I rode a set of 1st gen carbon clinchers which were renown for brake track issues for 30,000 miles without issue despite regular use on 25%+ descents, they still exhibit little wear to the track. With the right brake pad I had no great issue with braking performance, just take care in the wet, which you'll be doing anyway on a road bike. The latest generation of brake tracks are a non-issue on quality wheels these days, the resin performance now being adequate within normal parameters -and even brake power being close to Alu.
If your riding in your own cool
If not think about your riding group.
If it's predominantly disks. Forget it. We had a lad who did this and was despite being a very capable rider kept riding up the back of people and became unpopular quickly
If it's predominantly rim brakes or carbon rims and rim brakes crack on
I've got carbon Zipps on my TT bike.
Carbon braking surface on the rear, 808 Firecrest. Aluminium braking surface on the front, older 404.
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No issues in the dry but I'd be very wary of them in the wet, hence the aluminium front. And that's a TT bike which involves very little braking...
I raced on Corima and Ambrosio carbon wheels - it simply came down to having suitable brake pads and knowing how they handle in different conditions. They are good, strong wheels just don’t have the hype of Zipp.
They are really TT wheels where you aren't braking. Get some handbuilt alloy wheels for general riding. Nothing to be worried about braking on alloy wheels in the wet with decent pads. Got two early 90's road bikes.
I have some HED Jet's with alloy braking surfaces that I used for TT's, alloy rim, carbon faring and Hope Ti Glide hubs.
Been running carbon rim brake wheels for years with no issues
Inspect the brake track thoroughly in good light and check for any signs of delamination
Ive had carbon disc brake and rim brake wheels, the rim brake versions are never going to brake as good as the equivilant disc brake version of the same wheel but they still brake pretty damn good and in the dry i find the difference is minimal, in the wet carbon rims just cant compete with discs
My Campag Bora Ultra rim brake wheels are the best rim brake wheels ive had so far
Campag's AC3 brake track along with the shape of the Super record brake levers, Super record calipers fitted with Campags own carbon brake blocks make a huge difference!
If using carbon rims brakes in the wet then you need to brake earlier to clear the water from the brake track before the brakes have any effect so plan ahead
Ive also got a 1992 steel road bike and the brakes on that are much worse than my carbon set ups but i find after 5 miles of riding i adjust to having to brake earlier and it just becomes natural for the rest of the ride
Thank you all for the advice. The rims are in great condition so this isn't a worry, and I am sure I will get on fine with rain avoidance, in fact it appears I now have the perfect excuse!
But if you don't see me online for a while then you will know that I have come a cropper. But at least I will have come a cropper on a set of very cool looking wheels 🙂
I have Corima wheels, probably over 10 years old. The back one has been fine, except for a crack in the freehub. Getting a replacement was nigh on impossible until I walked into a Pinarello importer and they had stock
The front, not so good. The straight pull spokes are held onto the hub by a composite flange. During a climb I heard a ping but couldn't see a loose spoke. A few miles later coming to a stop and turning up onto the verge at walking pace a third of the flange snapped off meaning 3 spokes (20 spoke wheel) detached.
"Yeah, it happens" said the Pinarello importer.
The Hope hub I had it rebuild on doesn't look quite as nice.
I don't get all this carbon wheels in the wet drama. Yeah, they're not great but we survived offroad with canti's on muddy rims for years without dying. I run carbon rims most of the year, including in the wet and have zero issues. Don't run them in the winter but thats because I don't want the salt and grit killing them rather than any braking concerns.
You'll be fine, brake using braking distances fit for the conditions. If you're riding in groups that brake suddenly and unexpectedly, I'd find a different group that isn't full of choppers.
I think Swiss Stop pads in a flavour to suit is your best bet.
I don’t get all this carbon wheels in the wet drama. Yeah, they’re not great but we survived offroad with canti’s on muddy rims for years without dying. I run carbon rims most of the year, including in the wet and have zero issues. Don’t run them in the winter but thats because I don’t want the salt and grit killing them rather than any braking concerns.
I remember my first pair of carbon rims in the mid 00s - Planet X - being like glass in the wet. Genuine occasions where I'd have no idea if I'd stop in time at the bottom of a hill. I live in the Peak District which obviously does have some quite steep roads.
Incomparably worse than cantilevers and alu rims. In fact I still have froglegs - and alu open pros - on my commuter which I ride every day.
You’ll be fine. I still have a set of vintage zipp 440 tubulars from when zipp sold rims not wheels. Mine are on a mavic and dura ace hub set. Maybe they should have stopped at rims ;-). One thing is that older profiles catch the wind more in crosswinds. Check the braking and swap pads to something soft and not contaminated with alloy particles (although I’ve never noticed, personally).
