[Closed] Road wheels - carbon or not?

Carbon clinchers no, they're heavy and achieve little, tubs yes. Braking performance varies and is pretty poor in the wet. I found Swiss Stop yellow pads markedly improved things, certainly more than adequate. The 20mm carbon rims on Planet X are v tempting!

i don't have any experience but everything i have heard is that carbon rims do not brake as well as Aluminium wheels in the wet. For this reason i am intrigued by the carbon/Aluminium wheels, i.e. Campagnolo Bullet.

But for me i will probably just get another set of open pros when the current wheels wear out, as for my use i think they make a lot of sense.

The braking in the wet is poor, but you know it'll be poor! I only once had a brown trouser moment when a car pulled out, I braked and nothing happened, still stopped, but it took a little longer than expected. They tend to be grabby, but no way it'd stop me getting another set. I'd probably keep them for nice days though.

Most carbon/alu rims are heavy, I had a quick spin on some Cosmic Carbones at the weekend, they made a light bike feel sluggish. If you want a climbing wheel I'd definitely avoid. The Shimano carbon laminates aren't bad, but you could get the P-X carbon ones for near half the price, and they're about 300g lighter!

Have Bonty 50mm carbon tubs for racing. Lovely wheels but race use only.

As Njee says, you know the braking will be poor and in the wet you brake easier/earlier. I run yell swiss stops. Regrdless of pads the braking can still be grabby. For all the braking problems, it doesnt stop nearly all the bunch racing on carbon tubs.

Train on Dura Ace carbon laminates (alu braking surface)and have had them 2 years - couldnt recommend them enough and light for the price.

So in answer to your Q, I wouldnt bother getting carbon rims for training.

ok, thanks for the replies..

gives me food for thought!

Train on Dura Ace carbon laminates (alu braking surface)and have had them 2 years - couldnt recommend them enough and light for the price.

Like I say though, you can get P-X carbon jobbies for far less money that are far lighter. Depends if you fancy training on tubs.

Ditto what t'others have said.

Full carbon tubs wheels can be v light and as an owner of 6 CF wheels, I'd actually say [b]don't[/b] go with tubs unless you're planning on regularly racing.

I have some D/A 7850 C24 wheels on one of the road bikes and they've been nice. Merlin have the current 7900 versions [url= http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Wheels/Road+Wheels/Factory+Road+Wheels/Shimano+Dura+Ace+7900+C24+CL+Wheels+-+Pair_WH7900C24CL.htm ]here[/url]

Not that I have (used to carry a Vittoria Pit Stop sealant thingy which I never needed), but you can just as easily carry a spare tub as you can a tube, IMO it needn't be too much hassle.

How are the rim-weights comparing with stan's alphas? (this and tyre weight, after all, being what matters most)

Does anyone use tubs for fun riding, repair them themselves etc? I know it should be do-able but I've never gone there.

Planet X 20mm jobs (which are also FFWD F2Rs) are 250g, vs 350 for Alphas.

I used Bontrager XXX Lite tubs for a year or so for all my riding (and racing), put a bit of Stan's sealant in them, never once flatted, so didn't have to repair them! Conti Competitions FWIW. Lovely wheels. Sold them as I didn't really justify such a posh set, then ended up buying some Aeolus 5.0 clinchers and was disappointed, they were heavy (more so than my Race X Lite alu clinchers), really sluggish on the climbs, and wouldn't hold onto tyres, which was scary. Amazingly fast on the flat though!

Ahh I see....blimey that is light. I tried tubs a few years ago before I got into stans. At the risk of boring folk I built up some wheels around 1450gm using 24H alphas and light hubs off ebay for <£250.

This could save another 100gm per wheel, if I trash my alphas this could tempt me (am finding the tubless "feel" good though)

That's exactly what I was thinking of doing on the P-X rims. Though I'd be tempted to get some pimp hubs and go for 1000g.

You running alphas?

What about a set of American Classic Magnesium wheels? About £700 but at 1200g they're pretty light and a proper rim for braking on.

m1kea - really? not to go tubs? why is this? fixability of the tubs?

i am not going to be racing, but i like the idea of trying them out as here in switzerland the climbing is really great..

would be interested to know!

thanks

whatnobeer, do you have a link? just been on the site, and dont see them?

edit, oops..ok i just missed them!

Thanks!

I always wondered why metal matrix was never used for rims (remember M2 etc bikes in the 90s)

lighter, harder...I guess it eats dies.

Has anyone actually used american classics? I see that these come out this fall, so no-one can have any experience with them...but i mean as a brand?

You running alphas?

Nah, I'm running some old Race X Lites, although for 99% of my riding I use a PowerTap hub built onto an Open Pro, which weighs a ton. Tempted to build a lighter PT, as I do like having the data. Road bike's just a tool though, tend to spend all my money on the MTB!

AMC hubs were always famed for their poor durability, but this is less of an issue on the road and they've been a lot better in recent years. Personally think their rims are a bit gaudy, but if that doesn't bother you they're a good bet.

Njee, is that a PT on your MTB? Interesting.

scotia

m1kea - really? not to go tubs? why is this? fixability of the tubs?

i am not going to be racing, but i like the idea of trying them out as here in switzerland the climbing is really great..

would be interested to know!

I have:

A pair of Corima Aeros (2004)
A pair of 56mm Easton EC90 TTs (2011)
Corima Disk (2006)
Ancient Mavic 3G (brought 2nd hand in 97!)

As you can probably tell, my wheels are for time trialling. Tubs roll very nicely (potentially better than clinchers) and are generally lighter.

The main downside is punctures. I seemed to get loads back in 2009 and they're not cheap or quick to sort out. Conti's in particular are utter gits to fit and I've stopped using them after spending 15 mins replacing one by the roadside in my last 100 mile TT.

[url= http://www.tubular-repairs.com/ ]Peter Burgin[/url] is well known as [i]the[/i] man for tub repairs in the UK and he's had plenty of business from me over the years. 🙄

I'd personally never try a tub repair as there's just too much work involved for my taste, abilities and interest level.

njee20, it sounds like you've been lucky with your tubs?

Njee, is that a PT on your MTB? Interesting.

Nah, on the road. Whilst I'd be interested to see what power outputs are like on the MTB don't see the point in lugging around the extra weight.

njee20, it sounds like you've been lucky with your tubs?

Yep, probably. I probably did about 5000 miles on them without a flat. Like I say, I did put a bit of Stan's in there, which may have worked. They were extremely 'flat' on top, particularly the rear, by the time I got rid of them.

Sorry to Hijack a little but if anyone wants a set of Dura Ace Carbon Laminate wh-7850 24's I have a set that have just 500 miles on them and in mint cond. looking for £400 with postage and a set of Schwalbe tyres.

dc30online AT gmail.com if interested.

I know they're probably not what you're after but I've just got a set of RS80 Carbon Laminates and IMHO they're superb, really made a difference to the bike.

2 tubs punctured last year (Veloflex) - not cheap. I train on clinchers , race on tubs. Tubelss on MTB .

Actually have some Ultegra tubeless compatible road wheels on winter bike and fancy trying tubeless on the road when the bike makes its appearance in October.

i have never had any problems with my carbon clinchers ?ive sold 20 plus pairs now and nothing has gone wrong....i ride them all the time there 1250g and 50mm deep.
just put that out there.
Bruce

Whats the spec and price on those Bruce? They sounds like great fun 😛

I've heard good things about most of the American Classic wheelsets but dont know anyone personally who have any. All seem to get good reviews though.

Ahem, cough........................Tune Schwarzbrenner carbon rims..............................cough cough

You will not find a carbon rim with better braking braking, I'd put them on par, if not better (yes, better) than aluminium rims, even in the wet.

Al, do you have details/a link to the hubs, rims and spokes?

Thats very light for the price, a good 200g's lighter than my wheels at the moment.

How durable are they?

I have just bought my second pair of Shimano RS80 carbon laminate wheels. I am not quick enough to say they are a performance enhancer or a drawback but the first set stayed true over thousands of miles commuting and they looked pretty cool too. Hence why after selling a bike with the first set on I now have a brand new pair.

DTF - alpha rims (£170, 700gm), a £30 Woodman SH rear hub (250gm) and a £30 100gm front hub, 48 ACI spokes (17 GUage IIRC - between DT Rev and Comp) for £15 or so.

Rims seem OK though I properly bent the front in a freak low speed off.

If I was buying now I'd be very tempted with those carbon tub rims and tubeless juice.

Thanks Al, what length spokes did you need?

The carbon rims look good but Ive heard horror stories about not being able to brake in the wet and all that. Descending wrynose pass in the wet is scary enough without braking issues.

Email me if you''re going for it and I'll loosen a few off to measure them.

Nice one! I'll have look into it a bit more when I get chance this weekend

I have the dura ace carbon laminates as well and use them to train and race and I think they are really excellent. Light, stiff and bomb proof.

However, I am considering some race wheels which at the moment looks like being some Zpp carbon clincher, either 404 or 808 firecrest ( tubs would be a pain in Denmark as I seem to get a lot of punctures here)

Any thoughts?

The zips seem to have th edge in the aero department, but I am a little cynical of the marketing

a hub similar to the enve composites 4.1
revolution spokes and dati hubs with alloy nipples....email info @4crosswheels.com and say bruce recomended you from stw and my buisness partner should be able to sort it out from there 🙂