Originally Posted by
woodcraft
I ride CF wheels pretty much all the time on the road,
& braking is not an issue, wet or dry.
They are tubulars, so heat dissipation and weight are favorable. The 55mm ones are as light as very light alloy clinchers.
In the winter/wet, I'm more concerned w/ tire cuts but if it's really gritty then rim wear is an issue- same for alloy rims and disc pads.
Disagree w/ kbarch about comfort on long rides-
the 55mm wheels are just faster which can mean 1/2 hr less time on the bike over a long day. Not relaxing when it's really windy,
but the 35mm ones gain a little speed and are fine in gusty wind.
I've bought cast-off race wheels for little $ so not the end of the world if they get scratched or wear out.
I would not use carbon clinchers if I lived in Colorado or such.
Yeah, I was kind of off base regarding comfort. I was thinking about the whole bike that the medium-profile carbon rims are on, which is an aero frame built for speed, not comfort. But it still gets to the point about what's most important when I think about long rides. I won't say I'm always climbing, but there aren't a lot of times when I appreciate aero benefits as much as I appreciate the benefits of light weight, so for a bike I'm riding all day long, no way will I pay a premium for aero when I can get light weight instead. Besides, if I'm sitting up on the tops with an unzipped windbreaker billowing behind me, it kinda defeats the purpose.
Seriously, though, I imagine there's some tipping point along the continuum of flat-to-hilly riding environments where my mind would change.