Originally Posted by
Polaris OBark
Any chance the carbon fiber rims themselves become distorted when they heat up from braking?
Yes, certainly the earlier carbon rims that didn't use high temperature resin could deform permanently under heavy braking.
In the 2010s, we used to rent out Reynolds Attack carbon wheels, until they started to come back with destroyed side walls. The hilly Levi's Gran Fondo ate a pair once, front and back. Reynolds replaced them under warranty.