TiHabanero

Have owned a mountain and 2 road bikes made from carbon. Frankly, they don't really do anything remarkably better than metal frames other than shed weight, which in the long run, the 1 or 2 pounds could have been shed from my body with very noticeable results!

Have had a change of heart when it comes to carbon rims. When they first became available, I was unable to see what they did better than aluminum rims outside of being lighter. Have seen the images of rim failures where they splinter upon impact, and delamination, etc. However, what I have noticed is that they require little to no truing after many thousands of miles of use. I have aluminum wheels I built myself that can go 5000 miles without need for a true job and am seeing the same with carbon rims. I am becoming a believer in carbon rims, not the frames, just the rims.

Ghazmh

Cool! How do you feel about carbon crank arms?

Dan Burkhart 

The vast majority of wheels I build these days are carbon. I've built a couple of thousand of them over the last several years, most of which were for one client that has their own branded line. I can count on one hand how many have come back for rim replacement due to crashes or brake track delamination (almost always due to use of improper brake pads.). There has never been a case of nipple pull through or rim bed cracking on any of them.
The rims are Chinese of course, but I have noted a marked increase in quality since the first ones came through here. The early ones were kind of lumpy and not precisely round which made radial truing a challenge. These days, they are pretty good in that regard.
I also get lots of wheels in for repair after having spokes torn out by derailleurs or just breaking, and where an aluminum rim will often be unsalvageable due to taking on a terminal warp after such an event, carbon rims can usually be built back up as good as new provided it did not take on any damage from impact.

Ferrouscious 

meh. just not on an mtb.

TiHabanero

Ferrouscious, it is a customer's mountain bike experience that led me to rethink my position on carbon rims. This guy rides way above his skill level and crashes several times every ride. He launches it, hits trees, stays seated on the rough stuff, everything that one is typically told to avoid. His wheels are perfectly round and true. Just amazing. Has two bikes with two different set of carbon wheels and both of them are doing just fine after 5 years of abuse. He is not the only MTB nut that has them, and they all seem to be able to take a lot of crap without trouble.
Started to take note of road bikes with carbon rims, and realized they just don't require truing. Runout may be .01, just not enough to bother with. Will I ride them? Sure if they come free, simply because I have some very nice and durable alum wheels that will likely last the rest of my years.

CargoDane

Care to share the brand/model of those rims? I am considering getting one for my rear wheel (currently have an Andra 40 rim) at some point.

TiHabanero

The big surprise is they are Roval wheels. Never have been impressed with Roval in the past (work at a Specialized dealer) but the ones I have seen in recent years are much better than before. I know they are made in China, and suspect they come from whatever manufacturer over there that can meet spec and do it for the right price. Fortunately these Rovals are using DT Swiss hub internals, so there have been zero issues on that front.

CargoDane

Thanks, I was hoping for rims, not wheels (have a Rohloff)

Slightspeed

I've been riding carbon rims since 2013, and love them. The truing issue is a great point, but they just seem a lot more stable and solid on the road. Pot holes, rocks, and other debris hardly affect the carbon rims. It just runs over or thru any obstacles that can't be avoided on the road. Another bike I have with Mavic aluminum rims is dangerous compared to my bike with carbon rims. The aluminum rims are affected big time by road debris or pavement issues. The only issue I have is wind sensitivity with my carbon rims, but that is a rim profile issue. My bike came with Token 55s and I went to Reynolds 41s a few years ago, and the side wind effect was much improved. I do use these rims with disc brakes. Being a heavy guy, with lots of up and (fast) down hills, I didn't feel that carbon rims and rim brakes were a good idea. I have several bikes including vintage bikes, where carbon just doesn't make sense, but on my fast, modern carbon bike, I love the carbon rims.

Amt0571

Almost never had to true any aluminium rim. Never on a road bike. If you're truing wheels every 5000 miles, something is wrong.

TiHabanero

Perhaps I am doing something wrong, although I'm not sure what it is, obviously. Never had a rear wheel that never needed truing regardless if I built it, Mavic built it, or a wheel guru built it. At 230 lbs I suspect it is me causing the "trouble". I also ride motorcycles with spoked wheels and had a vintage MG with spoked wheels, all of which require truing with miles as well.