SkepticalOne

Good God! I hope there was some insurance coverage on this!

bikebreak

That's a good speed for 125, but at 15mph you are not getting a lot of advantage from deep rims.
A 55mm rim will be much better at high speeds and give a much larger aero advantage, think 20mph vs 18mph. At least for my Easton ec90 55mm

bikebreak

changing a tubular is pretty quick, as fast as replacing a tube if you know what you are doing. In my experience (6 years riding, 4 mostly on tubular) tubular tires flat less than clinchers, and never pinch flat. Also you can put sealant in them and they become impervious to little thorns etc. that kill a tube.


for alloy, tubular rims are not a whole lot lighter or better than clincher. they used to make 250 gram tubular rims (yes alloy) but now most are around 400g and overbuilt for cx use


for alloy rim brake pads CoolStop has really nice salmon colored pads for wet, and combination pads (black and salmon) for all conditions, and a three compound CX pad for even more conditions

Maelochs

Brain surgery is easy if you know what you are doing, I'd guess.

Personally I found that finally I have hit the sweet spot ... I know enough to know what I don't know.


Seriously, I was on what was, for me, a long ride on a Sunday night last month and got two punctures in a couple miles. It was an unlit stretch of road (which I like) and I had lights on the bike, so if I needed to add a glueless patch for a third flat I could have.

I hear about how much better tubulars ride, and I hear it from people whom I believe to be honest and experienced ... but I like to plan for worst-case scenarios, having found myself in so many .... Maybe when I get older and crazier I will try tubulars and regret all the wasted years ....

Seattle Forrest

Got 'em this weekend. Forgot how magical these things are.
@Maelochs, I don't know how many bikes and wheels you have, but new toys are always fun, and they call you out to the road. Go for it man.

dksix

I use BBB carbon fiber wheel brake pads in 6800 calipers on eBay 50MM x 23MM rims. I've never had an issue with stopping power, even when riding in the rain.

woodcraft

I wouldn't know, as I haven't had 20mph moving average in decades.

Did have a quite fast time on a flattish DC last year (on same wheels as you), but can't separate the wheels from

drafting, etc. etc.. Since it's pretty much a guess anyway, I don't want to overstate.


The most objective measure I have is that a regular riding partner who outweighs me by 40 lbs would always

coast past on descents, but while using those wheels, he never did.

Maelochs

Wait, was he using the wheels and couldn't coast past, or were You?

woodcraft

I didn't word that very well, did I?

Maelochs

Do pretty much anything you want, I am cool with it ... but Don't Make Me Think.

I am an American, after all.

Seattle Forrest

I realized I should maybe mention this, especially with braking traditionally being the Achilles heel of carbon rims.

I got mine this weekend. First ride was up and down Sun Mountain. Got to the top just after sunset, came down at full speed in the dark, it was a deery night, I didn't give it a second thought.

Phenomenal stopping power and control. But they're disc brake wheels, so I knew that, I knew exactly what to expect, and didn't have a worry in my mind. They work brilliantly in the desert sun, they work fantastically in the Seattle rain, I don't ever have to worry about knocking my teeth out all over the road. Which was the stated intent behind this entire thread.

If I'd had more time, the first ride would have been Washington Pass - a longer, steeper, faster descent. But road tubeless is a bear to set up and they were ready an hour before sundown.

Anyway, I don't think anybody would buy a set of Chinese carbon rim-brake wheels and take them up and down a mountain for the first ride. I sure wouldn't.

Words to the wise.

rpenmanparker 

Well, since you put it that way...

Actually you make a very good point. There are lots of arguments about carbon clinchers, Chinese and otherwise, but when you cast that light on it, the choices do get a bit clearer. And this from a guy who totally believes in the product.

woodcraft

Glad that you like your wheels, but your post has several problems IMO.

- Repeating tired CF stereotypes.
- Riding full speed down a mountain in the dark without a second thought.
- Riding full speed down a mountain in the dark on the first ride of untested wheels & tires.
- You have experience riding in the desert?
- Apparently believing that disc brakes guarantee against crashing.
- Generalizing about what anybody would do.

Maelochs

Well ... sorry about all y'all's problems ... I''ve solved mine.

I am getting a set of nice, light hand-built alloy rim-brake wheels, and eventually a set of deep CF discs ... for the next bike I build.

Wife wants a new car so ... Leverage!

MinnMan

(yeah, I know this is a zombie thread)

I'm headed to Las Vegas to ride over the MLK weekend, and unexpectedly I can't take the disc brake bike with me. So I'm taking the rim brake bike. Normally, that one has carbon (Lightbicycle) clinchers, but there are some long long descents on my planned routes - 3000-4000 feet continuous at 5% or so - and having done them before, I know I'll be riding the brakes for a long time. (You guys with skills who would bomb down these at 50+ mph - bully for you, but there's too much debris on these roads for me to be comfortable with that).

So I'm going to swap out the nice carbon rims for some old wheels with alloy brake tracks. Maybe it's not completely necessary, but it will give me a little less to worry about.
Call me weird, but brakes and wheels aside, I'm going to enjoy the ascents and hate the descents.

beeballman

I have Roval CL50 carbon wheels with rim break. I have had them 15 months with lots of miles. Have no issues with braking and minimum wear on the brake track of the wheels. Many factors would include how much your on the brakes, allot of downhills braking speed stops etc. I Would also say to follow the manufacturer recommended brake pads. Some wheels ask that you use a specific brake pad set. I have about 3000 miles on my wheels and I am still on the same set of brake pads. Best upgrade you can make to your bike are the wheels.

tomato coupe

Yes, but it's a good thing you revived it because the forum hasn't any rim vs. disc or aluminum vs. carbon threads since then.

Cdst

Is there a good list of "Great Debates" (possibly titled Holy Wars) anywhere? I think I need to get caught up.

MinnMan

Not a one?

The question then lingers - why did I choose this particular zombie thread to revive with my post?

B/c it was the first one I encountered in a search that about fit the bill, where people discussed braking on long descents.

I apologize to all those other zombie threads that weren't picked for resurrection. Their time will come.

popeye

Don't ride the brakes, both on hard at the same time, cool down and repeat. You will be fine.

seypat

What he said. Feather as much as possible.

GhostRider62

Delaminated carbon is also a zombie issue unless one is braking on old, lousy epoxy rims.

tFUnK

I wonder how well this thread has aged for a bigger dude descending long/steep grades?

beeballman

I purchased Roval CL50 Rim Brake Carbon wheels about 18 months ago, I have had no noticeable difference in braking. You need to make sure you use pads meant for carbon rims, but I have noticed zero difference in braking. Now , I also do not ride in wet weather either.

datlas 

It's worth revisiting this from 5 years ago. As someone who is still using rim brakes, I am sad to say it's probably true that rim-brake carbon fiber wheels are going to become an "orphan" technology soon. I doubt there will be much new investment, as most cyclists that are invested enough in the sport to buy new CF rims are almost always going to be running disc brakes.

I expect the existing technology to be around for many years, but don't think we will see any improvements on what we have.

Comments?