skagitteam

I just bought a used bike with some fancy carbon wheels--Bontager Aeolus 5.0s. I can't afford a second wheelset without selling these, and can't afford to replace these if I destroy them. (By the way, I'm about 195 lbs.)

Would it be crazy to use these for everyday riding, and how long should I expect them to last? Would I be better off selling these and buying something cheaper for day-to-day riding, and maybe also make a couple hundred bucks? Worst case scenario for me would be that I destroy the wheels in a couple of months and have to pour another $500 into cheaper wheels just to be able to ride at all. Perhaps I should just buy a really cheap "training" wheelset and save the carbon for special occasions?

I have been riding touring bikes almost exclusively for the last 15 years and am just getting back into road cycling, so I have no experience with carbon wheels to judge whether they are worth keeping or not. Any insights would be really appreciated.

These are going on a Trek Madone set up with SRAM red. I won't be doing any racing.

Pain

You will never need carbon wheels. Stopping distance is greater than AL even with the special pads. You will always worry about the CF every time you hit a pot hole. Heat buildup is a huge issue coming down a mountain. 50mm-deep wheels are dangerous in a gusty cross wind. Sell those to some sucker that thinks they need them.

DaveWC

I had Aelous 5 wheels and put 5,000 miles on them before selling them and getting Boyd carbons with Powertap. I used them everyday and never had an issue. I sold my Aelous wheels online for $750.

halfspeed

If you're not racing or trying to hang with the fast guys, there's no point in keeping them other than cosmetics. That said, the drawbacks are overstated by retrogrouches. Ride them and see for yourself.

I'd be more inclined to recommend selling them if they are the older paired spoke design.

jsigone

you already got them ride the crap out them and don't crash!!

simonaway427

Quit over-thinking and ride what you have.

My carbon rims brake better than my aluminum ones.....sure, i'm not descending mountains, but then again, you're probably not either.

StanSeven

And your experience is how many miles on what wheels?

ericm979

I have three sets of carbon wheels and a pile of aluminium wheels.

If you're really short on cash, sell the wheels and buy some decent sturdy training wheels. Even if one does race, most of one's mileage is training. And you don't need CF wheels for training. The benefits are small. I use my aluminium training wheels for training and save the CF wheels for races. However, you would be selling the wheels at a used price and buying new aluminium rim wheels at a new price. So you may not end up with that much extra cash out of the deal.

If you want to keep the CF wheels, Bontrager CF rims are pretty durable although they are not particularly light. Make sure you have the Bontrager brake pads for carbon rims. Even then the stopping will not be quite as good as aluminium rims. If they're already used, try them yourself.

skagitteam

Thanks, all. I think ericm's thinking is fairly close to my own. Perhaps the wheels are worth $750 used. If I sell those I'm going to spend what--$500?--for a decent set of new aluminum wheels. If $250 is the only difference I think I will stick with the carbon wheels unless there is reason to think that they will have a really short life with a rider of my weight, which I'm not hearing from you guys. Or perhaps I will get a much cheaper set of aluminum wheels for those rides where heat build-up might be the greatest concern--thinking of doing the Death Ride this year, and those descents could get hot.

Biscayne05

I got some 50mm carbon wheels and I love em to death. Not so much during windy days (like yesterday), but that just makes you stronger

I'd just keep em. You should've thought about this whole predicament before buying your wheelset.

Essex

I would keep em' too. Just get a pair of nice aluminum rims and beat the crap out of them on training rides, and use the carbons on "special" rides. This is what I do. Also, I don't find 50mm too bothered by the wind. If ride the 50mm's enough you start to learn to compensate for the occasional gust.

ericm979

The Death Ride (I've done it 10 times) descents don't require much braking- IF you're a confident descender and you're fast enough to get out in front of the bulk of the riders before the descents on Ebbets. There's always riders who are going very slow on the descents. You don't want to pass them close, for your safety and to be polite, so if you're behind them you can end up doing more braking than you would otherwise.

OTOH, it's not a race, and aero wheels don't help much on climbs, only on descents and flat. It's a training ride for me, so I use my training wheels.

Crash716

Spoken like someone that reads a lot of Bicycling

let me guess…you've never owned a pair have you?

hammy56

Ive (like a million other people) got several thousand miles on my carbon clinchers with no issues. With the proper brake pads they'll brake well enough for most of us...

Do you have the new Aeolus D3 wheels? I just picked up a pair of the tubulars. They look to be very nice wheels. And do yourself a favor and put 25mm tires on them if theyre not on there already, and enjoy. Unless of course youre in desperate need of cash.

ericm979

If he got his info from Bicycling he'd think that carbon wheels add 2 mph to your average speed and are required to be competitive in charity rides.

But basically he's right- you don't need CF wheels. The benefits are small and the drawbacks are real. Carbon rims don't brake as well, some carbon clinchers have problems with heat buildup due to braking, carbon rims can be more fragile than aluminium rims, and deep aero rims can get blown around by cross winds.

I have skipped the carbon wheels when doing events with really steep descents, super rough roads, and when it's really windy. If I wanted a single wheel set for all conditions, they'd use aluminium rims.

chaulky61

+1 My carbon rims brake better as well, though it could be the difference between DA brakes on that bike and Ultegra on the other.

StanSeven

I've got two pairs of carbon wheels and they stop about the same as non-carbon (Ksyrium and Open Pros). The differences are so small I hardly notice although they aren't quite as good in the rain. I weigh 165 and use CF wheels pretty much all the time and zero problems. I just came back from a windy ride with Zipp 404s on a road with no shoulder and lots of traffic and I was very comfortable. I think it just takes some experience to get used o the feel of wind and you shouldn't have a problem

halfspeed

My carbon rims have proven to be far more durable than any aluminum rims I've ever ridden. Crosswinds really aren't much of an issue unless you're really light or the rims are really deep. Heat buildup is mostly an issue for mountain descents by inexperienced riders. The difference in braking is unnoticeable to me except that it's slightly worse in the rain. As I said, IME, the "issues" are overstated.

achoo

"dangerous in a gusty crosswind"? He ain't missing his pair of WHEELS....

popeye

I have one year now on 58/50's and my experience is the same as yours. Love em

009jim

Sell the carbon wheels. In the future when they decide carbon is safe enough and start to use on cars then we can all buy carbon wheels with confidence.

longbeachgary

That .

GlennR

rooftest

I saw that you're 195. When I got back into cycling, I was riding Bontrager wheels at 180; and was getting them replaced under warranty every 2,000 miles. I'm 6 ft 1; but you'll find that our weight makes us "morbidly obese" by cycling standards. Just my experience - just do what you're comfortable with.

skagitteam

You guys are awesome--thanks for all of the insights. Still not sure what to do, but that's up to me. I think I will try them for a few rides. If I love them, they will stay even if they may have a short life. If they seem like no big deal, I will sell them to someone who might value them more. Either way, it will be a fun experiment.

I know 195 is quite heavy for a roadie, but I left out an important detail that might make "morbidly obese" inaccurate by any measure: I'm 195 and 6'8" tall. My new madone is 64cm. Of course, the wheels don't care how tall I am; just the weight matters. But my wife and I got some weird pleasure from the idea that my scrawny figure is actually obese.