This carbon wheel issue has been burning a hole in my soul for so long. The twin headed snake of thrift and indecision (not such an impressive snake as far as twin headed snakes go) held me at the impasse for years. Having @mauibike commit to all carbon for his lifetime wheelset needs got me hot. Seeing Fabs winning Paris-Roubaix and the Ronde on his Aeolius 5.0 wheels made the fever burn higher.
Maui is a very gusty place to ride and I was loath to own some deep section rims that would be the death of me. Looking pro while getting blown off the road at speed, uncool. Bontrager has the budget to blow on high speed computing and wind tunnels to make sure Gianni is not buffeted unduly. They also use Alpina spokes with plastic inserts so the the wheel should be truable for years.
Ebay is full of people who buy tubular wheels then sell them after very light use (or their first flat tire). Voila, Gianni finally owns Fabooo’s tubular wheels.
The first impression on the first ride was holy smokes, these float uphill. The weight difference was what impressed me immediately. I take off the front wheel when transporting the bike and I still marvel at its lightness. This lightness is also noticeable when cornering and not in a good way. The flywheel effect of a heavier aluminum rim is diminished making the steering, for lack of a better term, whippy. I’m used to it now but for the first few weeks the front end felt less stable.
My wife was quite vexed that I was undroppable on climbs; these wheels were feeling better and better. The improved climbing alone was enough to make me embrace the benefit of carbon construction.
It was during the first descent of Haleakala volcano where the other lightbulb switched on in my dim brain. Unintentionally I was going into every corner faster than usual. My V-meter does not give me data to substantiate the feeling but these wheels are more impressive going down than they are going up. They are fast. When you get off the brakes on a descent the bike just hauls more ass. To add to their list of wonders, they are very stable in gusty crosswinds too. The windtunnel testing was money well spent. Score one for the boffins.
I have not done enough riding in wet weather to have an opinion on rainy day braking. This is my number one bike after all and I’ve avoided the real steep descents if I have a choice.
To address the original question in the original article; can carbon wheels be one’s everyday, go-to wheels? I now say absolutely. These aero wheels are faster in all directions, why would you deny yourself that pleasure everyday. They do cost a huge amount to money new. That is their one massive downside. They can be had reasonably if one looks at slightly used tubulars, what is not to love about that? If one buys the premise that wheels are the most important upgrade to a bike, then buying light, aero, carbon wheels is the way to go.
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100% of the time, all conditions. I have 303's for the race bike and William's for the rain bike (they stop really well even when wet) and cheapo Neuvations on my cross rig. Plus they make the bikes look nice and angry.
Anyone have thoughts on carbon rim braking durability and overheating resistance? Report after the first Grand Fondo Hincapie was that 9 carbon wheels were ruined on the White Oak Mountain descent. I lost the wear dimples on a set of Easton EA90s after only 25,000 K. Fair amount of climbing/descending around here, but the same can be said of many areas. Maybe current carbon technology has solved the problem.
BTW, anyone out there doing the Hincapie ride this year? I'll be helping at the first rest stop. Good event but I don't pay to ride in my back yard.
@Dave
+1
I'm on the edge for these very reasons. It's all climbing and descending and crosswinds here. Pros are winning grand tours on them, but they get them replaced a tad cheaper. Not willing to sacrifice much there, until maybe I see just how well they climb.
Funny, I've been going through this exact thought process since my Enve rear wheel came out of the Caledonian Cogal looking like it had been attacked by a carbon grater.
Whether it was the wheel, tube or tyre which failed first is impossible to know, but the upshot was that the wheel was rideable but fucked. When I put my usual Vittorias on they just blew off so for once I was grateful for the extra-tight qualities of Contis.
Luckily Enve have a good crash-replacement policy so a new wheel was sent to Dubai and is being built up as we speak.
However I did reflect on the fact that if I hadn't had something which qualified as crash replacement the wheels, rear in particular, were looking pretty ratty after a year of use in training and racing - about 12,000km. The laminate on the braking surface was patchy and they seemed to come out of true more easily.
While Dubai roads are generaly excellent the heat and sand seems to have taken a toll and I think I would have wanted to replace it in the next six months anyway.
But as a powertap user I am a bit dependent on having a wheel with the power meter hub so I have bitten the bullet and ordered a new training wheel. A HED Ardennes is also on its way to me and I will use that as a training wheel and keep the ENVEs for racing and competitive rides. They are lovely wheels and have all the properties described by Brett and Gianni, and ENVE promote them as all-purpose.
So my summary - it's true they are OK for everyday use but be prepared for a shorter lifespan, and after a year I've decided it isn't worth it.
I got a pair of Shamal tubs this summer. They are aero, fast, light, tough and alloy. I don't need no stinking carbon. But I have to admit, I am still tempted.
Simply can't afford them... got a new set of Campag Ventos this year, that's where my budget lies. Not as pretty as the Ventos in the gallery there though, current ones are black with some fairly gaudy red and white decals, not those sleek unpainted beauties
The Group-San C24s (I know they're clinchers but they are a carbon rim) that came with my R3 this year were such a ludicrous jump up from my previous Mavic Aksiums that it was hard to actually work out how much of an improvement the bike itself was....
Don't we all just love obsessing about all the details? And wheels ? That's near the top of the list. If I spent as much time thinking about world peace as I do wheels I'd probably have a nobel prize. In the grand scheme of things that might sound kinda pathetic but whatev... I'm sticking with HED's Plus wheels, the Ardennes and Jets. There are days that I get the wheel, tire and pressure just right and it's glorious. I am so, so tempted to have a go with a tubular carbon sub 1400g Stinger wheel set but at end of day I've just not pulled the trigger on writing that check.
In the meantime I tried yesterday to quickly get some 30mm Challenge Strada Bianca open tubulars mounted on my Ardennes +'s and did not have luck. I change tires on my wheels all the time depending on the ride/race ahead and think nothing of it. A couple of minutes and wha-la, ready to ride. But these tires are literally a challenge. Cheers all, RC
I'm still rolling my Golden Tickets, and probably will be for the next few seasons. I do a lot of gravel riding, and they're ideal for putting up with shit road surfaces. I can ride the hell out of them and not stress about it if I trash them - I can deal with laying down $125 for a fresh rim if needs be. Besides, I'm on Velominatus Budgetatus rules right now, and dropping four figures on some nice carbon hoops isn't in the plan - a new cross bike is getting priority.
My guess is that carbon hoops will become ubiquitous for non-pros with the full adoption of road disc brakes - it's fine for the congnoscenti to deal with crappy braking in the rain, but none of us want dear old dad descending on fading brakes. Given advances in materials science, it's totally possible to make cheap, safe, and light carbon clinchers if you don't have to worry about a rim brake surface.
@wilburrox
I hate it when that happens - I've had the same struggle with Contis on Golden Tickets: no bueno. One day, I'm going to build a database of all the known-good+known bad tubular tire to rim combinations. It'll be my great contribution to human civilization.