Aluminium V Carbon Fibre Wheels

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
Lewski33
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:48 am

by Lewski33

OK, probably been asked before but what is really better?! Aluminium or carbon wheels?
I'm not racing but I ride my bike a lot up in the Alps. I've seen the prices of carbon fibre wheels and even though there's a reason for this price I still can't justify spending it. Well, not in one go. Then I thought about building my own wheels. Not only do I get exactly what I want but I get to 'spread' the cost of the wheels. (Buy the hubs one month, spokes next month etc).
Then I thought to myself, why not a top end aluminium wheelset? I've read so much about carbon wheels not being as good as aluminium when breaking, especially in the wet and long descents can possibly warp the wheels.
What are your thoughts? It's for my new Canyon Ultimate CF SLX bike build so I still want it to look good too :)
Any help would be appreciated and if someone knows some good sites where I could possibly buy the components/wheelbuilders in the EU then that would be great!

Cheers

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



fogman
Posts: 1067
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:36 pm

by fogman

If riding in the Alps, I would use either aluminum clinchers or carbon tubulars.

I have aluminum clinchers (Shamal Ultra), carbon clinchers (Bora One 35) and carbon tubulars (Bora One 50). I do not use my carbon clinchers if my route includes technical, mountainous descents where prolonged braking might be anticipated. For hilly (not mountainous) descents the carbon clinchers are fine IMO.
It's all downhill from here, except for the uphills.

JMT
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:16 pm

by JMT

Go with Alu clinchers or possibly tubulars.

Reasons:
It sounds to me like price is an issue for you.
Price-wise aluminium rims beat carbon rims.

aluminium rims work well when breaking, even when wet. With carbon rims it varies, so on average I'd say aluminium wins there as well.

carbon is lighter than aluminium rims in general, so carbon wins the weight contest. However you are not racing so who cares if you could ascend a tiny bit faster if you saved a few hundred grams.

In your situation I'd go for aluminium clinchers, unless you really like tubulars (and in that case there are aluminium tubulars), there is no need to haul an extra pre-glued tire with you (some would say call a cab/partner but I don't know if you have cell phone reception everywhere). This is probably the most economical way to go as well.

If you want to build wheels yourself I'd get a spoke tension meter and a good spoke key, that's actually good to have even if you don't build. For a road bike you can use the fork and break pads to make sure the wheel is true, but if you'll rebuild several times then a truing stand could be worth paying for since it will be less of a pain and you should be able to build faster.

Looks is a matter of taste but black black black should work and be no problem to find. I think something like a DT Swiss rr440 rim, possibly asymmetric in the rear, DT revolution or the Sapim variety would work. Hub depending on price/weight/sound/compatibility and whether you want cup and cone and hub geometry.
Starbike, Bike24, Actionsports, Wiggle etc. all have wheel parts. Some of them offer low cost build services as well (if you have that tension meter and spoke key you can fix any deficiencies). I'll let the others recommend wheelbuilders for you. If you order piece by piece on different occasions shipping cost goes up, it won't save you anything.

Lewski33
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:48 am

by Lewski33

JMT wrote:Go with Alu clinchers or possibly tubulars.

Reasons:
It sounds to me like price is an issue for you.
Price-wise aluminium rims beat carbon rims.

aluminium rims work well when breaking, even when wet. With carbon rims it varies, so on average I'd say aluminium wins there as well.

carbon is lighter than aluminium rims in general, so carbon wins the weight contest. However you are not racing so who cares if you could ascend a tiny bit faster if you saved a few hundred grams.

In your situation I'd go for aluminium clinchers, unless you really like tubulars (and in that case there are aluminium tubulars), there is no need to haul an extra pre-glued tire with you (some would say call a cab/partner but I don't know if you have cell phone reception everywhere). This is probably the most economical way to go as well.

If you want to build wheels yourself I'd get a spoke tension meter and a good spoke key, that's actually good to have even if you don't build. For a road bike you can use the fork and break pads to make sure the wheel is true, but if you'll rebuild several times then a truing stand could be worth paying for since it will be less of a pain and you should be able to build faster.

Looks is a matter of taste but black black black should work and be no problem to find. I think something like a DT Swiss rr440 rim, possibly asymmetric in the rear, DT revolution or the Sapim variety would work. Hub depending on price/weight/sound/compatibility and whether you want cup and cone and hub geometry.
Starbike, Bike24, Actionsports, Wiggle etc. all have wheel parts. Some of them offer low cost build services as well (if you have that tension meter and spoke key you can fix any deficiencies). I'll let the others recommend wheelbuilders for you. If you order piece by piece on different occasions shipping cost goes up, it won't save you anything.

That's a great detailed reply. Many thanks indeed. I think I will still build the wheel (be it myself but most probably a shop) and get all the parts from one shop like bike 24 or starbike which I use alot. As nice as carbon is I can't justify the price, even if after a frame it's probably the most important. I'm also weary of braking differences and unsuspecting potholes. I think I would cry if I hit one on carbon rims and they cracked!

So I'm thinking a good robust, but also lightweight hub, Sapim spokes and a good aluminium rim. Hopefully with the hub I can keep the weight down also.

Can you recommend some good rims apart from the DT Swiss? And also the hub. I've had my eye one Chris King and DT Swiss but when I heard them....I just couldn't cycle around with that noise!

And thanks again for your help!!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

User avatar
rmerka
Posts: 618
Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:23 pm
Location: Austin, TX

by rmerka

Rims: Pacenti SL23 if your looking for quality + fairly light HED Belgium for quality + robust and still not too heavy.

If you'd like some deeper rims but still want aluminum you can always split the difference and give something like HED Jets a look see. The confidence of an aluminum rim with the aero of the carbon part bonded to the rim.

Hubs: Chris King's are great hubs but they are a bit noisy, I personally like it. White Industries T11 is always a solid choice, not the lightest option but very reliable and not what you'd call a heavy hub. Titanium freehub is nice if you're running something besides a SRAM Red cassette (which won't notch a freehub) then White freehub makes life easy. I'd stay away from the DT Swiss hubs until they update their flange spacing. There's always the exotica of Tune, Extralite, etc...

davidalone
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:27 pm

by davidalone

The H PLUS SON Arcehtype is a very nice aluminium rim, comparable to the Pacenti but cheape. and it looks the biz, too.

eric
Posts: 2196
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:47 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, California, USA
Contact:

by eric

Carbon rims can soften from brake heat and let the tire pop off. Or sometimes the rim withstands the heat but the tire comes apart due to the concentrated heat at the bead (I've had that happen). It depends on the rim and how much you brake. Big fast descents with few tight turns are very safe while shorter descents with lots of tight turns can kill a tire/rim within a few minutes if you are braking a lot.

Ignoring the failures, braking is not as good as aluminium especially in the wet. Depending on the rim and pads it can be pretty close to aluminum or kinda terrible. You will need special pads and need to change pads when changing wheels.

Unless you are racing it's probably not worth the bother.

Lewski33
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Oct 08, 2015 10:48 am

by Lewski33

rmerka wrote:Rims: Pacenti SL23 if your looking for quality + fairly light HED Belgium for quality + robust and still not too heavy.

If you'd like some deeper rims but still want aluminum you can always split the difference and give something like HED Jets a look see. The confidence of an aluminum rim with the aero of the carbon part bonded to the rim.

Hubs: Chris King's are great hubs but they are a bit noisy, I personally like it. White Industries T11 is always a solid choice, not the lightest option but very reliable and not what you'd call a heavy hub. Titanium freehub is nice if you're running something besides a SRAM Red cassette (which won't notch a freehub) then White freehub makes life easy. I'd stay away from the DT Swiss hubs until they update their flange spacing. There's always the exotica of Tune, Extralite, etc...

Extralite was my next choice on the hubs and I will check out those rims also.
Thanks for your time and advice!

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

gravity
Posts: 657
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:01 am

by gravity

I've picked my Zonda more often than my Corima Aero+ tubular in recent days.

Peace of mind is my utmost priority, as I hate to fix a tubular by the roadside. But sure carbon wheels make your bike looks better.

BigPoser
Posts: 172
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:42 pm

by BigPoser

rmerka wrote:Rims: Pacenti SL23 if your looking for quality + fairly light



^^^^ This!!! ^^^^ I literally just unpacked my wheelset that a friend of mine bought (in pieces) from Bike Hub Store and they are awesome. I've heard nothing but great things from them and can't wait to get them on the road. I will be getting a set as well very soon. He chose BHS hubs, and I've used them on two previous builds on my own bikes and they are great. Can't say enough about them. Not too loud, roll very fast, inexpensive, easy to service when needed and light. Front hub is 66gr. Used Sapim laser spokes mounted radially and the front wheel (24h) weighed 612gr. I'll build my set with 20h radial and should come in around 590gr for the front. I haven't built up the rear as of yet, but will soon.

I also have a set of H Plus Sons on one of my bikes and they are a great value. A bit heavier than the Pacenti's, but I think they look better personally and they are bombproof.

I'm with you in that I can't justify spending the money on carbon wheels. I don't think the benefits out way the cost.

Good luck with you decision.

Brandon

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



martinko
Posts: 355
Joined: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:08 am
Location: Slovakia

by martinko

When deciding about expensive bike purchase, always consider whether you are able to handle (even psychically) repair or replacement of the item if you crash it. ;)

To stay on topic, I am also considering going with handbuilts. I missed few auctions with Dura Ace hubs on eBay, but winter is coming :-)

Post Reply