Buying used carbon clinchers?

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sfo423
Posts: 736
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: San Francisco

by sfo423

Anyone have any suggestions for buying (or not) used carbon wheels? I can pick up some low mile Enve 3.4's for cheap (~$1300)...no receipt but not too worried about that. Or, new (cheap) Chinese Carbon Cycle 38's for ~$600, or get a set of new Reynolds 35mm w/Phil Wood hubs & CX-rays for $1500. These would be everyday wheels.

On the Enve, I hear the nipple corrosion and random brake track de-lamination are known issues. These are 2014 model wheels; were these 'issues' resolved (or not really issue at all)?

tia

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nlouthan
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:41 am
Location: SF Bay Area

by nlouthan

As long as you can inspect the ENVEs, there's no reason not to get them.

The lack of receipt isn't an issue since the warranty won't transfer anyway.

sfo423
Posts: 736
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: San Francisco

by sfo423

nlouthan wrote:As long as you can inspect the ENVEs, there's no reason not to get them.

The lack of receipt isn't an issue since the warranty won't transfer anyway.


I was under the crash replacement program was a bit more liberal in terms of proof of purchase? Maybe not.

Other than eyeballing, anything 'notorious' to check on these wheels?

superdx
Posts: 524
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:27 pm

by superdx

For the brake track delamination, that's pretty easy to check. Just run your fingers along the brake track and if there is delamination there'll be obvious humps. Nipple corrosion doesn't really have anything to do with Enve, most are built in the shops that sell them. You can always rebuild it with your own hub + spokes if that's the case.

Other than that, just check for the usual stuff with buying 2nd hand carbon components. Cracks, crashes, general damage. Since there's no warranty, anything that sticks out as damage should mean a no-go on the purchase.

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