Xentis carbon rims/wheels - anyone love them, how's braking?

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jenfromzen
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:14 pm

by jenfromzen

Do they really brake better than other carbon rims with their "patented brake surface" does anyone know and how does it compare to braking on alloy rims? Does it depend on the pads used? Does anyone use the Xentis pads? Can anyone give an opinion on these in the tubular squad 2.5 vs Zipp 202 and Corima Winum +MCC? I believe these are all similar profile. I was going to get the xentis rims and do a custom build that would only set me back about $2100. I think the ready built Zipp and Corima would be closer to $3000 to $3300. I don't purposely ride in the rain, but there's getting caught in it on those iffy days.

Thanks for any insight.

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CharlesM
Posts: 5759
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:37 am
Location: Phoenix Arizona

by CharlesM

The braking is actually pretty damn nice... Reasonable rim spec, good stiffness. They're knocking out new blacked out graphics that look nice (because they don't look like anything at all). I believe they're getting into wider profiles now as well.

Really good QC on what I've seen so far.

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MJB
Posts: 173
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:17 am
Location: bottom edge of Australia

by MJB

I've put some small milage on my pair of Xentis Mark 1 TT wheels using regular Campagnolo brake pads in Super Record calipers. The braking is on par with a well set up alloy rim in the dry and considerably better than any other non patented brake track carbon rims I've tried including Corima Aero+.

Madfiber rims which I rode only briefly in the dry matched to madfiber cork pads are also the equal to the Xentis rims for stopping ability.

I use Madfiber pads on Nimble carbon rims (Fly and Crosswind) and find this the best combination for stopping in both wet and dry compared to Corima Red pads which I used previously.

HillRPete
Posts: 2284
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:08 am
Location: Pedal Square

by HillRPete

I was thinking Xentis might be the sleeper among the top end offerings, but having seen a heat-warped rear (clincher) had me surprised. This was on the bike of a capable and light-weight rider, by the way (top 10 in amateur nationals). Not a representative observation, obviously. Also not sure on the exact model/year, because it didn't have decals. Probably not the very latest anyway.

ipdamages
Posts: 52
Joined: Fri Jun 14, 2013 1:01 am

by ipdamages

I wore through the braking surface of my Far Sports clinchers within a couple months, but my Xentis 2.5 clinchers have held up remarkably well. I have to be careful in wet weather as the braking surface accumulates water and it needs a rotation to clear it in the rain, but that's pretty standard fare. FWIW, I ride about 15-20 hours a week and I am constantly going up and down climbs of between 5%-10%, up to 900m elevation. I weigh 58 kilos and my bike is around 5-5.5 kilos, depending on my wheels. I try not to ride the brakes hard on long, steep descents, but it can be hairy at times! Like this descent: Tuna Canyon. http://www.strava.com/segments/3227039

I give the Xentis wheel a big thumbs up.

tomyboy2

by tomyboy2

For this year I am riding Solist One/42.
http://www.bike-sports.at/solist-one42.html
Basically the same wheel allso Made in Austria, except you can choose different hubs and it is about 15% cheeper than Xentis.
Solist also use some nifty solution for the back spokes contact, they are wrapped with carbon fiber, for added stiffness.
Breaking surface is just great. Much better feel than my old Bore Two. Using recommended Swissstop Green High Performance 2 brake pads. No loud noises or squeaking...
The xentis break surface have a lifetime warranty, so don't worry about anything. :up:

Bodo
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 11:37 am
Location: Germany

by Bodo

I ride xentis 2.5 tubular and zipp 303.
Have used swissstop black prince and reynolds blue. Either way - braking on xentis is on a different level, both in wet and dry.
Also the reynolds perform better and last way longer.

liam7020
Posts: 1261
Joined: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:04 am

by liam7020

I have a pair of Tune Schwarzbrenner 42 clinchers which are basically Xentix rims on Tune hubs. Found the aluminium impregnated carbon braking track to be excellent when using Shimano non-carbon pads. Was initially a bit sceptical about this but I must say the braking is on a par with aluminium rims wet or dry.
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