Rim Brake Carbon Wheelset Disc Conversion

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hellabiker
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:07 pm

by hellabiker

Hello Everyone,

Is it possible to convert a FULL carbon wheelset (rim brake) to a disc compatible carbon wheelset by just replacing the hubs with disc mounts?




Thanks!

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

by rmerka

On the front rim make sure you have enough spokes to at least 2-cross so you don't have a catastrophe. I only say this because most carbon wheels designed for rim brakes have very few spokes in the front wheel and thus are usually laced radially.

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FIJIGabe
Posts: 2241
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:07 pm
Location: The Lone Star State

by FIJIGabe

As far as I've been able to find, you need to have at least a 24H front wheel, so the wheel can be laced 2x to handle the different loads placed on the wheel by the disc brakes.

grover
Posts: 1302
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 1:06 pm

by grover

Which wheelset?

By FULL carbon I'm picturing carbon hubshells bonded to carbon spokes bonded to carbon rims. That'd be hard and would require either the original manufacturer or other carbon engineer to cut the original hubs out and rebond them to a custom carbon hubshell with disc mounts. So the short answer is no.

If by FULL carbon you just mean a carbon rim with normal spokes/nipples then once again it's doable. Whether it's a good idea depends on how many spoke holes the rims have. As previously said, less than 24 in either rim is usually a bad idea.

I once had an Easton EC90slx wheelset with a damaged braking surface no longer usable with rim brakes. The rear rim was 24 hole so built easily 12 spokes, 2 cross both sides to a 24 hole hub. The front rim had 18 holes. I built it onto a 36 hole hub using a 12 spoke 2 cross pattern on the non-drive/disc side skipping a spoke hole every third hole on the hub, while the non-disc/driveside got 6 spokes radially laced into every third hole.

I glued up some cyclocross tubulars and did a 100km trail ride on them. They were not stiff laterally but they SEEMED ok under braking. I cased a gap jump on them on that first ride and destroyed the rear rim. So I disassembled them, put both rims in the bin and repurposed the hubs.

kulivontot
Posts: 1163
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:28 pm

by kulivontot

I mean aside from the fact that you'll need a disc frame to taken advantage of it too? In short, no. You need new hubs which have to be at least 24/24 lacing to handle braking forces and will require new spokes since the hub flanges will certainly change. So all you're really saving are the rims. Probably not worth the cost or effort.

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