Carbon wheels everyday.

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EmmetD
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by EmmetD

Ok guys just need a bit of helpful advice. I'm able to purchase a set of Vision carbon wheels for £900.
Situation is I do not race and most likely never will so only need one set of wheels. I recently bought a set of Fulcrum Zeros, great wheel that can be abused everyday.

Question is, can I sell the Fulcrums and use the carbon wheels everyday, except in torrential rain :0

Thanks folks....

Casati
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by Casati

I wouldn't do it. Full carbon wheels are not a good choice for wet riding and descending, so I'd always want to keep spare set of aluminium wheels. I'm building a pair of fcc at the moment, but Marchisio SuperLights are not going anywhere.

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EmmetD
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by EmmetD

Yeah I heard they can be deadly in the wet, but you seem to get conflicting reports! Thing is I can afford both sets but what's the point as it could be a new lens :0 Thanks mate!

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

Disagree, carbon wheels have come a long way since their early years. While the braking is reduced in the wet, it isn't terrible either. Descending is fine too, just don't ride the brakes all the time - alloy rims also over heat, you know.

Outside of commuting (where it may not be recommended), there are *plenty* of people riding full carbon wheels as their daily riders worldwide.

Keep a spare set of alloy wheels/rims anyway, but you'll be fine riding carbon daily.
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eric
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by eric

I've had carbon wheels brake poorly just from fog.

If you do steep technical descents with lots of braking then you may want to reconsider having carbon clinchers as your only wheels. It all depends on how steep, how technical, the rims, how good a descender you are, and if there's slow traffic you can't pass. I have some sets of carbon clinchers and tubulars too. The tiny marginal gains aren't worth the worry except in races (which don't do the same gnarly descents that I regularly ride).

EmmetD
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by EmmetD

I know people are saying have a spare wheel and I very much appreciate this advice. But the thing is, you can't carry the spare set with you. So what happens when it starts pouring down and you 50 miles from home? Is it seriously scary riding home?

Thanks again guys!!!!!!!

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53x12
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by 53x12

I ride my carbon wheels every day; commuting, training, racing...etc. Haven't put on aluminum wheels in ages.

If you have nice equipment, why not use it? You don't gain extra points at the end of the day for not using your equipment.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

EmmetD
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by EmmetD

53x12 wrote:I ride my carbon wheels every day; commuting, training, racing...etc. Haven't put on aluminum wheels in ages.

If you have nice equipment, why not use it? You don't gain extra points at the end of the day for not using your equipment.


Any hairy moments and are you in the UK matey?

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53x12
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by 53x12

No, I'm in the USA. I have used them in rain and in the hills + mountains. I use either Reynolds cryo blue brake pads or the Zipp Tangente. Have had good results with both.

http://www.reynoldscycling.com/technology/ctg-braking

http://www.zipp.com/accessories/detail.php?ID=16720
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

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dgasmd
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by dgasmd

While I live in flat lands in the US, I have been riding carbon TUBULARS exclusively for well over 8 years. Matter of fact, the only pair of alloy runs I own are not even laced, and are used only for stretching new tires prior to being mounted. I've been in the pouring rain in mountains with several of them and never had any issues either. You get used to their feel and brake accordingly.

cmcdonnell
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by cmcdonnell

Agree with Eric mostly in that it depends on where you ride. I'm in the UK and wouldn't use my Bora's in the winter because they'd get chewed up by braking, I even lose chunks of my aluminium rims if I'm unlucky so wouldn't use carbon. The wet braking is not a problem for me now living in Norfolk but possibly would have been a concern when I lived in Surrey, although saying that the Bora's brake fine in the wet but just not as well as a good aluminium rim. This is the reason I'm considering a race disc bike like a Tarmac disc as I like the idea of running carbon wheels all year.
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EmmetD
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by EmmetD

Yeah maybe I will hold out and wait until I get a disc bike in the near future. I live in Northern Ireland and it has done nothing but rain for the last three months. Mainly I think that one is having a bad case of GAS and money is burning a whole in my pocket. Would also be worried that the deadly roads around here would damage the braking surface.

Thanks for all the input, it has been much appreciated!

CrankAddictsRich
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by CrankAddictsRich

All day everyday on carbon clinchers here.. I don't often ride in the rain, but have been caught out in the rain 30 miles from home. In the wet, braking is decreased for sure, but it doesn't disappear, unless you're literally in a torrential downpour. When it rains, I just take it easy... slow it down, brake early. I find that if I drag the brakes a second or so before I need to brake, it dries up the brake track sufficiently to let me brake better... as opposed to just jamming them on straight away.

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mai
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by mai

it also depends on the wheels that you have - different carbon wheels can have vastly different braking performance.

I ride my ax lightness s55t wheels almost all the time. the braking performance is superb with swissstop black prince - maybe 90% of what I get from aluminium brake tracks. I am much less confident with the giant p-sl0s and shimano c75s on the 10% descend that I sometimes train on.

haven't tried vision wheels but you can probably get a feel within a couple of rides. with the right wheels and braking techniques, you'll be fine. if you drag the brakes on long descends, even alu clinchers can heat up and fail.

RyanH
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by RyanH

I have about 25,000 miles on carbon tubulars. I live in Southern California, so it's a lot easier to make the choice of riding carbon rims daily. If you have good brakes, good pads and a good carbon braking surface, then they can make great daily wheels. Older generations like my 2010 Reynolds DV46's and Enve Classics were not very confident inspiring in the wet, but the newer brake tracks on the Reynold's Thirty Two's are good. If I dealt with rain more often though, as I suspect you do in Ireland, I'd be on the fence depending on where you're riding and how.

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