Extending the life span of carbon wheels?

[chris47]

Alright, i got myself some carbon wheels hat i would like to have around for a decently long time, but every time i finish a rainy ride i see a tiny bit of grey dust around the brake track.
I often clean the brake pads in order to remove shrapnel and stuff.
What kinds of tips and tricks do you guys have?

[stormur]

Clean pads & rim when it's dirty ( basically after every ride ), if it's clincher decrease pressure between rides to 3-4 bars, service/ check hubs reasonably often... Nothing will last forever .

[AJS914]

Get some cheaper winter wheels for rainy rides.

[chris47]

Sorry if the answer to this is obvious, but how would decreasing the tire pressure of a carbon clincher extend its life span?

[duvivr6]

Well depends how long you plan on keeping these. I have a set of 3 year old carbon clinchers I bought from china.

They have been ridden like they where stolen, crashed them, brake track is scratched(from crashing) and melted brake pads on descents.
They are still alive and asking for more. I used to use Yellow Swiss stops, and am now on the black price (much better).

[chris47]

Just out of curiosity, do you guys also get the grey dust when riding in the rain or is it a one off problem with my wheels?
Extra info: I am riding giant pslr0 full carbon wheels (clinchers)

[stormur]

Decreasing pressure in tires, you decrease pressure to rim sidewalls. Common knowledge and common practice.

[Multebear]

Just out of curiosity, do you guys also get the grey dust when riding in the rain or is it a one off problem with my wheels?
Extra info: I am riding giant pslr0 full carbon wheels (clinchers)

How do you find dust on your wheels after a rainy ride

My advice would be to have a training wheelset - some kind of cheaper alluminum rims, and use your carbon wheels only on good days. As stated before. Nothing lasts forever. And besides that, if you don't have the urge to upgrade or replace your wheels after some time, then you should consider yourself as lucky. I don't think I have completely worn any bikeparts at all. Out of boredom I've always upgraded before they were worn completely.

[duvivr6]

I had never heard of anyone decreasing the pressure in their wheels after a ride.

[Tomstr]

I believe the pads that come with the recent Giant's are grey so that would explain the dust. Similar things happen with Reynolds blue pads.

[salesguy]

I too have never heard of anyone decreasing pressure for the explicit purpose of extending the lifespan of the rim. I've also never once heard a manufacturer recommend that.

[Calnago]

Decreasing pressure in tires, you decrease pressure to rim sidewalls. Common knowledge and common practice.

Hmmm... Not where I'm from lol.

Grey dust after rain riding? Ha! I wish that's all there was. Muck, is more like it. I think people baby their carbon rims too much. The stuff is far harder than aluminum it seems. I've never even seen a carbon rim yet where the rim has been worn through from braking, no matter the weather. Not talking about delamination here, but just wear from braking. I just try to keep them relatively clean. Oh, and immediately after every ride I'll wrap them in swaddling cloths that have been steaming in an aromatic mixture of Vaseline and lavender while I was out on my ride. Common practice here.

[mimason]

I rack my bike with the wheels suspended in the air so I dont put too much pressure on the wheels when not riding and chant out the door like a monk. It works.

[drchull]

Given the force that the rims are made to resist from braking I really doubt that sitting at the 80psi I ride at will adversely affect the rim in any way. More likely that it would help the tires sidewall longevity, though this is not likely a problem for a bike ridden frequently as the rubber will wear down before the sidewalls degrade.

[Andrewjn]

A question along a similar braking issue. Does anyone know how the new Campy/ Fulcrum red brake pads work on an Enve carbon tubular. Kinda sick of swapping out pad holders ( 10 minsI know but). Thanks