Carbon Clincher Rim Brake Tracks NexGen - Experiences?

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Beaver
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Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:06 pm

by Beaver

Hello,

the new generation carbon clinchers for rim brakes tend to feature textured brake tracks (e.g. Enve, Zipp, Mavic).

What are your experiences with these, especially in the wet?

http://brimages.bikeboardmedia.netdna-c ... rack02.jpg
http://www.zipp.com/_media/images/techn ... mage-1.jpg
http://bikeboard.de/_uploads/_fotos_thu ... 253424.jpg

The Mavic rims seem to be the best in the wet but eat up brake pads:

http://bikeboard.de/_uploads/_fotos/89751_171674.jpg

Kind regards

Beaver

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iliedanila
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by iliedanila

I have a few months old Tune schwarzbrenner 38T with basalt brake track and I got very confident with how they handle braking.
I mean I don't miss alu rims in any way, they are that good.
I have ridden them in wet but not pouring rain, brake still ok, I admit, I did brake a little earlier, preventive.
I use ultegra 6800 brakes with swissstop black prince evo.

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Beaver
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by Beaver

Thank you for your input. Do you know what kind of rims are used? They look a bit like these: http://www.farsports.cn/product/detail.php/id-303.html Could be the same manufacturer.

Those are actually smooth - the new ones are really "rough" through a textured mold (or laser treatment on the Mavics) and should be even "grippier".

kode54
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by kode54

my Enve wheels with new brake track stops much faster in wet and dry...but eat pads like there's no tomorrow. i'm not sure there's any way around that if you want to stop securely. i use pads 3X more than previous brake track. in fact, Enve gives you extra pads. not sure if that's the reason why. i was told that over time, the wear will lessen as the textured surface wears.
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ms6073
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by ms6073

Beaver wrote:The Mavic rims seem to be the best in the wet but eat up brake pads:

That seems strange given that the Mavic appears to have a simple cosmetic weave, not an actual textured finish like the Enve and Zipp wheels.

Image
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AZR3
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by AZR3

Looks like Mavic takes a similar approach that Xentis does, where they just shave off the layer of resin on the brake track and expose the carbon, which gives it a little bit of a rough texture to aid in braking.

Image

Enve and Zipp look like they machine a pattern into the brake track surface. Not sure which is better but I do have a pair of Xentis SilverLine 2.5 clinchers and they are easily the best braking carbon wheels i've owned.

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Beaver
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by Beaver

kode54 wrote:my Enve wheels with new brake track stops much faster in wet and dry...but eat pads like there's no tomorrow. i'm not sure there's any way around that if you want to stop securely. i use pads 3X more than previous brake track. in fact, Enve gives you extra pads. not sure if that's the reason why. i was told that over time, the wear will lessen as the textured surface wears.


Ok, brake track wear could be an issue again with these textured rims.

Do you use the grey (old) or black (for textured rims) Enve brake pads?

http://enve.com/products/brake-pads/

Here are reviews of the new Mavic wheels, AZR3 seems to be right:

https://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/mavic-co ... eview.html

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... l-c-50239/

duvivr6
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Location: PR

by duvivr6

I normally ride Far East carbon tubulars with Basalt brake track and I have a set with regular brake track. Don't really have an issue but always thought they didn't brake as good as aluminum.

I am in the process of moving so thought, let me put on my set of Fulcrum Zero's just in case and once I started riding them my thought was "hmm i guess carbon braking is really not that bad"

Using Black Prince on Carbon and OEM Campy on aluminum.


mnmasotto
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Location: Irvine, CA

by mnmasotto

I have a pair of the new Campagnolo Bora One wheels with the wider rim and new brake track. The braking performance in the wet is really good. Not the same as my tarmic disc bike but close. Unfortunately, the new brake tracts really go through brake pads like there is no tomorrow. I agree with Kode, about 3x faster brake pad wear.

clarkson
Posts: 190
Joined: Sat May 07, 2011 12:23 am

by clarkson

I have ridden a few of the new gen Mavic wheels, and I feel the best braking in the business right now. Smooth, powerful, consistent, although I didn't get much chance to try them in the wet.

superdx
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by superdx

The new Campy brake tracks (and Fulcrum as well) are very impressive. Wet almost imperceivable difference, though you need to clear water just like on all carbon rims. When I go from my Zipp wheels to Campy wheel brake tracks, I almost flip over my bars because they bite so hard. I can't comment on the pad life as they're not my every day wheels but compared to how fast I go through Black Prince pads, Campy pads seem to last a lot longer in comparison.

rgrhon
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Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 6:03 am

by rgrhon

I have Enve 3.4s with textured brake tracks on my climbing bike and an older 3.4 set without the textured tracks that I swapped to my aero bike. The new track descends much cooler and brakes MUCH better (tested on 1500ft descent, don't know about the alps yet as I live in SoCal). Wet degrades them very, very little descending in a light rain. Haven't tested them in deeper water. I have the clincher version, and have direct-mount brakes. They require new Enve black pads, and my guess after 500mi is the pads will only last ~2500mi. But at $20 for the pads it's well worth it! The noise is disconcerting at first, but now I like it because it warns people behind me.

These will definitely delay my acquisition of road disc brakes for at least a couple years if not indefinitely, when hopefully discs will cost less, work better, weigh less, squeal less, rub less, overheat less, and be road maintainable.

BdaGhisallo
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by BdaGhisallo

rgrhon wrote:I have Enve 3.4s with textured brake tracks on my climbing bike and an older 3.4 set without the textured tracks that I swapped to my aero bike. The new track descends much cooler and brakes MUCH better (tested on 1500ft descent, don't know about the alps yet as I live in SoCal). Wet degrades them very, very little descending in a light rain. Haven't tested them in deeper water. I have the clincher version, and have direct-mount brakes. They require new Enve black pads, and my guess after 500mi is the pads will only last ~2500mi. But at $20 for the pads it's well worth it! The noise is disconcerting at first, but now I like it because it warns people behind me.

These will definitely delay my acquisition of road disc brakes for at least a couple years if not indefinitely, when hopefully discs will cost less, work better, weigh less, squeal less, rub less, overheat less, and be road maintainable.



Does the noise made by the new Enve textured brake track and black pads diminish with use? Wondering if as they wear in the noise might abate.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I rode my own today again in a race. The braking in the wet (it was proper wet) was fine once the pads had scrubed of the water. My rim brakes as well as alloy rims wet or dry. I use campag pads too as i have found them to be best for braking distance and longevity of the rims and pads. My rims are not textured to the dxtent of mavic rims. The weave is now more visible as thevresins have worn a bit due the mileage i have put on them.

The best factory carbon wheels out there today for braking performance are probably campag. They have the best pads which helps.

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