Which carbon clincher wheelset has the best brake track?

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mellowJohnny
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by mellowJohnny

It's all about the resin. Once the resin in the break track hits its glass transition (Tg) temperature, its in trouble.

Different companies address the Tg issue in different ways. Zipp sources their resin from an F1 supplier, aiming to get a resin that withstands more heat, while Reynolds looks at the problem from a different angle, trying to lower the break track tempratures with special pad composites and track treatments. (I'm paraphrasing RBA - they did a great piece this year on carbon clinchers in their 2012 Buyer's Guide...it's worth a read.)

At the end of the day a rim built with inferior resins will have a harder time dealing with heat. And if you ride the wrong pads and ride the breaks, look out.

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VNTech
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by VNTech

Have to agree with Pez here. Zipp has the best brake tracks going in dry conditions. Enve 3.4, 6.7, and 8.9 takes a slight lead in the wet, I imagine simply due to the rough surface texture. The old Enve rims were highly inconsistent, many had crazy pulsing.

Zipp QC is pretty incredible. In the last few years I've never had one wheel feel any different from any other of the same model. If lots of rain rides are in your future you shouldn't be on any carbon braking surface anyway.
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jiefrew
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by jiefrew

"Which carbon clincher wheelset has the best brake track?"

Clearly, those carbon rims with alloy brake tracks have the 'best' braking experience [when combined with the appropriate pads].

Having run Zipps Enves, Custom Hand Builds, et. al., over the years I found NO ALL-CARBON WHEEL COULD COMPETE with the performance of alloy braking.

However, among the all-carbon family, those ENVE SES wheels are simply superb [IMO].

RULE? Go fast, brake less, stay safe, enjoy.

superdx
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by superdx

Campy / Fulcrum >>> Zipp braking for wet and dry. 3D Diamat (or whatever its called) has an insane amount of bite when the brake pads contact. Zipp may have good initial braking but after about a year the "coating" wears off and you're down to a very glossy brake track which works, is not dangerous, but a far cry when new.

I've read really good things about the 2016 Enve brake tracks that debuted with the SES 2.2. Textured and eats brake pads but supposedly extremely good performance. Anyone have any opinions?

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Only thing i know is that Xentis has claimed to have a good brake track!
But if we look around, most companies today claim they have a great brake track.

Question is probably which brake track working best when it's raining?
Is it not here the true problem is?

Braking in dry is not an issue with any modern carbon rims i imagine.

What is worrying is perhaps people test different brake pads, not knowing most brands can void your warranty if using other pads than those approved.
I asked Mavic about this and they told me, they can find resido on rims so they can see what brake pads we have used in lab tests.
So lets say a person run a Mavic wheelset, not approved brake pads and rim is damaged.
Rim/ wheel goes back to Mavic and they test it.
None approved pad usage would void the warranty.

Yes, i have been nagging about this before! But it's just so people know that it can be costly if you use unapproved brake pads.
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mpulsiv
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by mpulsiv

At this point manufactures see no value to invest more research into rim brakes for improvement. Look at evolution of disc brakes, even aero bikes have discs wheels in 2017 model. Riders whine about, including me but that's where it's going.


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Calnago
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by Calnago

It's only going there if you buy into it. I see no use for disc brakes in the highest end road bikes and there's a lot of folks who share that line of thought. Hydraulic actuated rim brakes might be nice and further developments in resins etc could provide truly the ultimate road bike braking scenario.
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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Yes, i was not much for disc brakes except for on my gravel.
But there is no way around it, it is working great.
If i bought a bike today, i would buy a disc brake road bike to with same wheels i have on the gravel.
I would also want 30mm tire clearance.
Now that i felt what Schwalbe S-One does (30mm) i would seriously buy this tire for my road bike.
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sugarkane
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by sugarkane

The curve cycling rims have better dry braking than most alloy rims. They are head and shoulders above most of the current offerings. Pad choice is key though I use and spec the black prince pads they seem to get the best braking outa most rims

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mpulsiv
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by mpulsiv

sugarkane wrote:The curve cycling rims have better dry braking than most alloy rims. They are head and shoulders above most of the current offerings. Pad choice is key though I use and spec the black prince pads they seem to get the best braking outa most rims


Are you speaking from direct experience? Nothing special according to their specs https://www.curvecycling.com.au/collect ... cc-38s-rim Same brake tracks as competition.


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benzebub
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by benzebub

any thoughts on the FLO rims?
But I could be wrong

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sugarkane
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by sugarkane

mpulsiv wrote:
sugarkane wrote:The curve cycling rims have better dry braking than most alloy rims. They are head and shoulders above most of the current offerings. Pad choice is key though I use and spec the black prince pads they seem to get the best braking outa most rims


Are you speaking from direct experience? Nothing special according to their specs https://www.curvecycling.com.au/collect ... cc-38s-rim Same brake tracks as competition.


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very much so..

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by krtassoc

Carbon Wheels - The Truth!!!

https://youtu.be/ET1jRVynOBA?t=1m17s

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