50mm Carbon Clinchers...500 mile review pg. 7

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AZR3
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by AZR3

Quick update, ordered 9/12 delivered 9/22. Everything went smoother other than not being emailed when the wheels shipped. I ended up emailing Johnson on 9/19 and he gave me the tracking info.

Wheels looked very nice when I unpacked them and seemed true when I mounted them on my R3 and gave them a quick spin by hand. My 38mm clinchers weighed in at 569g/729g-1298g w/bitex hubs. Thats a little heavier than what I've seen others come in at but still less then my current alu wheels so I'm happy with the weight.

Mounting my Michelin Pro Race 3 tires was a pain!! I can put them on without levers on my alu wheels, much harder on these wheels. I used red veloplugs instead if rim tape (they don't come with rim tape anyway)

I've yet to ride them as I had my weekend rides already planned and didn't want to test out new wheels going far from home. I'll report how they ride tomorrow.

by Weenie


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bura
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by bura

toshi wrote:
eric wrote:What brand are the rims?


They're unbranded chinese carbon rims off ebay.


So from which eBay seller did you purchase those wheels?
Kuota Kom Evo
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AZR3
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by AZR3

First ride 38mm CC

Went out yesterday for a 52 miles test ride, little bit of climbing, windy flats and some descents. All in all like these wheels so far. They seem to soak up bad roads better than my alu wheels (same tires/tubes and psi that I always run) but are still stiff for out of the saddle sprints/climbs. Cross winds didn't seem too much worse than my alu wheels but the winds weren't very strong. Braking was also very good, as I had no prior experience with carbon wheels I wasn't sure what to expect but I actually had to be careful not to lock up, so braking wasn't an issue.

I'll update when I have more miles on them but after my first ride I'm pleased so far.

stevec1975
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by stevec1975

sounds good AZR3, am still very interested in getting these, how much weight did you save? lets see photos on the bike too

AZR3
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by AZR3

I'll work on get pics up but as for weight, they're 51g less than my alu wheels, so not really much savings but it did drop it into the 13.9x (includes bottle cages and pedals) range. It's kind of early to say but if you're interested I'd go for it. I've read 3 other threads on other sites about the 50/38 from farsports and no one has had issues serious with their wheels (one or two issues with other hubs than bitex that are on mine), that's what made me give them a go.

addictR1
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by addictR1

wow.. good to hear you got those wheels sooo fast!

can't wait to see more reviews on those 38mm and pics please... :thumbup:

AZR3
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Location: Az USA

by AZR3

Took some quick pics

Front weight-569g
Image

Rear weight-729g
Image

I opted for 3K and a matt finish
Image
Image

Mounted on my Cervelo R3 Team
Image

Ive noticed some pulsing with the front wheel, hopefully more milage will even everything out

sorry for the low quality pics, didn't have time to dig out my dslr

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Craigagogo
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by Craigagogo

@AZR3

I positioned my brake pads as low as possible on the basalt brake track. When the applied breaking forces are lower on the brake track the rim will resist deforming at the brake track much better.
More than 10 years a Weenie!

AZR3
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by AZR3

Thanks for the tip, I'll adjust my brakes and see if it helps

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Craigagogo
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by Craigagogo

:thumbup:

Another thing that I do is use a credit card between the brake pad and rim at the trailing edge of the pad when adjusting brake pad position. This will give you perfect toe-in for the pads. Hope that helps too.
More than 10 years a Weenie!

AZR3
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by AZR3

Very helpful tips

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

I'll have a pair of UD 38 CC's coming in sometime next week. It will be interesting to compare.
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AZR3
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by AZR3

prendrefeu wrote:I'll have a pair of UD 38 CC's coming in sometime next week. It will be interesting to compare.


Cool, can't wait to hear how you like them

Craigagogo

Pads adjusted as you mentioned, I'm going out tomorrow for 65-75 miles and I'll report back
Also while adjusting the pads I noticed that there was build up in the vertical spaces in the brake pad, not sure it that's normal or these pads are just really soft.

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Craigagogo
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by Craigagogo

I have used my wheels for about 6000 kms now and have used up a little more than half the original pads. I suppose its better to wear out the pads than wear out the rims! I just use an old toothbrush to get any of the debris out of the slots in the pads.

Johnson hooked me up with 12 pairs of pads for less than $60.00 shipped. Very reasonable.
More than 10 years a Weenie!

by Weenie


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AZR3
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Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:00 pm
Location: Az USA

by AZR3

Rode 75 miles this morning with some longer/steeper descents. After making adjustments to my brake pads I noticed the pulsing was almost gone but towards the end of my ride it was back, not sure what to try now. I'm going to go over the front wheel and see if I can't find maybe a texture difference. Love the wheels otherwise.

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