Average Carbon rim life?

[Calnago]

@Matt28nj: exactly, that’s my point. How many people do you know are wearing through their alloy rims, let alone carbon rims. Sure, they wear, but listening to some people talk you’d be afraid to touch your brakes for fear of wearing them out before the ride was finished. That’s just not the case.

[Marin]

I wore through 3 rear aluminum rims, 1 mtb, 2 commuter.
Never wore through a front cos I know how to brake

[TobinHatesYou]

I wore through 3 rear aluminum rims, 1 mtb, 2 commuter.
Never wore through a front cos I know how to brake

Um.

[joejack951]

It surprises me to hear people talk about wearing through an alloy rim; I've got front wheels (which take the brunt of braking force) with over 25k miles on them that look new.

I went through a front rim on my commuter in less than 15k miles. Probably shouldn't have left it on that long either. Local conditions vary significantly and that bike saw all sorts of bad weather.

[Matt28NJ]

I went through a front rim on my commuter in less than 15k miles. Probably shouldn't have left it on that long either. Local conditions vary significantly and that bike saw all sorts of bad weather.

Commuting through Wilmington?

(I'm a UD grad, BTW).

[dvq]

I wore through 3 rear aluminum rims, 1 mtb, 2 commuter.
Never wore through a front cos I know how to brake

rofl.

[joejack951]

I went through a front rim on my commuter in less than 15k miles. Probably shouldn't have left it on that long either. Local conditions vary significantly and that bike saw all sorts of bad weather.

Commuting through Wilmington?

(I'm a UD grad, BTW).

Brandywine Hundred area out to Concordville, PA. Coming down Brinton Lake Road fron Route 1 every day and having to stop at the bottom was the main killer of that rim. When my commute lengthened to Kennett Square I went with a front disc brake and never looked back.

My dad and one of my sisters went to UD. I went to Drexel.

[bilwit]

I think ENVE says they expect at least around 4 years for their rims which to me seems reasonable in normal circumstances (though perhaps not reasonable to justify the cost of ENVE but that's another thing).. however if you take them out every single day and a lot of times in the rain I wouldn't be surprised if they're toast after one year. Taking any rim brake wheel regularly out in the rain will grind down that brake track exponentially regardless if it's alloy or carbon even if you wipe them down after every ride.

I wouldn't give the all-day-every-day-weather-be-damned treatment to any moderately nice wheelset I cared about. IMO save them for the fast days and if you must go carbon for the days in between, get a cheap chinese set (as long as they're appropriate for your weight/terrain).

As for OP specifically who says they're pretty light and only intend on riding them in the dry, rims will be perfectly suitable if you want to go that route. I wouldn't let carbon rim life influence my decision between rim & disc brakes unless you intend on riding them in horrible (or otherwise trying) conditions. Personally, I bought a disc bike specifically for that purpose while keeping my nice rim bike for the dry days which is around half the year over here.

[Svetty]

I've posted this before- I have worn new Aluminium rims down to the wear marks in 10 weeks. Riding in winter when local farmers cover the roads in mud. I don't care how you brake or what rims you buy. Grit and mud acts as grinding paste and will wear any rims.

[tandemracer]

With my Zipp wheels I have replaced the hubs numerous times but the brake tracks are all still in perfect shape.


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[AJS914]

I've posted this before- I have worn new Aluminium rims down to the wear marks in 10 weeks. Riding in winter when local farmers cover the roads in mud. I don't care how you brake or what rims you buy. Grit and mud acts as grinding paste and will wear any rims.

Those kinds of conditions make the case for disc brakes. I've always been mostly a fair weather rider and I've worn out one single rim in 40+ years of riding. The rest all had some mishap well before the brake tracks wore out (spoke hole pulling through, hub breaking, crash damage). I also clean my pads every now and then especially after getting caught in the wet.

[robertbb]

if you are wearing through a few alloy rims each season then sure, maybe your conditions are pretty darn harsh and you should consider this.

It surprises me to hear people talk about wearing through an alloy rim; I've got front wheels (which take the brunt of braking force) with over 25k miles on them that look new.

@Cal agree on the individual's conditions being the driver for any decision making on wheel life.

What rims and pads?

[alcatraz]

When you live in a place a long time it's hard to imagine how it can be very different elsewhere.

I raced on a nearby island and it rained the whole 80km. Arriving the bike was perfect, new bearings, new chain, everything lubed up.

Coming back it was rattling and making squeaky noises, after about 120km! It sounded like a kitchen drawer full of spoons.

The water on the bike contained a fine sand that must have acted like a grinding paste. It was ruthless. Never seen a bike deteriorate so fast before. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would have dismissed it into the unlikely/amateur/shit-mechanic pile.

Had to service a few bearings and clean the bike. Also put the chain in the supersonic cleaner and wax it.

I know it doesn't relate to carbon rims. Just saying, you would be surprised about the interesting phenomena you can find in other places.

/a

[bm0p700f]

I wear through front alloy rims every 5000 to 8000km. It not how you brake it how much winter shit you ride through. When everyone's else in on a turbo I am out riding. My winter mileage is often higher than my summer mileage which compounds the problem.

It great that some get high miles from rims, so I take the 13000 miles I got from my carbon rims as a revelation. Sadly I have damaged the front rim on the replacement set.

[Matt28NJ]

What rims and pads?

Early-mid 2000's Ksyrium Elite wheel. Pads have been various - stock SRAM Rival, stock Ultegra 6600, 6700.

I do tend to try to avoid rain rides, though, with my crap sinuses I tend to get infections from cold rainy and hard rides. Sometimes you can't avoid it though.