Reynolds AR41 Ctg2 and textured brake tracks

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floppyb
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:29 am

by floppyb

So I bought a pair of the new Reynolds AR41 mistakingly thinking they had a textured brake track. When they arrived I realized, nope, just a very smooth brake track. I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with the new Ctg2 brake track from Reynolds and how it might compare to a textured brake track. These are my first pair of carbon wheels so I'm a bit unsure as what to expect from their braking and even more unsure as to whether I will get significantly better braking on a pair with a textured track.


Thanks!

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73Bronco
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by 73Bronco

Not that this directly answers your question, but I have some older Reynolds and at first I thought the braking was atrocious. When I bought some actual Reynolds pads, the braking increased tremendously. Just food for thought.

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floppyb
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by floppyb

73Bronco wrote:
Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:12 pm
Not that this directly answers your question, but I have some older Reynolds and at first I thought the braking was atrocious. When I bought some actual Reynolds pads, the braking increased tremendously. Just food for thought.

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Reynolds did include some brake pads with the wheels. I'll make sure to try them if I keep the wheels. I'm not worried about wet weather performance, but I am still curious if a textured brake track is worth the extra cost for better dry performance.

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

From what i've seen lately, talking wheels and all sorts of textured brake tracks, is that it's less and less textured.
Basalt and such does wear off, so the latest is a better resin handling much higher temperatures.

A guess is also that textured tracks picks up small particles and when you apply the brake, the textured surface wears faster.
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Cat1UtahAnimal
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by Cat1UtahAnimal

I too use older non-textured Reynolds with their pads and find the braking to be acceptable to good. I hadn't realized that they came out with new models, but I now see that they're got an impressive new lineup of "AR" wheels. I wonder what components they're using to build these, as the pricing is very attractive.

nemeseri
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by nemeseri

I had a pair of reynolds assaults tubulars not too long ago with the ctg2 brake tracks. I switched to zipp 303 nsw since then. The zipp nsw brake track is much better, especially in wet conditions. While the reynolds are acceptable in dry weather, I had a few scarry moments with them in rain. Too bad, because I liked the lightweight rims and the way they rolled.

Imaking20
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by Imaking20

Textured brake tracks tend to have a stronger initial bite but not all will have better absolute power. They'll also typically burn through pads a lot faster. Among non-treated brake surfaces (laser or texture) I think that Reynolds CTG is the best I've ridden.
Last edited by Imaking20 on Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Nefarious86
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by Nefarious86

CTG was great, I see no reason to bother with texture and I'm now running the 404nsw which IMO dont stop as well as the Reynolds.
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floppyb
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Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:29 am

by floppyb

Nefarious86 wrote: CTG was great, I see no reason to bother with texture and I'm now running the 404nsw which IMO dont stop as well as the Reynolds.
nemeseri wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:07 pm
I had a pair of reynolds assaults tubulars not too long ago with the ctg2 brake tracks. I switched to zipp 303 nsw since then. The zipp nsw brake track is much better, especially in wet conditions. While the reynolds are acceptable in dry weather, I had a few scarry moments with them in rain. Too bad, because I liked the lightweight rims and the way they rolled.
Hmmm...two very different opinions.

nemeseri
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by nemeseri

floppyb wrote:
Sat Dec 08, 2018 10:27 pm
Hmmm...two very different opinions.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You know... YMMV. I was surprised by @Nefarious86's comment, but if the ctg worked for him that's awesome. I gave it a second thought and I still think it was bad in wet weather and only ok in dry. Have you ever had that feeling when the corner was coming, you pulled the brake lever and nothing happend for like a good 1-2 seconds? Now you can experience the thrill yourself hahaha. :roll:

I heard it's better than most non textured brake surfaces (like roval's, chinese open molds, old bontrager, shimano tubs etc), but I have no experience with those.

Pinguin
Posts: 271
Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:28 pm

by Pinguin

floppyb wrote:
Sat Dec 08, 2018 10:27 pm
Nefarious86 wrote: CTG was great, I see no reason to bother with texture and I'm now running the 404nsw which IMO dont stop as well as the Reynolds.
nemeseri wrote:
Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:07 pm
I had a pair of reynolds assaults tubulars not too long ago with the ctg2 brake tracks. I switched to zipp 303 nsw since then. The zipp nsw brake track is much better, especially in wet conditions. While the reynolds are acceptable in dry weather, I had a few scarry moments with them in rain. Too bad, because I liked the lightweight rims and the way they rolled.
Hmmm...two very different opinions.
Mayby different Brake Pads?

floppyb
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:29 am

by floppyb

nemeseri wrote:
Sun Dec 09, 2018 2:53 am
floppyb wrote:
Sat Dec 08, 2018 10:27 pm
Hmmm...two very different opinions.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You know... YMMV. I was surprised by @Nefarious86's comment, but if the ctg worked for him that's awesome. I gave it a second thought and I still think it was bad in wet weather and only ok in dry. Have you ever had that feeling when the corner was coming, you pulled the brake lever and nothing happend for like a good 1-2 seconds? Now you can experience the thrill yourself hahaha. :roll:

I heard it's better than most non textured brake surfaces (like roval's, chinese open molds, old bontrager, shimano tubs etc), but I have no experience with those.
I found your thread from a few years back asking a nearly identical question. Looks like you weren't very impressed. The question is, do I spend an additional $2k for something in the world of Zipp NSW, Enve, etc?

nemeseri
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by nemeseri

Pinguin wrote:
Sun Dec 09, 2018 5:33 am
Mayby different Brake Pads?
I used them with the Reynolds Cryo Blue pads and I'd be surprised if third party pads would be better. But it's possible...
floppyb wrote:
Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:53 am
I found your thread from a few years back asking a nearly identical question. Looks like you weren't very impressed. The question is, do I spend an additional $2k for something in the world of Zipp NSW, Enve, etc?
This is a question that only you can answer. Don't get me wrong, Reynolds wheels are pretty good and I liked mine a lot and those tubs were the lightest and best rolling wheels I've ever had... Think about how often you descend from mountains in rain, or commute in wet. Even if you ride in rainy conditions a lot, you can give them a try and see how you like them. I can easily be just clueless and maybe I scare easy. :noidea: Don't forget that pros descend from mountains in rain on rovals.

A few ideas: you might be able to find demo wheels from Zipp / Enve to compare. Mavic wheels have pretty good carbon brake surfaces too, even if they are a bit noisier than others, they also tend to cost a bit less.

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StevenH72
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by StevenH72

I'm riding Reynolds Strikes with the CTG and using Reynolds cryo blue brake pads.

Braking isn't as good as Enve (I've never ridden Zipps), but I would still categorise the braking as good in dry conditions. I've no issues on steep / technical descents. Not the heaviest rider but am 77-79kg.

If braking is your only concern, I don't think it should be a $2000 concern.

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