New Carbon Wheels on Prince
 

The wheels came in late last week and I put rim tape, tubes and tires on them. I put them on the Pinarello Prince which has 11 speed super record so I got a campy hub. I bought them directly from the the company that makes them in China. They also built up the wheels. Some of the specs are 38 mm rim profile, 23 mm width, 20/24 spoke count, Sapim spokes, Ed hubs and ceramic bearings----1330 grams without the rim tape, tubes and tires. Not too bad for a Carbon Clincher wheelset.

I was able to do about 40 miles tonight with 3 others and I really like these wheels. They are surprisingly very quiet....stealth like. They feel plenty stiff. My legs were still pretty tired from the hilly 100 miler I did on Sunday but just gauging the effort and speeds on hills I'm used to riding it appeared these wheels helped me increase my speed---maybe 5%. The 23 mm rim allows for lower tire pressure and a smoother ride as well so what is not to like???

The wheels came with Ti skewers and blue brake pads but I put on the yellow Swissstop pads for the Campy Super Record brakes. The brakes are very quiet---no squealing or noise at all.

I opted for the gloss finish to match the black gloss finish on the Prince. They were supposed to use red nipples but they used black. Also the axle on the rear wheel was slightly out of tolerance (a little smaller in diameter than it should be) so there was a little play in the rear wheel. I have a good acquaintance who is an outstanding mechanic/wheel builder and he was able to fix it by putting some small burrs on the axle to keep the bearings from sliding back and forth. He also thoroughly checked the wheels for being true along with the spoke tension and they are very good. He didn't need to make any adjustments at all-other than the axle.

I've bought a number of different sets of wheels over the last several years...... and my first impression of these is this the best set of wheels I've bought---and for a fairly lightweight set of clinchers the price is very, very good. I like them so much I'll probably buy another set for my bikes that have SRAM/Shimano 10 speed gearing. I just can't use them on hilly rides where I need to do a lot of constant braking for technical descents.

I think I might have taken my Prince from a very good riding bike to a great riding bike.

And while I'm pretty biased I think they look pretty good too.


http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=312665

The State banner in the photo makes it all work. From what I've read, the Achilles Heal of carbon clinchers is the brake track. It can't handle the heat of excessive braking. I don't know how applicable that issue is for my type and style of riding but it's been enough for me not to buy a set. I know from borrowing Zipp wheels that braking in the rain is definitely compromised compared to Al braking tracks. Your wheels look good, are very light and it sounds like they ride well. Good luck with them and file a long term report on how they hold up. Inquiring minds want to know!

Wow! I'm glad you are happy with your purchase. How did you come to settle on these particular wheels?

My inner coward, who spends a lot of time on my exterior, just can't make the move to carbon clinchers. I want my brakes to stop me. I guess our seven month rainy season, which was suspended this year, is a factor. I just don't want to come around a corner and hit a bear/deer/cougar/turkey/coyote/passed out drunk because my moist rims wouldn't do the job I pay them for. I guess they are nice in other climates and terrains and I hope they are plenty awesome in NC.

How can I not like a red bike with carbon wheels? Sounds like you're already enjoying them a lot. :)

:thumb: Awesome look for sure. I'm scared enough on the extended descents, but that would not be much of an issue for local rides around here. Someday I must have some.

Just when I thought I had my carbon wheel lust controlled...
 

Even though I won't go faster on wheels like yours I still want a set.
The wheels, the bike, very nice!

Nice report. I hope you have a great time with the wheels.

JPPE,
The Pinnie looks great with the CF wheelset, nice choice. I hope they hold up well for you, should be no problem from what I have read about them in the 41 and the tests that have been published. where did you get them from? I know Bob Dopolino, that is in the 41 a lot has them from his company in Taiwan.

Bill

I just bought a set of Zipp 202s a few weeks ago. Not super deep, so I don't look like quite so much of a poser. I've done some pretty long, twisty descents on them, but was pretty conservative with the braking. No problems so far. Fortunately I haven't had to try them in the rain yet...

They are a little "squeely" when braking though. I don't know if that goes away or not.

The 202 clinchers? I think the squeal can be taken care of with some brake pad adjustment. I've almost pulled the trigger on carbon wheels so many times. When we rode the Tour de Valley I had those borrowed 404s. Come to think of it they squealed a bit too. They were awesome but when caught in the t-storm I couldn't stop!

So far so good with mine. These have a very nice brake track that are treated with a different material (basalt I think) so that might help some. Did you by chance do any "toe in" any adjustments on the brake pads? I did that along with the yellow swisstops. Not sure if that would help your situation but mine seem quieter than my al clinchers.......

These would be perfect for the area you ride in. I think you'd really like them. If they hold up I might just have to pursue becoming a distributor!!

If I lived in your area I don't know if I'd use these wheels all that much. I would not trust them on rides with a lot of braking and I'd be terrified on wet downhillers.......

I was talking to a riding buddy who had come across the Asian carbon wheels probably on some online forums. I like to talk to him as he spends hours doing research and provides me with the Cliffs notes version. I then talked to a local wheel maker who is the most meticulous mechanic you'll find. By chance he had actually bought some Asian carbon wheels for his use from another company and had a less than desirable experience. There were two companies he had used so I opted for the one he didn't have a bad experience with. What I've learned is that while the price can be terrific the quality can be "hit or miss". While you have a warranty it can be a real hassle resolving warranty issues. I chose to take a chance because of the very attractive price. I saw it as an experiment---and I experiment quite a bit. I upgraded the hubs and the bearings, otherwise just left them as a standard build just trying to keep it simple for them. I thought about different spoke counts and lacing but with the stiff rims I think I made the right decision.

By the way I have two other buddies who have bought carbon wheels from these folks for their 29er MTB bikes and my local guy is building them up with US hubs. They are super excited and can't wait to get them on their MTB's.

I've always taken a value approach----except when it comes to bike stuff----some times I tend to go over the top. However this time I think I've hit on the best of both.

I have the clincher version. I haven't ridden on tubulars since 1974 when they were still called "sew-ups" :)

The brake track is slightly textured. It makes a weird "spin-down" sound when you apply the brakes. It is wearing down a bit after about 400 miles, and now it's getting a bit squeeky.

I let the bike shop set up the brake pads. I'll have to check the toe-in.