VwFix

I have been looking for a set of cheap aero wheels and only thing that always turned me off from carbon clinchers is the brake surface.

I see now that many of the more popular Chinese manufacturers are starting to sell carbon/alloy clinchers but I have not been able to find any reviews of them yet. Has anyone heard anything about this type of wheels?

For example:
Far Sports 50mm carbon alloy clincher wheels
SAT 700C Carbon Alloy Clincher Wheelset 50MM Yoeleo

redlude97

The original zipps were built like this, and FLO has been pushing them in the market for the past couple years. Nothing wrong with them except for the added weight. Shimano C24/C35 is also based on this concept.

PepeM

Bontrager and Vittoria also have carbon/alloy wheelsets.

rms13

I considered some but at about a 200 g weight penalty I decided to get full carbon clinchers. Got Black Prince brake pads and have had no problems stopping including a couple of emergency stops in traffic. And after 600 miles the brake track is fine and wheels haven't assploded on me

Silvercivic27

...yet...

VwFix

I am also thinking the alloy track might prove for a sturdier and more reliable wheel overall. I am worried how good the bonding between the alloy and the carbon sections is, this si why I wa hopping to find someone who has ordered a set already.

Silvercivic27

Go with the Flo!

Silvercivic27

The carbon on those types of wheels is just a fairing and gives no structural to the wheel. The wheel is an alloy clincher just like any other alloy clincher under the fairing.

redlude97

If you are worried then just order a set from FLO or the like, that have a proven track record

jwalther

Not necessarily true. The carbon fairing on some models of this type of wheel is a structural component.

RR123

I got a set of 3T Accelero 40 Team carbon/alloy wheels last year and am pretty happy with them. They are reasonable weight (just under1700g), brake well, they are pretty sturdily built with the carbon fairing adding strength and stiffness to the wheels, and they were much cheaper than full carbon wheels.

macca33

I wanted a deeper wheelset, but didn't want to go too silly, so grabbed some Fast Forward F4R-C aluminium/carbon wheels last year. You get the added dependability of the aluminium brake track and the aero benefits of the deeper rim without having to change brake pads, but you also get the weight penalty associated with it - always a compromise. In saying that, the F4R-Cs are a respectable weight, so no real drama.

I didn't want carbon clinchers and don't want to run tubulars - which are arguably the best race wheels, so the compromise is acceptable to me.

cheers

Silvercivic27

Ffwds are great wheels. Not exactly cheap, but the finish and quality are top notch.

Jed19

How about that? An old idea back again in the mix. I have had a Shimano C50 Clinchers with an aluminum braking surface for a while now. And of the eight pairs of wheel sets that I have on hand, still my favorite wheel set to ride. Sure, there is a weight penalty, but the Dura-Ace hubs just rolls forever on those set. And I don't have to worry about braking in the rain or the wheels blowing up on mountain descents.

And as jwalther pointed out in post #10 , the carbon on the Shimano C50s are part of the structural support, but not so on the Shimano C35s and the C24s.

If you are not racing, and can tolerate a little weight penalty, then an aluminum/carbon wheel set trumps a carbon one everyday and twice on Sundays! This is where the value is at in terms of longevity, reliability and safety. And as the technology improves with the bonding process and adhesives, I expect those wheels to become even lighter and more desirable by schmucks like me, who pay for our own equipment rather than being "sponsored" by wheel makers.

link0

I recommend Giant P-SLR 1 wheels. They have a wide track, 50mm depth, and 100g lighter than Dura Ace C50s.

Review: Giant?s understated P-SLR 1 Wheels - VeloNews.com

Dopefish905

I got a pair of cosmic sl's 2014 model
Love them and wouldn't choose a full carbon wheel over them for real road riding. There bomb proof dependable braking cost effective and pretty much have been trouble and worry free for 2 seasons. my next wheels will be a carbon//alloy mix aswell.

BoSoxYacht

how many miles is in 2 seasons?

Dopefish905

Just over 10thousand kms
Only thing I've done was adjust a spoke or two with the wrench they came with that slightly twisted

gsa103

The carbon is structural on the C24/C35. The spoke nipple threads into an aluminum insert bonded into the carbon. The advantage of this is that the tubeless C24/C35 don't require spoke holes, so there's no rim tape needed. The aluminum section of a Shimano wheel is H shaped, with the bonded carbon supporting the spokes, unlikely many carbon fairing based designs, where the spoke still threads into the aluminum base.

The Mavic wheels seem like a poor design, the braking performance of a carbon wheel, with the weight of an aluminum hybrid, no thanks...

Jaredn

I just did 40 miles on a brand new set of Workswellbikes WWC-R-38-25C (25mm wide, 38mm deep, full carbon).
They have a carbon brake track and I'm using Reynolds blue brake pads. Stopping felt the same as my Campy Neutron Ultra alloy wheels. Though I didn't do any big descents, I never felt like I couldn't stop the bike.

FLvector

What are you concerned with? Braking when wet, heating up on long descents?

VwFix

Main concerns wold be long descents for me.

FLvector

Carbon brake pads such as swissstop's black prince claim to provide cooler temperatures and better wet weather braking. I just put some on, so I'll find out about the better braking in wet weather soon. Zipp's Tangente, a cork pad, was awful for wet weather braking.

Bandera

Installed a set of RS-81 C24 wheels on the CF Merckx this season.
Reasonable price, Ultegra quality hubs, light enough and no drama when wet.
Win.

-Bandera

Jed19

Not true!

Here is a cross-section image.https://www.google.com/search?q=cros...W5avk2V6Y2c%3D

You can see that the C24 and the C35 are just your basic aluminum rims with carbon fairings wrapped around them. The C50 Clincher is strictly a carbon rim with aluminum brake tracks bonded to it.

I stand to be corrected.