Although modulation and effective stopping in wet/grimy weather seem to be the highlights I see most in defense of discs, to me the main highlight should be preventing wear on a carbon wheel. If I'm going to buy a nice set of wheels, I'd like them to last longer, simple as that.


I have a set of Reynolds 58 Aero's which brake well, until I glaze the brake pads on any bigger decent (like coming down from Tam) even with no dragging and pulse squeezing. I have to address the brake pad surface after a hilly ride, for fear that my brake track will be damaged or get premature wear. For someone like me who lives in a hilly area, like Marin, I want to know that the carbon surface integrity is a non-issue.