bhfg

I have a question for owners of the 2016 Giant Advance Pro 1 concerning the braking performance with the SLR2 wheelset. I have seen one or two comments on line about the braking being weaker than expected.

To explain my questions, I have been back to riding about 9 months and am a pretty big rider at currently 285 lbs (and going down, having lost 130 in the past year, but that is another story) and live in a very hilly area.
My current road bike is an (awesome) 2015 Trek Domane with RXL wheels. It's rides great and is immensely comfortable with good braking, but not a climber for sure. So I am looking for something more aggressive and performance oriented, that is livelier and more efficient at climbing while more responsive and nimble on descents. I test rode a TCR Advanced Pro 1 for a couple of miles today and was really impressed The other bikes I have tested are the Cervelo R3 and Cannondale Super Evo Six, both also have Ultegra groupsets but aluminum wheelsets.

I have never owned a carbon wheelset before and am wondering if I should be worried about braking performance on a descent if the weather is a little wet. I generally do not ride in wet conditions or rainy weather but there are occasionally times that I do get caught in a little downpour. My first question is if the braking performance would be significantly worse compared to an aluminum wheelset in wet conditions? My second is if there would be any concern about the strength of these wheels compared to aluminum ones for a rider my size?

Thanks for any advice you have!

tedder

At 285lbs and you want wheels that will help you climb better?

bhfg

Absolutely. Don't assume that big is weak or inactive. I am recovering for a 30-year long liver disease I developed while serving in the Marine Corps which caused multiple related issues, not the least of which was severe swelling and weight gain. At one time I was 424 pounds. I had an experimental surgery in 2015 and it has been a huge blessing. I am now 60 years old, feeling better than I did at 40 and, losing a lot of weight and able to smoke some mid-30 year old guys guys on many of our rides. Last week we did a 40 mile with 2700 feet of climbing and another 26 mile one with 220 feet of climbing.

So yes, I am interested in a bike that will climb better than my Domane. But if you read my post again, the question was about braking performance and strength, not climbing performance.

FLvector

While I was using cork brake pads, stopping with carbon wheels in wet weather was a bit startling. The first few seconds after applying the brakes there's almost nothing, but as the water sheds, the braking gets better. It will get your attention the first few times. I've since gone to the SwissStop Black Prince pads and braking is much better in wet conditions, but still not as good with aluminum wheels.

At 285 lbs, I'd check the limits of the recommendations of each wheelset. Some, such as Boyd offers a choice of extra spokes for heavier riders. Even at 190 lbs for myself, this is a bit of a concern.

valygrl

At 107 pounds, I much prefer my aluminum wheels' braking characteristics in the wet.