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Rim Brakes on Carbon Wheels

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Rim Brakes on Carbon Wheels

Old 05-22-19, 09:09 AM
  #1  
BengalCat
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Rim Brakes on Carbon Wheels

Thinking of buying a road bike with rim brakes and carbon wheels? Do you already have a road bike with rim brakes and you want to switch from alloy to carbon wheels? Stop and consider the following:

Bikes are lousy at stopping quickly at speed or steep descent no matter what the situation is. But you have rim brakes on your current bike and you want to go from alloy to carbon wheels you may regret the choice when you try to make descents that require slow speeds down steep descents. The difference as I found about between carbon and alloy after switching is greater than I had participated. (The heavier you are the greater difference with carbon than alloy.)
The bottom line the carbon wheels are much less effective than alloy for breaking the situations I describe

Many carbon wheels come with a braking track on the wheels for a better grip by the brake pads. Those wear out in a month or so.

Anyway, a factor to consider if you are considering going from alloy to carbon for whatever reason.
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Old 05-22-19, 09:33 AM
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Old 05-22-19, 09:41 AM
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caloso
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I regularly switch between alloy training/commuting wheels and carbon race wheels. I use good pads and switch alloy and carbon specific when I'm changing wheelsets. It hasn't been a significant issue for me.
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Old 05-22-19, 09:45 AM
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better brake pads? toe your pads? late brake into hairpins and don't ride your pads? don't white knuckle the downhill

210#s I'd climb GMR/Baldy and Palomar on Carbon wheels. Used swiss stop yellows and they are nice and hardly showed signs of wear
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Old 05-22-19, 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by BengalCat View Post
Bikes are lousy at stopping quickly at speed or steep descent no matter what the situation is.
With correct technique and properly set up brakes, this certainly isn't true.


-Tim-
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Old 05-22-19, 10:04 AM
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"Rim brakes are perfectly adequate, nobody needs discs."
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Old 05-22-19, 10:39 AM
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woodcraft
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Is zombie topic a thing?
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Old 05-22-19, 10:43 AM
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This thread has potential
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Old 05-22-19, 10:50 AM
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Alloy wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs carbon.
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Old 05-22-19, 11:29 AM
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Steel wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs alloy.
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Old 05-22-19, 11:38 AM
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Wooden wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs steel.
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Old 05-22-19, 11:43 AM
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Stone wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs wood.
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Old 05-22-19, 12:02 PM
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Wheels? We don't need no stinkin' wheels!
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Old 05-22-19, 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by jsigone View Post
better brake pads? toe your pads? late brake into hairpins and don't ride your pads? don't white knuckle the downhill

210#s I'd climb GMR/Baldy and Palomar on Carbon wheels. Used swiss stop yellows and they are nice and hardly showed signs of wear
How are the Swiss Stop Yellows and CF in the rain?
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Old 05-22-19, 12:11 PM
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Old 05-22-19, 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney View Post
How are the Swiss Stop Yellows and CF in the rain?
socal doesn't get much rain. Never tried them in the mountain in weather but flattish club rides seemed fine. Long life pads unlike the old cork days.

I'm on the blue reynold pads now w/ their wheel. Haven't rode in the rain with this setup yet.
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Old 05-22-19, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by seau grateau View Post
Alloy wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs carbon.
Originally Posted by Riveting View Post
Steel wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs alloy.
Originally Posted by str8jakett View Post
Wooden wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs steel.
Originally Posted by WhyFi View Post
Stone wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs wood.
Originally Posted by PepeM View Post
Wheels? We don't need no stinkin' wheels!
You guys crack me up. I literally laughed out loud when I read this string of posts!
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Old 05-22-19, 12:46 PM
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I am no weight weenie, if I want to save 5-10 kg, i can lose belly fat! When I wanted deeper section wheels, I got alloy/carbon wheels (Campagnolo Bullet 50). I really like them, except for the graphics, and I pulled the stickers off of the rears, some day I will get around to the front. As I see it, this is the best compromise for the real world that I live in!
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Old 05-22-19, 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by PepeM View Post
Wheels? We don't need no stinkin' wheels!
Hey, sliding blocks of granite across wooden boards was good enough for the Egyptians to build the pyramids.

Last edited by TimothyH; 05-22-19 at 01:22 PM.
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Old 05-22-19, 02:02 PM
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Yeah, I know that you veterans think that this is a redundant thread, but I am appreciating the constructive contributions here. There continue to be lots of people buying carbon rims for the first time and I'm one of them, and I would like to read what people have to say in this discussion. Pointers to older threads would also be welcome. But not too old, as developments in brake pad materials make those less helpful.

So yeah - long descents, wet/dry, emergency stopping power when something unexpected happens, yellow king vs. black prince. Do tell.
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Old 05-22-19, 02:20 PM
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Old 05-22-19, 02:43 PM
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Meh, I'm one of the rare cyclists who knows how to "modulate" rim braking just fine. Thanks for your concern though!
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Old 05-22-19, 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Riveting View Post
Steel wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs alloy.
Originally Posted by str8jakett View Post
Wooden wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs steel.
Originally Posted by WhyFi View Post
Stone wheels are perfectly adequate, nobody needs wood.
All of you guys are doing it wrong.

Edit: Huh. Dunno how to copy images here anymore hahah.

Last edited by Abe_Froman; 05-22-19 at 03:12 PM.
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Old 05-22-19, 04:03 PM
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Crabon no stop good.
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Old 05-22-19, 04:30 PM
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Originally Posted by seau grateau View Post
Crabon no stop good.
Have hydraulic discs with my carbons. Stop good.
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