Busted Carbon Rim - Thoughts?
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Whether anyone chooses to use rims not specifically made/designed for tubeless is up to them. There's plenty of precedent for doing it, but it's something that the user takes responsibility for.
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FWIW, I have that same wheelset in 38mm depth. I've got about 500 miles on them an no complaints, other than the rear hub being super loud.
I was also wondering about tubeless on them, and I think this thread confirmed that I will stick with tubes.
I was also wondering about tubeless on them, and I think this thread confirmed that I will stick with tubes.
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#28
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Yea dude, the rear hub is loud as hell! I use it as sort of a horn to let slower riders know I need to pass, lol. Also, yea, it seems like tubeless may not be the way to go on these....
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To be fair, one guy in the Q&A says it's not "tubeless compatible", however several other people comment stating they are running them tubeless. Regarding carbon tubeless wheels, yea, I didn't know that at the time. Do you know if aluminum wheels can be converted to tubeless without being "tubeless ready/compatible"?
See Roval’s new Rapide CLX. They intentionally made it non tubeless to save on weight.
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#30
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I’ve successfully done so with my old Mavic Ksyriums. Aluminum and carbon have very different material properties. Aluminum is uniformly strong in every direction whereas carbon is on strong in certain directions (think splitting wood along the grain). Therefore more intentional design is needed to make them tubeless.
See Roval’s new Rapide CLX. They intentionally made it non tubeless to save on weight.
See Roval’s new Rapide CLX. They intentionally made it non tubeless to save on weight.
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Oh, we're talkin' ghetto tubeless. Yeah, that's a horse of a different color. I'd stick with tubes.
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$369 (shipping included) for tubeless, deep carbon wheels that failed after one month. Live and learn ...
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#34
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But in all seriousness, there are many people running these with no issues. I have a hunch that it was my attempt at tubeless that did them in. But whether you want to blame that on the wheels or me, I'll leave up to you.
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You find it offensive that I suggested that there is something to be learned from your experience?
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Though I do think learning from the experience is a good idea.
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#38
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So I had a set of Superteam 50mm wheels the same as yours. I had them on tubes for a month but wanted to run tubeless so started setting them up. When setting the beed I got to about 80 psi and the wheel literally exploded. They replaced it under warranty but shipping was like 100 bucks, it really wasn't all that much of a replacement lol. I ended up setting them up with tubes again and sold the bike without riding them after that. I have FFWD and Reynolds wheels now and I would never go back to Superteam wheels but that is just me. I found out the hard way that I don't want cheap wheels on my bikes.
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I'd really like to see a photo of the failure.
And +1 on drain holes. I live in a tropical climate so I have always put drain holes on all my carbon rims. It's never been an issue.
And +1 on drain holes. I live in a tropical climate so I have always put drain holes on all my carbon rims. It's never been an issue.
#41
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So I had a set of Superteam 50mm wheels the same as yours. I had them on tubes for a month but wanted to run tubeless so started setting them up. When setting the beed I got to about 80 psi and the wheel literally exploded. They replaced it under warranty but shipping was like 100 bucks, it really wasn't all that much of a replacement lol. I ended up setting them up with tubes again and sold the bike without riding them after that. I have FFWD and Reynolds wheels now and I would never go back to Superteam wheels but that is just me. I found out the hard way that I don't want cheap wheels on my bikes.
I finally was able to get some pictures last night. It's a really small crank, but it does appear to be between the layup that makes up the inner portion and the wall of the wheel, so I'm inclined to agree with November Dave's theory.

Bob, are you drilling the drain holes yourself? If so, what size, and where on the rim?
Last edited by Nixhex; 10-23-20 at 08:09 AM.
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It's kind of hard to see, but that doesn't look like the profile of a tubeless compatible rim. If the rim bed doesn't have a well running down the middle of the rim bed, and clearly defined shoulders above, there's no way I'd attempt to run them tubeless.
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#44
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I certainly wont be trying these again tubeless. That said, isn't Stan's entire business based on converting any old rim to tubeless with just some tape and sealant? Specifically I have a set of nicer aluminum wheels I'd like to try tubeless on.
Last edited by Nixhex; 10-23-20 at 08:53 AM.
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That's could also be a flow issue.
Depending on how they fold or end the prepreg at that lip, it can be difficult to get a good flow to the very edge of the rim. This can be caused by drifting in the mold, temp/time not being managed right or the layup itself.
We saw this happen A LOT from one vendor who changed to higher TQ resins but hadn't learned how to manage the bake, quite yet.
Depending on how they fold or end the prepreg at that lip, it can be difficult to get a good flow to the very edge of the rim. This can be caused by drifting in the mold, temp/time not being managed right or the layup itself.
We saw this happen A LOT from one vendor who changed to higher TQ resins but hadn't learned how to manage the bake, quite yet.
Last edited by Bob Dopolina; 10-23-20 at 11:02 PM.
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Yes, I just hand drill them myself with my trusty Dremel. I can't remember what size the bit is (I've used the same one for years). A 1mm hole certainly would be a good start (but you could start smaller and work up if you needed to). There's no way that would impact the rim structure but it helps with drainage. I drill 2 at opposite sides of the rim, as close to the rim bed as possible,
Last edited by Bob Dopolina; 10-23-20 at 11:04 PM.
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I use the tape that was in there based on an answer in the "questions" stating it was tubeless tape. However, I'm pretty sure that is not the case now.... That said, if the only difference between me and a compromised wheel is the seal between tape and wheel, I think I may bail and run clinchers.