CookieCycler19

Hi guys,

Want to ask a question about carbon wheels and how to choose them accordingly that they would fit my bike. Currently I have Bianchi Intrepida 2019.
I would consider mid-level wheels, nothing high-end for now. Any tips?

choddo

Assume you want deep section, like 50mm+ ? You have an idea of budget?

The only thing stopping 700c wheels fitting your bike is whether they are disc/thru axle or rim/skewer hubs. I think. And most are offered with the choice.

Biker Pete 

I recently got a set of Lún Hyper R45 wheels for my 2016 bike. Love them! One thing you want to check is the width of the chain stays near the bottom bracket. Newer wheels tend to be wide, older bikes often were made for narrower wheels. For example on my 2016 bike the chain stay width near the BB is 33mm and my new wheels are 28mm wide. And fully inflated 28mm tires on the new wheels are 29mm wide. Which means a perfectly dished rear wheel (yes, I had to tweak my wheel) will only have 2mm clearance on each side.

Steve B.

If it’s a rim brake bike I wouldn’t bother. Unless you get a wheel with an aluminum brake track, the breaking can suck, unless you use special carbon brake pads. I would only do carbon wheels on a disc brake bike,

choddo

I’ve got carbon rim brake wheels. They don’t brake as well but they’re fine. Some wear faster than others though and going out in the winter on them isn’t a good idea.

Biker Pete 

Rim brake carbon wheels here, too. I don’t ride in the rain. Dry stopping power is excellent.

Jrasero

I believe that was only rim brake which answers the first question disc vs rim brake
Next will be budget and depth of wheel

I would recommend a mid depth wheel in the 40mm-50mm range unless you simply climb, want the lowest weight, or are scared of crosswinds catching the wheel.

I would recommend these 9Vello RVL RV40L
https://www.9velo.com/products/road-...riantsId=10111
I have the Disc version is a 35mm on a climbing bike and love them. With discount code they came out to under $800 shipped

Whatever wheels you get don't forget to put on carbon specific brake pads. Some wheels manufactures like Hunt usually provide a free set

SoSmellyAir

The 2019 Bianchi Intrepida is a rim brake bike. See page 50 below:

2019-International-Bianchi-Catalogue.pdf

So the discussion re: disc brakes is largely irrelevant.

In my personal experience riding only in the dry, rim brake CF wheels have comparable stopping power (at least when paired with Swiss Stop Black Prince or Yellow King brake pads) but worse modulation than alloy wheels.

Eric F 

I have Enve 3.4s with the textured brake track on my rim brake road bike. I would not say they have excellent - or even really good - stopping power. However, that may also to do with the Campy brakes. After all, Campy is made for winners. If you're stopping, you're not winning. I've only hit one car that turned in front of me, where I couldn't stop fast enough...so far.

CookieCycler19

Ok, so basically I have to consider about brake pads that are special for carbon wheels and also not to ride in bad weather which I usually don't do anyways because as I understand carbon rim brakes perform really badly in bad conditions. And of course I have to get the ones for the rim brake.

What do you guys think about used carbon wheel-sets? I saw that the new decent ones can be bough for around 800eur/usd/gbp, and I can find used ones in the various marketplaces for around 300-400 eur/usd/gbp - are they even worth considering or not?

tFUnK

For $3-400 I'd just get a set of Superteam wheels and call it a day. I'm all for buying used but with carbon rim brake wheels I prefer the peace of mind that comes with a mint set of wheels (brake surface) unless I know the seller and the wheels' usage history.

choddo

They perform worse but more important, they get trashed along the braking surface by the grit.

ls01

I have 7 sets of carbon rim brake wheels. 2 Reynolds and various Chinese manufacturers, Super team are very good.
I use Reynolds brake pads on all of them. Wet braking is Teh suck no matter carbon or aluminum. It's hard on the rim and the pads. But dry is pretty close to the performance of aluminum rims.

datlas 

Do you notice much of a difference between the regular Reynolds pads and "Cryo Blue" ones?

aliasfox

What are you optimizing for?

If you're looking for lightweight, shallow wheels (<30mm), a high end alloy set will have similar weights to an entry level carbon set. Alternatively (or additionally), making sure you're running good tires and lightweight tubes will help nearly as much as a lightweight set of wheels.

If you're looking for more aero, and a wheel deeper than 40-50mm, then carbon's really your only option without weighing down the bike.

jaxgtr

I would agree with this if you have lots of hills\mountains. If you are in a flat area like I am, then it is not as big of a deal if you have carbon brake tracks. I have a rim brake with carbon wheels and using Black Prince pads, braking is excellent in the dry, slightly less in the rain, but I try not to ride in the rain with that bike when possible.

DaveSSS 

I wouldn't invest a lot on any rim brake bike. Check out btlos.com for quality wheels for around $800. I've bought two sets
of 25mm internal width disc brake hookless wheels with no spoke access holes. Both have worked great.

Steve B.

Good point about riding flat terrain

choddo

Why not? I prefer them. Especially the aesthetics.

jaxgtr

?? Why not? If you have a nice rim brake frame and it has a lovely ride, why not update it to keep it going. I updated my emonda with electronic shifting groupset, 50mm depth carbon wheels, handlebars, BB, and headset. Bike is fantastic, I know disc brakes have better braking in the hills in the wet, but maintenance wise, rim brakes are so easy to deal with over disc, not that I do not like my disc brake bikes, but each format has it's benefits and detractions.

TiHabanero

My friend has been riding a Serotta Otrott for about 10 or 12 years and has Roval carbon wheelset on it. the wheelset is about 7 years old and rim brake. Not a single issue with them. They stop just fine in the dry and kinda like a wet alloy rim in the rain. FWIW the rims are only 30mm tall which I like personally because tall rims are too in your face and ugly about it, too!

ls01

No can't say I have. I think I paid $10.00 more for the last set of cryo blues I bought. Maybe they last a little longer but I haven't killed any yet.

DaveSSS 

Skinny tires at high at pressures produce a poor ride compred to a 28-32mm at 60 psi or less. Once you try it, you won't go back.

jaxgtr

Yep, agree with that for sure and run 28's tubeless and it makes a world of difference versus the 25's I was running before. I could probably squeeze 30's in there, but it would be really tight on the back and might rub the front derailleur a little, so I stick with the 28's.

choddo

I’ve used 35s at 55psi on my gravel bike and it saved me a lot of pain in Flanders this spring but I much prefer how it rides on tarmac on 25s at 70psi. I think I could fit 28s on my rim brake road bike. Might try it.