I'm a 140lbs rider (125lbs at race weight, but I've had a fat year and I'm rounding my current weight up).

I'm thinking of getting a new wheelset. I'm just wondering what people think of wheels like the Mad Fiber and Reynolds RZR's. Do they stay true and round? Are they durable enough to use semi-regularly? Are they too impractical for some reason? I'd love to hear BF's thoughts!

Also, how about wheels built around AX Lightness SRT24 (215g) rims? Are these things too fragile?

Thanks!

If you're in the mountains a lot the carbon rims simply don't match the braking performance of an alloy rim. For this reason I ride the Shimano DA C24 wheels. They are plenty light enough, have no weight limit and ride superbly. Their bearing structure is a model of precision and they never fail. However, those deep dish carbon wheels are alluring. If you ride the flat mostly, the deeper dish rims should have an advantage when you're riding an average speed in the lower to mid twenties and above. I would focus on wheels that have seen more use and you can get feedback on. The boutique wheels like AX Lighteness.....pass on them. They tend to be more experimental in my opinion. If you're going to pick up a set of carbons for their light weight, then go ahead and get the tubulars because clincher carbons don't provide enough advantage over the DA C24 wheels to warrant their purchase.

The Mad Fibers are interesting and I know a couple people that have them. They make a whirring noise but are suitably lightweight and seem to hold up ok. They are not the stiffest wheel in the house but this doesn't bother me (it might bother some though). The RZR wheels are quite expensive and I don't know much about them. You reach a point when I think its better to go ahead and look at Lightweight wheels . The run about $5k but there are plenty on the road and their reliability and performance are extremely good. And they can be ridden as everyday wheels. They are held in high esteem on the Weight Weenie forum - and that's a good forum for wheel feedback so consider posting your question there (or search their archives).

I think you would be fine with the wheels you mentioned (I have read up on them but not used them).

I would use them for "race day only" though and not for daily/training use.

I also agree that braking on them is not as good as aluminum so if you are in a hilly mountain race with technical descents etc. you may want to leave them at home.

I have a set of Enve 45 clinchers mounted to CK R 45 hubs that I use as my everyday riders. Super durable ... ton of miles on them ... true as the day they arrived from Wheelbuilder. I live in a hilly area with some short to moderate but steep descents and have never had a problem with the braking surfaces. If I was ever to use them in more of a mountaneous area I would be sure to use the brakepads supplied by Enve which will limit the amount of heat generated on long descents especially if you pulse your brakes rather than ride them on long down hills. I also use a set of Enve rims on my 29er for everyday use. Bottom line is they are very tough rims that stand up well to everyday use.

I know nothing about Mad Fiber except what I've read, which is all good. The Reynolds are excellent.

I agree with what Grambo says and most CF wheels have decent braking for all around use. I've got Zipps and am surprised how well they stop (almost the same as Al rims in all conditions). I think you can use CF as all around wheels without any difficulty.

I have a set of Madfiber Clinchers coming in for my everyday wheels right now.

They have no rider weight limit and will not go out of true unless they are broken.

On top of that they have a 4 year warranty and a reasonable crash replacement policy.

1300ish grams for a set of clinchers that are 60mm front and 66mm rear is pretty light.

I use a set of Boyd 50mm carbon clinchers as an everyday wheelset and they've performed flawlessly. I have about 5k miles on them and are as true as the day i got them. Braking isn't as good as aluminum but that's just a characteristic of a carbon braking track regardless of which brand you go with.

I weigh 160lbs and race crits and road races. I just sold my 38mm carbon clinchers and now do all training on Velocity A23's and use my tubulars for carbon racing. I put about 8-10K miles on my clinchers and they held up well. I just don't don't think there is that big of an advantage vs the alloys. The alloys work on all mountains, all weather, and are cheap to replace if I crash or take a pothole at 25mph. That's just me

Deep section wheels can be twitchy in side winds. Deeper rims and v-shaped rims are worse than shallow rims or U-section rims. Since you're light and getting lighter it can be a real problem if you ride in windy conditions. MadFibers have deep v-shaped sections and big flat spokes. The one guy I know with them says that they blow him around a lot, and he's 6'1 and 150 lbs. They also make annnoying clunking noises.

215g rims will be tubulars. That's light enough to put them well into in the race only category, if not the weight weenie display only category. I have some wheels built on 250g carbon tubulars and only use them for uphill races.

MadFibers, Lightweights and RZRs are non traditional construction- if they go out of true or are damaged, you have to send them back to the manufacturer. You can get wheels close to the same aero and weight using regular spoke construction. I built a set of carbon clinchers that weigh 1320g, and that's with 300g hubs. With 200g hubs they'd weigh less than Madfibers and would still cost less, and I can maintain them myself.

Carbon wheels don't brake as well as aluminium, brake worse in the wet, and carbon clinchers can overheat due to braking and deform. I won't use carbon clinchers as every day wheels and don't use them on rides with steep technical descents. For training, regular aluminium rims are fine.

I used my Cosmic Carbones for the first half of this season exclusively. I just love 'em. Changed 'em out for the last ride I did that had a lot of climbing and I used a lighter wheelset. I'm looking at some Boyd tubular 32mm wheels. They are about 1200gm for the set and although I wouldn't use them as an everyday wheel, I'll probably use 'em for a week or two at a time and alternate. They should lost a good long time (i.e. years....)

Don't be afraid to use Carbon wheels for your daily rides. They are now have very durable construction
I purchased a set of Reynolds DV46 for racing and never switched back to another wheelset for training.

Video Review: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/za...%3Dreview_type

I have Reynolds clinchers and use them as my daily wheels. I regularly alternate between the MV32C (32mm deep) and the DV3K (48mm deep). I weigh a little more than you usually 175-180, but ive been as high as 185. From my experience they have stayed pretty true. Within a month or 2 of owning each pair they went a little out of true, but since having them trued up they have stayed true.

Other than the braking performance that has already been mentioned I have no complaints with my carbon clinchers.

I absolutely love my D/A C24 wheelset. They have been my everyday wheels for about a year and a half now. At 210 lbs., the only problem I've ever had with them is that the front wheel needed to be trued after a crash. You can' blame the wheel for my stupidity.

At 140 lbs., you can use whatever wheelset you desire, (and can afford).

I'm riding an old set of Zipp 303s right now and yesterday I hopped a curb.

OP, you are talking about some really high-end, ultra-weight weenie wheelsets/rims. I think you would be better served posting this question on the weight weenies form - weightweenies.starbike.com/forum. They will have a lot more info for you and a lot more people who have actually used those products.

You might also want to put in a call to Fairwheel Bikes out in Arizona - fairwheelbikes.com. They specialize in weight weenie parts and are very helpful. I have a wheelset built by their current in-house wheelbuilder and it has been solid for four and half years now.

All that said, Reynolds, Madfiber and AX all have solid reputations.

I use a pair of the Boyd 38mm tubulars for my every day wheels with zero issues. The only time I'd swap them out is if I were riding somewhere with lots of descending, which isn't an issue in coastal VA.