Shimagnolo

On Thursday I descended Flagstaff Mtn like a nervous little girl, because the road was *covered* with loose sand and gravel which had been put down due to previous snow storms, and still not cleaned up. It really took all the fun out of the descent.

terrymorse 

Yeah, we get sand dumped on the curves around here, whenever there's any black ice. Sand does slow the descents, but only on the curves. Weeks can go by before it gets cleaned up.

Commodus

This entire thread is such classic 41.

MetalPedaler

OP, what are your current wheels not doing, that you think carbon ones would do?

Sounds like a lot of potential issues; trouble; expense, for what benefit?

I have a beautiful Klein with Dura Ace...and a $300 Bikesdirect bike. As I work on "the motor", my performance improves, without spending a dime- and quite frankly, I can hardly tell the difference between either of my two bikes- IMO, unless you are into serious racing, where every second counts, all these upgrades are nothing but bling and aesthetics.

CrankAndYank

Could work, as long as the lock ring is tight.

oujeep1

Pros use tubulars not clinchers, which are the wheels the article was concerning, no?

Bah Humbug

Pros also likely brake less on descents than most of us.

Eyestrain

I've been riding a set of Spinergy Stealth PBOs for the past year in Colorado without any problem whatsoever. In that year, I have done many mountain descents, many of which were 15+ miles in length. However, I don't ride my brakes and I weight 145 soaking wet, so take those facts into consideration.

I've heard much about catastrophic carbon clincher failure on internet forums and sites like Velonews, but have never read about an actual incident. Admittedly, I haven't tried very hard to find one. Are these potential failures actually that real, or primarily theoretical events that can replicated without difficulty primarily in laboratory conditions? Perhaps I'm being naive, but I find it hard to believe that so many companies would fill the market with CCs knowing that they'll likely fail in certain situations and simply absorb the liability costs.

Shimagnolo

https://redkiteprayer.com/2012/07/car...or-prime-time/

bikerjp

My current wheels are kinlin 300 rims laced to WI hubs. They are pretty nice wheels but I don't like them in the wind at all. I realize deeper may not be better but some of the stuff I've read says that moderately deep ones (like the 44s I'm looking at) actually do pretty well. Also, I get a bit of brake rub from time to time particularly when climbing.

The more I read, however, the more I'm thinking cf is not really the best option for me. Probably should just invest in a nice set of alloy wheels.

cafzali

Not only that, but honestly how much braking does a rider who's generally confident in their handling skills really have to do, even on descents? I live in an area that has foothills where you can easily find yourself going down the other end of a 15 percent grade and I've cycled in the Adirondacks and other areas where the typical climbing on an average ride is much higher and I don't find a need to hold the brakes.

40+ mph descents are the reward for climbing hills. Just watch your speed on descents that you're not familiar with and don't be afraid to take enough road to allow for the potential need to veer around an object or pothole. Otherwise, adjust your riding position so you have a lower profile on descents and have fun!

StanSeven

That's true on the majority of hills. But there also are places with multiple very sharp turns and switchbacks that I've had to slow down from 40 to 20 to take

bikerjp

Yeah, going down hill fast is easy. It's the turns that get ya.

Dunbar

Isn't the problem with overheating the brake track ruining the integrity of the wheels, not immediate failure? If so a better analogy is in order since pros don't buy their gear. They can toss the wheels at the first sign of failure.

hueyhoolihan

comparing what the pros do and what serious and non-serious recreational and amateurs do is foolish, IMO. pros don't buy their wheels, they ride a large group that minimizes abrupt braking (for safeties sake) and most importantly they typically ride on closed courses at average speeds that we only dream about. plus there is big money and careers on the line. not to mention satisfying team ownership obligations to sponsors. like comparing bass fishing and marlin fishing. not even remotely the same.

terrymorse 

True. Pros put their machines through stresses that normal recreational cyclists only dream about. If a component can handle the stresses that a pro dishes out, an amateur has nothing to worry about.

valygrl

Hey JP, I know you said you decided, but if you are still thinking about it, you can demo Zipp and Enve at Boulder Cycle Sport.

noise boy

I didn't get that feel at all, nothing was said about anybody specifically, it was pretty even that they all suck in the same ways, and all are beneficial in the same ways. It was also somewhat non-committal about whether Mavic actually had the solution.

chaadster

Hey, are you a rocket scientist or somethin'?

nhluhr

I used to think it was fine to ride around on my Zipp 404FCs all the time. Then I started racing.

Commodus

O.o

I don't agree with this at all.

rangerdavid

rode my mavic cosmic carbons most of last season on daily training rides. no issues at all.

bikerjp

Thanks. Might have to check into that sometime. Still not really sure what I want to do but leaning away from cf for now.

pharmboyrx

Interesting debate. I have an opportunity to get a Powertap built into some 50mm CC wheels at a great price. I'd use them to train and race (tris, TT, some crits). I want to get a power meter, but already have "training wheels." Plus it would be useful to have the power meter in the "race" wheels for pacing during TTs. With good roads and no hills here, I think I'd be safe.

If I lived in the mountains I'd probably feel differently, but it sounds like general descending skill plays a role as well as the quality of the equipment used.