New Wheelsmith 50x24mm Carbon Clinchers

2

Comments

  • sniff-the-breeze
    sniff-the-breeze Posts: 28
    Guys,
    Thanks for your thougths. I currently use D/A C24 clinchers and have found them every day excellent wheels. I am looking to build a C59 disc, and they do come standard with deep section, but i would prefer standard wheels. I don't mind being flash, but i don't like not being able to deliver on promises that aero wheels suggest i can deliver upon!
    I guess i'll have to hunt down some nice rims to go on some king disc hubs!
    Cheers,

    Sniff
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Disc brakes = aero fail

    Seems silly to go with aero wheels just to equal the performance that a normal road bike will achieve...
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • sniff-the-breeze
    sniff-the-breeze Posts: 28
    but i am sure discs are the way forward... at least in our lovely uk summers!
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    I've never had a problem stopping in the rain or on soaked ground and I’ve no desire to stick silver discs on my bike - they look ugly as hell (the discs, not my bike ;-))
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    If you feel that your braking isn't good enough then you need to buy some Swissstops.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    sniff-the-breeze wrote:
    but i am sure discs are the way forward... at least in our lovely uk summers!

    If you are using your posh bike in built up areas in the rain a lot you maybe right! My posh bike tends to stay in when it's wet (which is when discs make a useful difference) and I tend to ride it in the country so the advantages of discs would be minimal.

    The only reason I'd want a C59 disc is if I had a C59 with calipers as well. And I'd spec both with low profile alloy clinchers!
    Faster than a tent.......
  • sniff-the-breeze
    sniff-the-breeze Posts: 28
    Well, for me i guess there's a few points.
    1. Future proof - discs are coming, and there seem no point in buying an 8-9k bike that i would want to change again in a few years!
    2. It may be posh, but i like to ride by best toy from early march to early november. My current posh bike is going to become my winterbike.
    3. I hate coming up to juntions on damp , wet, sh1tty conditions, especially in sportifs where iam braking 200m before you want to or worse when you are starting to think you should have braked 50m earlier!!

    However i may well try the swiss stops. Is there any particular grade/ref that is best on alloy rims?

    Sniff
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Greens.

    Sounds like you have rubbish pads. I don't need to brake that much earlier in the wet. Keep in mind that you can't modulate mechanical disc brakes like you can a hydraulic or rim brake...
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    Discs have been coming for ages. They've still to properly arrive and will they ever? I’m not so sure.

    And they’re fug ugly. For what it’s worth I think the C59 looks ridiculous with those things on. A frame like the C59 deserves better.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    sniff-the-breeze wrote:
    Well, for me i guess there's a few points.
    1. Future proof - discs are coming, and there seem no point in buying an 8-9k bike that i would want to change again in a few years!

    I haven't needed to do anything to past present or future proof my 1980 Raleigh - what would the benefit of discs be in terms of future proofness? :wink:

    Of course, it is fair to worry about obsolesence but don't forget that Southern Europe is a strong market for cycles - there's virtually no reason at all for folk down there to want disc brakes on a road bike so even if the UK market shifted totally to discs, rim brakes will continue to be developed and marketed.

    I think there is a place for discs on road bikes but they only really benefit when the weather gets really nasty - eg like now (I seem to have already quarter eroded a set of pads I put on a week ago - much of that today!).

    200m before you want to? 600 odd feet? A fifth of a kilometer? Really? :wink::lol:
    Faster than a tent.......
  • sniff-the-breeze
    sniff-the-breeze Posts: 28
    In reply to various!
    I guess beauty is in the eye. To me when you look at the C59 with conventional brakes , particulalry form the side i see a clumsy, untidy device. Without them the frame looks smoother and cleaner in design, but it's my preference.
    What convinces it for me is the effortlessness and the level control you have in any conditons single finger braking on your mountainbike.
    You could argue that they are not reasonable comparisons, but the performance of discs and the certain knowledge of that performance is certainly worth having.

    Time will tell!
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    I'm particularly enjoying disc brakes riding at the moment. I have Avid BB7s and they are not "amazing", ie no better than (say) Force brakes, Swiss Stop pads and clean dry rims, but they are like that even if my wheels are covered in snow.
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • mattbell
    mattbell Posts: 203
    smidsy wrote:
    Ok so you've confirmed the claim - we need 'evidence' that they build to under 1500g.

    And remember I was including rim tape and scewers.

    I've ordered some, so I'll let you know when they arrive.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Derek is probably not using gigantex rims.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • mattbell
    mattbell Posts: 203
    thecycleclinic wrote:
    Derek is probably not using gigantex rims.

    Think he is!

    http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/news/96-new ... -clinchers
  • stueys
    stueys Posts: 1,332
    sniff-the-breeze wrote:
    In reply to various!
    I guess beauty is in the eye. To me when you look at the C59 with conventional brakes , particulalry form the side i see a clumsy, untidy device. Without them the frame looks smoother and cleaner in design, but it's my preference.
    What convinces it for me is the effortlessness and the level control you have in any conditons single finger braking on your mountainbike.
    You could argue that they are not reasonable comparisons, but the performance of discs and the certain knowledge of that performance is certainly worth having.

    Time will tell!

    Personally I think discs are ugly but hey. I think the main advantage is that they allow manufacturers to get rid of the brake rim on a wheel and save a chunk of rotational mass right where you need it least, ie edge of a wheel. I didn't think you got much performance difference in the dry over standard brakes.
  • fluff.
    fluff. Posts: 771
    Wider carbon rims started turning up on ebay for anyone feeling brave

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/700C-44mm-cli ... 1039965693
  • ginsterdrz
    ginsterdrz Posts: 128
    Okay, resurrection of an old thread but my Wheelsmith Race50 C23's arrived today and since I couldn't find any actual weights and comparison reviews, I thought I'd share for everyone's benefit.

    The weights.....656g front....838 rear....1494g the pair as per Dereks quoted weight. Not including skewers but with rim tape. (My spec: Wheelsmith hubs (11spd) Sapim X-rays and 50 deep 23mm wide rims).

    Putting that into some perspective:
    C50 RS80 811g + 1040g = 1851g

    DA C24 7900 824+640=1464g
    DA C24 9000 830+590=1420g*
    *with rim tape.

    Zipp 303. 840+710=1550g* (-34g rim tape=1516g).

    Wheelsmith Race23's 869 691=1560g

    Mavic K SL 856+670=1526g.

    Plus a set of 52mm Planet X clinchers which I think were around 1750g.

    I've sold all the above for various reasons. The C50 RS80's looked superb but I could never feel any aero benefit and the weight could be felt in all riding situations. The Planet X 52's rode better and the aero benefits could be felt at 20mph plus. Weight was still an issue though.

    The 303's were superb and I regret parting with them. They really are aero at lower speeds than you think. Never a twitch out of them in cross winds and the braking was good with Swisstop Black Princes. The only wheels to make an old bloke chase down an 18 year old whippet!

    And the Race50's........

    I'll review them after my first ride :-)
  • mjbennett
    mjbennett Posts: 532
    Be careful with wheelsmith one of my cycling pals had a problem with a wheel he built up. He was treated very badly and rudely. I saw the emails and was amazed at the bloke's attitude. All that 'made in scotland with love' is just bollocks.
    If you are getting handbuilts, use someone local so if there is an issue (after all many handbuilts may need truing after a bit), you can simply drop them off.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    edited December 2013
    My 50mm deep 25mm clincher built with Sapim CX-ray's alloy niple and miche hubs weigh 1650g. The rims are 500g a piece (so only silghtly heavier than a Archetype and we all love those. I went for them becuase I wanted to see what the fuss about wide was. My 23mm GP4000s tyres now come up at 26mm. The ride is sublime for that alone they are worth. Really it feels like tubular tyre no joke (I run Pave tubs and the ride is similar). The weight is not too important as I do feel the aerodynamic gain over shallow rims. So yes wide works. If I used Novatec hubs I could get a weight 125g lighter. DT Swiss 240 would be lighter still but not by much.

    With aero wheels weight is a non issue as they are for fast riding where the speed is not changing much i.e you are going like the clappers and not slowing down.

    Some frames do not have clearance and neither do some brakes but in that case you have the wrong frame and brakes (20mm wide rims exist for this).
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • josehernandez
    josehernandez Posts: 243
    mjbennett wrote:
    Be careful with wheelsmith one of my cycling pals had a problem with a wheel he built up. He was treated very badly and rudely. I saw the emails and was amazed at the bloke's attitude. All that 'made in scotland with love' is just ****.
    If you are getting handbuilts, use someone local so if there is an issue (after all many handbuilts may need truing after a bit), you can simply drop them off.

    Having exchanged emails with Wheelsmith on a number of occasions this doesn't surprise me at all.
    Customer care is not his "forte".
  • Sammyw23
    Sammyw23 Posts: 627
    JoseHernandez wrote:
    mjbennett wrote:
    Be careful with wheelsmith one of my cycling pals had a problem with a wheel he built up. He was treated very badly and rudely. I saw the emails and was amazed at the bloke's attitude. All that 'made in scotland with love' is just ****.
    If you are getting handbuilts, use someone local so if there is an issue (after all many handbuilts may need truing after a bit), you can simply drop them off.

    Having exchanged emails with Wheelsmith on a number of occasions this doesn't surprise me at all.
    Customer care is not his "forte".

    I have had the total opposite experience with Derek. Forthcoming with advice pre purchase and helpful throughout my purchase of classic 23s. Lovely wheels which carried me from London to Paris within a few hundred miles of purchase.

    Not saying you guys didn't - maybe you caught him on a bad day!
    Cervelo P3
    Bianchi Infinito
    Cannondale CAAD10
  • Stedman
    Stedman Posts: 377
    Sammyw23 wrote:
    JoseHernandez wrote:
    mjbennett wrote:
    Be careful with wheelsmith one of my cycling pals had a problem with a wheel he built up. He was treated very badly and rudely. I saw the emails and was amazed at the bloke's attitude. All that 'made in scotland with love' is just ****.
    If you are getting handbuilts, use someone local so if there is an issue (after all many handbuilts may need truing after a bit), you can simply drop them off.

    Having exchanged emails with Wheelsmith on a number of occasions this doesn't surprise me at all.
    Customer care is not his "forte".

    I have had the total opposite experience with Derek. Forthcoming with advice pre purchase and helpful throughout my purchase of classic 23s. Lovely wheels which carried me from London to Paris within a few hundred miles of purchase.

    Not saying you guys didn't - maybe you caught him on a bad day!

    I have also had the opposite experience with Derek and have had three great pairs of wheels from him.

    Two pairs have been the Race 50 T23s and the Race 24s. Both of these are lighter that the amount advertised with the Race 24s weighing and astonishing 1422g (including the rim tape)!
  • mjbennett
    mjbennett Posts: 532
    That's great fellas, but the true test of customer service is how the shop deals with you when things go wrong.
  • josehernandez
    josehernandez Posts: 243
    mjbennett wrote:
    That's great fellas, but the true test of customer service is how the shop deals with you when things go wrong.

    Couldn't agree more.
  • buckles
    buckles Posts: 694
    Sammyw23 wrote:
    maybe you caught him on a bad day!
    As a professional running a business, can you afford to base your treatment of your customers on whether or not you're having a good day?

    Very rarely am I in a bad mood at work but if I treated my customers like sh1t each time, I'd be unemployed right now....

    You don't take your emotions out on the people who spend money with you no matter how bad a day you're having.
    25% off your first MyProtein order: sign up via https://www.myprotein.com/referrals.lis ... EE-R29Y&li or use my referral code LEE-R29Y
  • ginsterdrz
    ginsterdrz Posts: 128
    First ride report:

    The Race50's spin up very fast but I did expect that with the relatively low weight.

    I'm up a gear or two on the flat and straight onto my big ring at the sniff of a downhill.

    They seem to encourage extra speed-the sign of an excellent wheel.

    Stiff but compliant- no butt kicking shocks just a nice 'comfy' ride. No brake rub even when honking!

    Braking with the supplied pads is better than Zipp 303's I owned in dry and wet/muddy.

    Very gusty and windy today but the rims felt stable and gave great confidence.

    As good if not better than the 303's in all departments as a first impression.

    No pinging or plinking spokes....unlike my Mavics.

    Well recommended. A truly all rounded wheel. Thanks Derek!
  • ginsterdrz
    ginsterdrz Posts: 128
    p4pb10398783.jpg
    p4pb10398784.jpg
  • leloby
    leloby Posts: 50
    Lovely to see someone getting some winter training in on the Carbon Clinchers. BikeRadar at it's best!
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all Wheelsmith customers and emailers!
    See you in 2014.
    Derek.
    Wheelsmith Ltd.
    07881 724067
    www.wheelsmith.co.uk
  • mjbennett
    mjbennett Posts: 532
    Is that ironic?

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