First road ride with Carbon Wheels (braking)

VTech

I went out today for a short ride with the carbon wheels on and the bike felt incredibly comfortable, no effect from the wind and contrary to all I have been told, the braking was stunning, incredibly grippy and smooth with a lovely feel of light to hard stopping power. The pads I have are the Swissstop Black Prince.
I have also fitted the Continental 4's on but instead of the factory 23mm tyres I fitted the 25mm which have made the bike feel a lot more comfortable. Cornering was much better with a better feel of grip although that may be down to placebo but either way I felt better so thats all that counts.
Obviously no rain so cant comment yet on braking power with water around bull ill post back.

supermurph09

I can't believe you only managed a top speed of 27.9mph when your ride had a vertical drop at 2.5 miles! What the hell is up with that!?

VTech

I was overly cautious as the setup was completely new and I wanted to be sure everything was ok after the warnings I had read here. Also, ive done less cycling than I would have liked lately due to a health issue so really felt the burn today. Overall im happy with it.

supermurph09

Hi, no you miss my point. I was joking, look at your strava elevation profile, it had a vertical drop on it!

TakeTurns

They're okay in the dry. But they're useless in the wet. It's like pulling the handbrake on a car whilst going over ice. Absolutely ineffective, especially on descents!

Although, I haven't heard of black prince before? Is it a different compound? I only have experience with the yellows and AFAIK - they're the best.

Lazybike

Which wheels have you got....I rode with a Chinese carbon wheel today with the cork pads, stopping power was ok but the modulation wasn't great.

VTech

I had Chinese carbons on with the new swissstop which are apparently 30% better than the yellows.
It was definitely an improvement on the factory wheels and pads fitted to the felts.

bigpikle

and see what happens when trying to stop quick when riding in a group with people on standard alu rims...

VTech

Bigpikle wrote:

and see what happens when trying to stop quick when riding in a group with people on standard alu rims...

I guess ill come to a stop quite quickly ?
I'm not sure I believe that just because you have a carbon wheel you can't brake. It will have huge dependancy on the equipment your running. I have the best carbon pads available to the masses so there is no reason to think I have anything to worry about. As I said, I already noticed huge improvements over the original setup that the bike was shipped with.

bigpikle

...its not that you cant brake its just not as effective, as I've seen first hand. Club ride with a dozen or so riders and a couple of very experienced guys with carbon rims. Guy on the front brakes suddenly for an obstacle and everyone brakes hard. 2 guys on carbon wheels end up swerving into the oncoming lane and verge to avoid piling into everyone else. Nobody else has any issues stopping OK.

Read EVERY magazine review of carbon wheels and they mention the RELATIVE stopping power of carbon versus alu along with the list of issues when descending for any length of time with carbon clinchers.

VTech

I read a lot before buying them, have a read here;
http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/01/15/rev ... rake-pads/

Jon_1976

Was the difference between 23mm and 25mm really noticeable? I've only used 23mm but thinking of getting some 25mm as I need some new tyres. What pressures are you running?

VTech

Hell yes !!

I think I'm at 110psi but the same pressure was used for both and the 25's are far better ride quality. I felt far more comfortable in cornering too which is probably more placebo but as long as it works.

Grill

ENVE rims > your rims

There is a noticeable difference in braking regardless of pad and weather.

VTech

Grill wrote:

ENVE rims > your rims

There is a noticeable difference in braking regardless of pad and weather.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean ?

Grill

ENVE uses a textured braking surface that means braking is already superior to the vast majority of carbon wheels on the market. In the Black Prince review you posted, the test wheels were ENVE 6.7, so it's not accurate really the most accurate of reviews as Chinese rims won't hold a candle to them in regards to stopping power.

I took my RZRs to Majorca at the beginning of the month and descended the top of Soller to Pollensa in the wet. Carbon doesn't stop anything like aluminium in the wet. Not to say it's not doable, it just requires more forethought and skill.

VTech

Ahh, I only had similar reviews and what I have read on here. That's why initially I was very cautious during the ride.
I'm happy to swap the wheels or even use my other bike in wet weather. Just to make others aware when reading this, it was a perfectly dry day so my comments above are only based in that.

Grill

They'll do fine in the dry, although with carbon clinchers you want to use the brakes hard and fast. If you drag them or treat them like AL rims the heat build up will burst tubes.

ugo.santalucia

Grill wrote:

They'll do fine in the dry, although with carbon clinchers you want to use the brakes hard and fast. If you drag them or treat them like AL rims the heat build up will burst tubes.

realistically, how much heat can you generate in Warwickshire?

Grill

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Grill wrote:

They'll do fine in the dry, although with carbon clinchers you want to use the brakes hard and fast. If you drag them or treat them like AL rims the heat build up will burst tubes.

realistically, how much heat can you generate in Warwickshire?

Did a 300k audax through there yesterday and I can safely say... none.

Being a man of the world I would expect the OP to eventually ride somewhere epic.

VTech

To be honest, at the moment, a 50k ride through warwickshire is as epic as I can imagine.

ugo.santalucia

VTech wrote:

To be honest, at the moment, a 50k ride through warwickshire is as epic as I can imagine.

... and by the time you head for the Glandon, you'll be fully ENVE-tubbed up...

VTech

To be honest, I really struggle to take in the fact that bike wheels can cost as much as a set of high quality car wheels and more than many cars on the road.

ugo.santalucia

VTech wrote:

To be honest, I really struggle to take in the fact that bike wheels can cost as much as a set of high quality car wheels and more than many cars on the road.

My tubulars cost more than my car tyres... they are also a lot prettier

VTech

I just cant fathom that. There really isnt a need for the high cost really.

Grill

VTech wrote:

To be honest, I really struggle to take in the fact that bike wheels can cost as much as a set of high quality car wheels and more than many cars on the road.

How much is an F1 steering wheel?

My wheels may have a 5k retail, but the enjoyment I get whilst riding them is incomparable to when I had wheels of the same retail on my car. I drive a beater so I can have nicer bikes. Priorities and all that...

Grill

VTech wrote:

I just cant fathom that. There really isnt a need for the high cost really.

All tubs are not created equal. If your tyres were hand-stitched I'm sure they'd be a few quid more!

VTech

Yes I can see the work done I guess, im not so sure I would spend this much myself but im not serious like yourself but who knows. ?
Yesterday was the first time I REALLY loved the cycling, I had a great time cycling through Charleston SC, USA a few weeks ago and have thought a few times have been better than others but I do now have a dream of a certain cycle run I want to do but I need to be way fitter to accomplish that goal.

Grill

This one should be your dream:
http://app.strava.com/activities/9592246#171462679

VTech

My all time dream would be to manage this:

http://app.strava.com/activities/146336

Riding from the bay area through Napa and into Calistoga.
When im in Calistoga I feel like im at peace with the world, its a real weird feeling that I cant truly explain but I love it their.

Grill

Do it. It doesn't look like a particularly difficult ride. If my sister wasn't moving away from SF in a couple months I'd give it a go.