CRC Prime Pro wheels - thoughts and a question

johngti

Took delivery of a pair of these yesterday and tried them out today on my defy comp in place of the zonda fitted for the last couple of years.

First impressions are that they're a bloomin' impressive pair of wheels. They're stiff enough to climb well but seem, to me, to be more compliant. Less road buzz got through to my hands and they felt more comfortable. Not sure what a difference the wider rims made, it wasn't really a day for pushing things. Also ran my normal pressures (~95psi rear and ~90psi front) so from what I've read, I could lower them a little.

Generally I'm impressed and on the evidence of today's (admittedly short) ride, I'm going to prefer them over the zondas. Link - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobi ... prod142941

Now for the question. And the can of worms opening. Would it be worth fitting tubeless tyres? And if so,which ones? Running conti gp4000sii in 25mm at the moment and like them. What tyres would be most similar?

bendertherobot

Worth it? Yes. Particularly since they appear to have already installed the tape for you. So all you need is the valves, sealant and tyres. Hutchison are lauded in the thread up the page, or Schwalbe Pro One.

johngti

bendertherobot wrote:

Worth it? Yes. Particularly since they appear to have already installed the tape for you. So all you need is the valves, sealant and tyres. Hutchison are lauded in the thread up the page, or Schwalbe Pro One.

It's even better than that! They came with valves and spare spokes so a pretty decent package all round. They look like good quality valves too with removable cores.

Got about a third of the way through the sticky thread before feeling confused. I'm leaning towards hutchinsons if I'm honest. How does the grip compare to contis?

bendertherobot

That is good. Grip should be at least as good. Someone did say that he got his Hutchison on by hand and, as Malcolm pointed out, if you can do that then inflating them is a bugger. The Schwalbe are more difficult to get on and, ergo, easier to pump up.

Whatever you choose I'd invest in:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/effetto-maripos ... -injector/

and that new race sealant with the bigger crystals!

http://www.notubes.com/Stans-Race-Seala ... P1977.aspx

bendertherobot

Oh and 25c in stock at the moment, for a change.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-pro-on ... 60751867uk

bendertherobot

And, if the tyres are hard to get on, these are a godsend.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tools/koolstop-tyre-mate/

bendertherobot

Good find mind, and the 1580g cheap wheels are the same setup.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/prim ... prod142937

Take off another 10% for BC discount and that's excellent

trailflow

How loud is the freehub ? How accurate is the 1470g total wheelset weight ?

johngti

bendertherobot wrote:

Good find mind, and the 1580g cheap wheels are the same setup.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/prim ... prod142937

Take off another 10% for BC discount and that's excellent

Like I say, I'm pleased so far! I've actually started thinking I should get one of the cheaper pairs for my winter bike and run tubeless on them too. Sell the zondas on here, I'd get half of the cost of new wheels back I guess...

johngti

trailflow wrote:

How loud is the freehub ? How accurate is the 1470g total wheelset weight ?

It's quieter than the zonda freehub but seems smoother and easier to turn. No idea about how close the weight is but they didn't feel any heavier than the zondas did yesterday when I took them off. Clearly that's as unscientific as it's possible to get!

mtbjunkie08

I've been looking at the cheaper version of these myself, do you get any spoke pinging noise on steep climbs when putting the power down?.
I'm 14.5 stone and both my Fulcrum Racing Quattro and spare Bontrager wheels 'ping', I'm wondering if its just my weight and normal?.

johngti

mtbjunkie08 wrote:

I've been looking at the cheaper version of these myself, do you get any spoke pinging noise on steep climbs when putting the power down?.
I'm 14.5 stone and both my Fulcrum Racing Quattro and spare Bontrager wheels 'ping', I'm wondering if its just my weight and normal?.

Well I'm 13st at the moment and did a couple of short sharp climbs this morning (one with a 10% average and one with 6-7%) and they were as good as gold so the early signs are promising. Probably try a couple of more challenging ones next week

cycleclinic

the only problem with the schwables I have found is they cut and then hole and they dont always seal. I never got more than about 500 miles form a tyre before I gave up on them. hutchenson's dont work well with every rim and there one good tyre the sector 28 is too wide for almost all my bikes and the grip is o.k in the wet but not stellar so there we have it.

cycleclinic

Just noticed the hubs in those wheels look like the novatec F482. Small bearings folks and bearing life is O.K even with the japanese EZO bearings. Use them over winter and it will be shorter.

The freehubs by the way are £62.99 on CRC but they are a Novatec Type B2 which can be had for a bit less.

Also the steel spline does not eliminate damage from cassettes, it can limit it at best.

Pay your money you make your choice.

johngti

thecycleclinic wrote:

Just noticed the hubs in those wheels look like the novatec F482. Small bearings folks and bearing life is O.K even with the japanese EZO bearings. Use them over winter and it will be shorter.

The freehubs by the way are £62.99 on CRC but they are a Novatec Type B2 which can be had for a bit less.

Also the steel spline does not eliminate damage from cassettes, it can limit it at best.

Pay your money you make your choice.

Buzz killer!

While you're here Malcolm, I fancy a pair of the IRC RBCC tyres (the 2015/16 model). Anything negative I need to know about them? Can they run at a lower pressure than 90psi? TIA!

cycleclinic

No down side to those tyres. They are very cut resistant and difficult to puncture unlike the schwables (i have yet to cut mine let alone puncture them). I have the new version on my commuter and I ride that off road sometimes so I have been trying. The dry and wet grip is better than almost every other tyre. Pave's compare well for wet/dry grip. People are getting 4000km or so from these tyres some get more. I have even convinced a elite woman team next year to use them (and some of my wheels). There will be only one elite team next year on tubeless tyres and it will be this team. The owner of the team was going to go with Michelin Power tyres and was skeptical until I gave him a set of wheels with the RBCC tyres to try.

johngti

thecycleclinic wrote:

No down side to those tyres. They are very cut resistant and difficult to puncture unlike the schwables (i have yet to cut mine let alone puncture them). I have the new version on my commuter and I ride that off road sometimes so I have been trying. The dry and wet grip is better than almost every other tyre. Pave's compare well for wet/dry grip. People are getting 4000km or so from these tyres some get more. I have even convinced a elite woman team next year to use them (and some of my wheels). There will be only one elite team next year on tubeless tyres and it will be this team. The owner of the team was going to go with Michelin Power tyres and was skeptical until I gave him a set of wheels with the RBCC tyres to try.

Excellent. How about the pressures? The roadcc reviewer describes having to pump them up to 100psi to get comfortable. I'd want to try lower for comfort. Are they ok at 80-85?

g00se

This review? http://road.cc/content/review/186884-ir ... less-tyres

I've got these previous versions and run them around 80-85psi no problem (I'm 75kg). I'm running wider rims than those in the review so that may be an aspect?

johngti

g00se wrote:

This review? http://road.cc/content/review/186884-ir ... less-tyres

I've got these previous versions and run them around 80-85psi no problem (I'm 75kg). I'm running wider rims than those in the review so that may be an aspect?

That's the one. I've got about 7kg on you but given the lack of pinch flats, I think I'll try them on 80-85psi.

Off to buy them now!

johngti

And done! Just going to have to advertise two part used continental gp4000sii over the weekend now

cycleclinic

just use flat tubeless tyre levers to install. Metal levers must not be used also traditionally shapped tyre levers with a bend should not be used. They can cause damage to the tyre causing a split (this goes for all tubeless tyres). Campagnolo tyre levers are good as are the VAR RP42500 and all other that are flat. Park have one now as well.

lower pressures are fine.

ddraver

Cor yeah, they look good!

The 50mm ones look like the answer to my tubeless aero clincher search from last year too. Shame i don't have the money or still live in NL where i could convince myself i need them now...

johngti

thecycleclinic wrote:

just use flat tubeless tyre levers to install. Metal levers must not be used also traditionally shapped tyre levers with a bend should not be used. They can cause damage to the tyre causing a split (this goes for all tubeless tyres). Campagnolo tyre levers are good as are the VAR RP42500 and all other that are flat. Park have one now as well.

lower pressures are fine.

I've got a crank brothers speedier lever - will that do?

johngti

Arrived and fitted. Thought I'd pop them on to the rims with a bit of co2 before letting that back out and adding the sealant. 10 minutes and they're on and fully mounted. "Result!" Said me to the missus who was impressed in spite of herself (she tried to hide it but I could tell).

So shake up the sealant, let the air out and...

The bloomin' tyre bead popped out too! Bugger. Oh well, it's just been mounted, the track pump will probably do it. Sealant in, valve core replaced, rotate the wheel and suspend it valve at the top and pump. And quickly realise that my track pump doesn't cut the mustard with tubeless tyre mounting. Sealant spewing out all over the path, a quick trip to Halfords for more co2 cartridges and everything is hunky dory. All fitted and all is good.

Except now they've only got between 20-30ml of sealant each. Which by my understanding isn't quite enough. So at some point it'll need topping up. So can anyone recommend a track pump that'll work better than the £15 Halfords one I've got? I'd rather not keep on using co2!

Look good though, no leaks apparent. I'll give them a couple of days to settle and have a run out on them on Sunday. Thanks for an impressively quick service Malcolm!

luv2ride

Don't need a track pump, but this hack:
https://youtu.be/EtmatxJG_zg
Works well for me....it's genius

ddraver

It's more likley to be a question of adding another layer of rim tape.

If you really want a new track pump then get one of the Topeak/Bontrager ones with the pressure chamber. Eitehr that or an airshot...

(or that^)

johngti

Yeah, I'd imagine that extra rim tape would keep the bead on a bit more effectively. At some point overthe next few weeks I'll take them off and reinstall with some new sealant.

ddraver

honestly, i'd really just wait until the tyres have worn out.

g00se

Bear in mind, CO2 will cause the sealant to coagulate more quickly.

I had exactly the same problem. One bead in the rear wheel does not stay in place when the pressure was released - I'm sure it's down to the rim bed on that side being narrower as it's an asymmetric rim. I could never get enough pressure in with a track pump so I resorted to ghetto compressors, loads of CO2 - all with the sealant sitting in the bottom of the tyre - trying not to spill it. Turns out the solution was one more turn of rim strip - it gives just enough for the beads to bite with the air from a track pump.

By the way, 30ml of sealant is perfect for a road tyre. Just make sure you can hear a bit sloshing about.

johngti

Can't hear a thing! The bike radar compressor hack looks eminently do-able though. Tempted to go ahead and remove/replace purely because in fitting the tyre to the wheel, I failed to line up the valve with the logo on the tyre. Only by a couple of inches but punishment is needed.

cycleclinic

which is why carrying CO2 when you are out is useful. If a hole does not seal (although you have to get one first) CO2 generally makes it seal. When I used schwables tubeless tyres I found this out several times.