Are carbon wheels more reliable?

mr_eddy

I am quite a big chap at 97kg and I am keen to get a new wheelset. I also plan to do a bit of light weight back packing too in the summer so assume a total system weight of maybe 120kg total worst case scenario.

My question is with a budget of £500 do I go for either a set of alu hand builds (something like 32 spoke DT Swiss Hubs and WTB rims) or a set of Prime carbon clinchers (either 50mm or 38mm)

I don't really care about 'aero' as I don't go fast enough for it to really matter - My typical rides average about 23kph and rarely do I spike to more than 30kmh - My understanding is that aero really only comes into play at 30+ kmh

What I do care about is having a wheelset that is completely bomb proof. Ideally I would like something that I can fit and basically not worry about for 1000's of miles - Occasionally checking the spokes.

Weight is not really of a huge concern but if could get something under say 1800g that would be nice.

My question - Are carbon wheels less likely to go out of true than alu rims - i.e. are they more robust in that regard?

mr_eddy

I know this could be in the buying advice section but really I just want to know if Carbon rims are more reliable for heavier riders tha alu rims

t4tomo1969

The answer is almost certainly handbuilt aluminium, with 32 or 36 spokes.

If you have rim brakes definitely not carbon rims, the braking isn't as good, particularly if you are going to be 120kg packed up.

carbon buys you lightweight a hopefully not detriment to strength, but focussed on lightweight. the certainly wont be any stronger than a good handbuilt alu.

singleton

Your total system weight might be higher than you predict. I would expect your bike, food, drink and luggage to weigh more than 23kg combined.

Since you have specific needs, I'd suggest you contact a reputable wheel builder and talk it through with them.

I don't read too many dedicated blogs or sites for bike packing, but I don't remember seeing carbon wheels advertised or marketed as being more reliable / robust than alu.

david37

the answer to your question is it depends. WRT staying true, there is no reason why carbon wouldn't stay true longer than Ally, in practice, ive had much better results with carbon than ally BUT a shallow section ally rim is always going to be less rigid than a deep section one, all other things being equal.

matching the tyre width to the correct rim and ensuring its inflated property will protect both materials from impact damage.

carbon is tough stuff. but if you take a road rim down a down hill mountain bike course then expect problems. On the road you really aren't that heavy. Buy carbon.

Ive got a set of zip 303's that ive had for years, I raced them, I crashed them and as ive got fatter and fatter they've stayed true through it all. AS for not working in the wet, well in fairness I found the early Zip pads to be very expensive and not that good. the cheap ones from wiggle are great, one rotation and the waters gone.

People overthink things.

shortfall

david37 said:

the answer to your question is it depends. WRT staying true, there is no reason why carbon wouldn't stay true longer than Ally, in practice, ive had much better results with carbon than ally BUT a shallow section ally rim is always going to be less rigid than a deep section one, all other things being equal.

matching the tyre width to the correct rim and ensuring its inflated property will protect both materials from impact damage.

carbon is tough stuff. but if you take a road rim down a down hill mountain bike course then expect problems. On the road you really aren't that heavy. Buy carbon.

Ive got a set of zip 303's that ive had for years, I raced them, I crashed them and as ive got fatter and fatter they've stayed true through it all. AS for not working in the wet, well in fairness I found the early Zip pads to be very expensive and not that good. the cheap ones from wiggle are great, one rotation and the waters gone.

People overthink things.

This is pretty much my experience too and I'm a bit heavier than you. I have a set of 50mm deep carbon rims with 24/28 spokes that I never need to touch but saying that I also have some kinlin 32 mm alu rims with the same spoke count from Cycle Clinic that I never need to go near with a spoke key either. Both sets have Miche hubs which have a large flange which I'm told helps to keep them stiff. if you buy carbon then at your weight Id go with some good quality brake pads too. I've tried the Wiggle blue ones which are cheap but only adequate in the dry and a bit meh in the wet. Best stump up for some Swiss Stop and be prepared to replace them on a regular basis as they're amazing but have a relatively soft compound that stops good but wears away quickly if you're a chubster.

ddraver

If it's for touring and you're really not bothered about weight then I'd stick with the classic. 32F 36R with a simple hub (shimano ultegra or similar) and a simple rim. Not least because if it does go wrong, then you're most likely to be able to find someone who can mend it...

The trouble with things like Prime (wiggle) is that unless you're passing the factory in china, you're unlikely to find spares anywhere handy (not necessarily mind, but...often)

shortfall

ddraver said:

If it's for touring and you're really not bothered about weight then I'd stick with the classic. 32F 36R with a simple hub (shimano ultegra or similar) and a simple rim. Not least because if it does go wrong, then you're most likely to be able to find someone who can mend it...

The trouble with things like Prime (wiggle) is that unless you're passing the factory in china, you're unlikely to find spares anywhere handy (not necessarily mind, but...often)

Fair comment but I would add that it he goes handbuilt he can get whichever hubs and spokes he wants such as Hope/Miche and Sapim/DT Swiss for example, all of which have easily available spares.

MattFalle

Never had any problems ever with carbon rims so can't see any issues with what you want.

As D37 says - sometimes people over think things

ddraver

shortfall said:

ddraver said:

If it's for touring and you're really not bothered about weight then I'd stick with the classic. 32F 36R with a simple hub (shimano ultegra or similar) and a simple rim. Not least because if it does go wrong, then you're most likely to be able to find someone who can mend it...

The trouble with things like Prime (wiggle) is that unless you're passing the factory in china, you're unlikely to find spares anywhere handy (not necessarily mind, but...often)

Fair comment but I would add that it he goes handbuilt he can get whichever hubs and spokes he wants such as Hope/Miche and Sapim/DT Swiss for example, all of which have easily available spares.

Think we're agreeing with each other.

Lets just say from my experience, it's never the beautiful village with an awesome campsite for pennies that you get stuck in with mechanical problems but the crappy dirty one with a nice view of the sulphur plant that charges twice the price of any of the others you've stayed in (*grumble*)

mr_eddy

Thanks for all the advice, I think on balance I will probably go for hand builds due to the spares thing, the braking is no issue as I am on discs.

I do like the look of deep section carbon mind but I think it's gonna be a case of stick yo what ya know and I have never had a custom wheelset before so quite keen to give it a go and that seems to be a popular answer.

I think I will put in a call to my LBS then. The chap that runs it used to spanner for the pros and by all accounts is a dab hand at wheel building

Ta.

david37

why not build your own wheels? it isn't at all difficult.

zest28

Carbon wheels are more reliable because they don’t bend or dent.

However if you are involved in a big crash, do scan your carbon wheels because carbon damage is often not visible with the naked eye. With metal wheels, you clearly see the damage and know you got to repair it.

However, best for your use case is to stick with metal wheels. Because you are not fast enough to see the benefits. And carbon wheels is also for racing. I honestly don’t see the point of carbon wheels in backpacking.

pilot_pete

The point of carbon wheels for the OP is that he could get a stiffer wheel with something like a 50mm rim meaning shorter spokes. With handbuilt he can get a higher spoke count (than an off the shelf Prime for example) and using a reputable wheelbuilder, preferably local, will mean potentially a bombproof set of wheels, especially with disc brakes, that are easily serviceable and repairable. However, he may struggle to get such a set on a £500 budget.

I ‘relegated’ a set of 50mm handbuilt wheels from my summer bike to my winter bike. They have been absolutely bombproof for 3 winters after a previous 3 summers use so far.

I talked to my local builder and told him about flex under power on stock wheels. I’m not as heavy as the OP, but my builder said I need a higher spoke count than the stock wheels and recommended specific spokes, spoke count, lacing pattern and rims to give me what I wanted - reliable, bombproof, stiff set of wheels. I had already mentioned I wanted Hope hubs. He highly recommends them having built dozens of sets using them.

He gives them a tune up once a year checking trueness and spoke tension. I’ve hit plenty of potholes and all they have ever needed is this tune up - never had any broken spokes or cracked rims. Hope hubs and their fantastic durability means I haven’t even had to change a bearing yet.

The other benefits over aluminium include no corrosion or cracking aluminium rim spoke holes and they are not affected by salt and water like an aluminium rim.

The original wheels went out of true regularly, the freehub seized twice in two winters and the spoke holes started cracking and corrosion started around each hole too. The bike is a cyclocross model, which shows just how crap the cheap wheels fitted actually were.

The bike was bought new in 2011. It is a proper, full on winter bike, but with deep section carbon rims. They are not just for racing and the ‘benefits’ as you call them are not just limited to aerodynamics and speed. Just because you don’t see the point of them, doesn’t make them pointless.

orlok

Carbon wheels are more reliable then alu and they use twice less then alu if you use the right brakepads.!

froze

You're not to heavy for most CF wheels. My problem with CF wheels is if you impact anything like a pothole even you could crack the rim on the inside where you can't see it, then thinking it's good to ride you continue only to have a major malfunction some point down the road, it could be immediate or it could take a year. I had a friend who was riding in his pack of riders when for some unknown reason the front wheel exploded, his friends witnessed it, he crashed and was in a coma for about 5 days, he still doesn't remember what happened. I find CF wheels to be highly impractical for street use. AL wheels if they take a hard strike all they'll do is bend and most of the time you can true them back, they have give to them, CF wheels lack that give so all they can do is break once they exceed their limit. And the only way to check CF wheels is to send them someplace and have them X-rayed, seems like a hassle to me just to have a set of wheels. I like things simple and not complicated, I'm not racing so I have no need for CF wheels.

bitmanalexQ3XlZtjb

As a MTB carbon wheelset owner I can say that the advantage is:

Stiffness - doesn't matter how hard or crazy you turn the wheel will follow with no delay, I'd guess that's not much of an advantage in road.

No bent wheels - your wheels basically remain true no matter what, they'll probably explode before getting untrue (which I am not sure if it's a good or a bad thing).

Strength - for the same weight a carbon wheel is stronger than an aluminum one.

My website