Giant TCR Pro Non Disc

manx_cat
manx_cat Posts: 52
edited December 2018 in Road buying advice
Hi,

Anyone here ride one of these with the carbon wheels? just wonder how the braking is in the wet as I am unsure if its worth to go for the disc version.

Thanks

Comments

  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Well it makes little difference on the frame.

    All that matters are the wheel / pad / caliper interface.

    The newer series of Shimano calipers (R 7/8/9100) are all meant to be excellent. Even better than the 5800,6800,9000 series.
    Combined with a good pad (I use lifeline, but swisstop yellow or black prince, campag red also good ) and a textured brake track (zipp, campag + others) you'll be fine.

    If you're heavy and plan on doing of descending in the wet, maybe discs.

    I've ridden carbon clinchers through the winter without issues.
  • bristolpete
    bristolpete Posts: 2,255
    Very good in the wet to be fair and certainly partner them with the Giant pads to get the best stopping power in both wet and dry and protect your wheel warranty.
  • manx_cat
    manx_cat Posts: 52
    bristolpete wrote:
    Very good in the wet to be fair and certainly partner them with the Giant pads to get the best stopping power in both wet and dry and protect your wheel warranty.

    I often cycle along a beach promenade with sand on it sometimes, do u think the sand will scratch the brake track if it gets between the pad and the brake track?
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    manx_cat wrote:
    bristolpete wrote:
    Very good in the wet to be fair and certainly partner them with the Giant pads to get the best stopping power in both wet and dry and protect your wheel warranty.

    I often cycle along a beach promenade with sand on it sometimes, do u think the sand will scratch the brake track if it gets between the pad and the brake track?

    Yes. Without question. This is possibly the main reason why not to ride carbon wheels in the winter is contaminated pads.
  • manx_cat
    manx_cat Posts: 52
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    manx_cat wrote:
    bristolpete wrote:
    Very good in the wet to be fair and certainly partner them with the Giant pads to get the best stopping power in both wet and dry and protect your wheel warranty.

    I often cycle along a beach promenade with sand on it sometimes, do u think the sand will scratch the brake track if it gets between the pad and the brake track?

    Yes. Without question. This is possibly the main reason why not to ride carbon wheels in the winter is contaminated pads.

    I c thx, I think the disc bike is the one then.
  • minnnt
    minnnt Posts: 102
    Hi there. I have the TCR Advanced Pro 1 with the Giant SLR climbing wheels. I have Ultegra R8000 brakes along with the supplied carbon specific brake blocks. I find braking in normal conditions excellent but as soon as they get wet the braking performance is all but non existent. I have been told that the Swisstop yellow pads are excellent so may consider replacing them with these when I need new. Having said that, this is my ‘best’ bike so I doubt it will see much use over the coming months unfortunately.

    Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I kinda wish I had gone for the disc version but when it’s dry the rim brake model is superb to ride.
  • e17blade
    e17blade Posts: 215
    I have had quite the opposite experience...

    I ride a TCR Advanced SL with the SLR climbing wheels and find the braking excellent. I have even done descents in the Alps in chucking down rain without any problems at all.
  • minnnt
    minnnt Posts: 102
    Very interesting... Perhaps I’m “doing it wrong” :lol:
  • vegas76
    vegas76 Posts: 278
    Is there any other reason not to use carbon wheels in winter?
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    Vegas76 wrote:
    Is there any other reason not to use carbon wheels in winter?
    The answers to a lot of these questions depend on how much and what type of riding you do and how many bikes/wheels you have. Would you choose carbon wheels with rim brakes for riding every day in all conditions throughout the winter if you only had one bike and one set of wheels? No. Could you ride such a bike on many long weekend rides throughout the winter if you avoided days when it was chucking it down and/or switched to aanother bike or different wheels on such days? Yes. Would it be fine on wet roads and for the odd bit of rain on such rides? Yes, although being able to fit mudguards to protect your a*rse might be a more important consideration.
  • vegas76
    vegas76 Posts: 278
    neeb wrote:
    Vegas76 wrote:
    Is there any other reason not to use carbon wheels in winter?
    The answers to a lot of these questions depend on how much and what type of riding you do and how many bikes/wheels you have. Would you choose carbon wheels with rim brakes for riding every day in all conditions throughout the winter if you only had one bike and one set of wheels? No. Could you ride such a bike on many long weekend rides throughout the winter if you avoided days when it was chucking it down and/or switched to aanother bike or different wheels on such days? Yes. Would it be fine on wet roads and for the odd bit of rain on such rides? Yes, although being able to fit mudguards to protect your a*rse might be a more important consideration.

    I should have been more specific... I'm referring to disc brakes.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    Vegas76 wrote:
    I should have been more specific... I'm referring to disc brakes.
    No reason not to use them in any conditions then, other than that they are more expensive to replace if you crash or hit a really bad pothole. But you're not going to gain anyting from using them either if you're riding a a heavy winter bike with mudguards wearing lots of un-aero clothing etc.
  • vegas76
    vegas76 Posts: 278
    neeb wrote:
    Vegas76 wrote:
    I should have been more specific... I'm referring to disc brakes.
    No reason not to use them in any conditions then, other than that they are more expensive to replace if you crash or hit a really bad pothole. But you're not going to gain anyting from using them either if you're riding a a heavy winter bike with mudguards wearing lots of un-aero clothing etc.

    Thanks. I don't normally have big flapping jackets on :)
  • skooter
    skooter Posts: 264
    I have a Giant Pro 1 and have two sets of Exalth wheels one climbing set and one 52mm areo set.. which none are ridden in the winter as been said its very expensive to replace, so I have a Giant TCR alloy and a Genisis Equllibrium for winter use.
  • sir_les
    sir_les Posts: 13
    Just be aware that even carbon wheels with disc brakes can be ruined in the wet. I have rims where the nipple is internal, so everytime it rains, the water gets driven inside the hole. I then broke a spoke in the summer as the internal nipples had corroded through exposure to water and grime.
    If you want an all year round set of disc wheels, get the external nipple variety would be my advice!

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