Carbon and Cobbles?

[jonny jeez]

I'm off to Flanders tomorrow for the Saturday sportive, which looks a bit lumpy....and a bit cobbly

My question is, should I remove my carbon rims (in favour of some old Aluminium rims) or will Carbon wheels handle the 6k of cobbles (up and down) that sit along the 125k route?

I would prefer not to replace them as they feel so much better on tarmac than my aluminium rims...but will they explode under the stresses.

PS I am a large rider, 6.2 and 17 stone..i commute on the carbon rims and never have issues with potholes and bumps generally...but cobbles?

 

[gavintc]

I did the Tour of Flanders a few years ago. My friend who rode with me, had some smart carbon Zipp wheels. It wrecked them. I would strongly advise you use your alu wheels. The vibration is something else.

 

[StuAff]

Look through any of the Cyclingnews/BR image galleries for Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen, etc in recent years- carbon rims.
Eg, Alexander Kristoff won in Flanders and rode Roubaix on this:

Give them a good check-over and they should be fine. 6km out of 125km shouldn't do that much harm to them I'd have thought. Edit: but @gavintc's mate's experience might, not unreasonably, lead you to be more cautious.

 

[mjr]

Look through any of the Cyclingnews/BR image galleries for Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen, etc in recent years- carbon rims.

The sponsored pros don't really care if they need new rims for the next ride, do they?

 

[jonny jeez]

Look through any of the Cyclingnews/BR image galleries for Paris-Roubaix, Ronde van Vlaanderen, etc in recent years- carbon rims.
Eg, Alexander Kristoff won in Flanders and rode Roubaix on this:

Give them a good check-over and they should be fine. 6km out of 125km shouldn't do that much harm to them I'd have thought. Edit: but @gavintc's mate's experience might, not unreasonably, lead you to be more cautious.

What Mjray says above...plus the pros don't weigh 17 stone


I'll swap them out.

Thanks guys

 

[screenman]

I would use the carbon.

 

[jonny jeez]

I didn't get time to swap the brake blocks , chain and wheels, so chucked both sets in the boot of the car. Did Koppenberg on its own, with the carbon on and it seemed fine, well, at least the wheels did!!!

 

[jonny jeez]

Well.....that happened!

Blimey, that ride is something else.

For those interested in knowing the outcome of the wheels, I took a test ride up koppenburgh on Friday afternoon when we arrived and the wheels felt ok, so I went with them.

About halfway around, I realised that I was also running on 23mm race tyres and became a little obsessed with avoiding the gaps for fear of pinch punctures.

However, I needn't have worried, the wheels were just fine and carried me a further 10 miles home after the event...I hate to look like I am spamming but if any riders are on the larger end of the scales (see what I did there) and want a set of carbon clinchers that they can have total confidence in..pm me and ill send you the details of where to buy some....these wheels are awesome.

 

[StuAff]

Thought they'd be OK. Glad to be proved right.

 

[goody]

What wheels are they?

 

[Spinney]

@jonny jeez - no probs with posting details of the wheels on here, as far as I can see. You are effectively providing a review of them, and don't benefit from any sales, so not spam (unless you are actually a carbon-wheel manufacturer!)

 

[oldroadman]

I'm off to Flanders tomorrow for the Saturday sportive, which looks a bit lumpy....and a bit cobbly

My question is, should I remove my carbon rims (in favour of some old Aluminium rims) or will Carbon wheels handle the 6k of cobbles (up and down) that sit along the 125k route?

I would prefer not to replace them as they feel so much better on tarmac than my aluminium rims...but will they explode under the stresses.

PS I am a large rider, 6.2 and 17 stone..i commute on the carbon rims and never have issues with potholes and bumps generally...but cobbles?

What you might consider, pro riders at that height , 1m 88, will be not much over 75-80 kg (around 12-13 stones in old money).
So consider alu rims (like the old mavic SSC), and 28/32 spoke build, for cobbles. The sort of surfaces you get on the northern Europe farm tracks (which is what they are) make the average cobbles found in UK look like a motorway.

 

[jonny jeez]

They are

What wheels are they?

V50 wheels set from VO2 in hildenborough, Kent...ask for jimmy.

Awesome so far, with commuting, cobbles, rain, shine and a fair bit of mileage... and not a wobble. They don't seem to catch the cross wind but are a little pulsey on the brakes (which I gather is relatively normal for non machined surfaces. Very light too.

Extremely happy and as VO2 are a small firm, jimmy does offer a very personal service.

And no, I'm not on any commissions.