carbon vs alloy wheels rim brake clincher

[cyberknight]

At a similar price point , whats the difference ?
As it looks like we are not moving and it seems that the cost of putting in a downstairs toilet is going to be half what i thought i am angling to get a nicer wheelset .
I would only be talking £300 as i have seen hunt alloy wheels vs entry level carbon of a similar price point , both are a similar weight .

 

[Big John]

There are an awful lot of carbon wheels out there and they look and feel beautiful. Almost works of art. I was asked by a customer to build a rear wheel.....carbon rim, decent hub, new ss black spokes all supplied by him and I built it. Looked awesome. I road tested it, felt great. I even felt faster lol. Would I like a set of carbon wheels? No. Why? I'm sorry and I know it'll upset a lot of folks on here but I don't trust carbon. I've got a carbon bike and I'm on the second frame. The first one snapped when the rear mech got caught in the wheel and broke the chainstay on the drive side. The replacement frame I managed to crack on the seat tube when I came off in a TLI bike race (fixed it DIY with a cf repair kit). When I was building that carbon wheel I had to take extra care that the tools I was using didn't damage the inside of the rim (it was a deep section rim). I just think CF isn't as robust as alloy. Just my opinion of course. I'll now put my bulletproof vest on and retire to the bunker at the bottom of the garden 😉

 

[Hacienda71]

Carbon tend to have deeper more aero rims at the same weight and price point so potentially faster at 18mph plus speeds, but not hilly rides.
Personally I am not sure I would trade the braking performance of an alloy rim for the performance gain of aero of a carbon rim now I don't race anymore. I had 50mm carbon wheels with a bonded alloy brake track. Most people racing now will use discs where it isn't an issue.
Biggest plus look more bling. 😎

 

[fossyant]

Similar to Hacienda71 above - I had a set of HED Jet's for TT'ing. Bling, fast, but I'd not be using them on hilly and possibly windy/gusty routes. Said bike now runs on handbuilt wheels !

Having ridden a Sportive in the Peaks a few years back, most riders with deep section wheels had to turn back due to gusty winds (Flash for those locals) as they were a nightmare - it was bad enough with narrow profile alloy rims.

If you get handbuilt wheels, you can at least get things replaced at a reasonable amount. I think the noise of carbon rims would drive me nuts - much prefer the whoosh of standard wheels.

For £300 - go handbuilt not cheap carbon.

 

[cyberknight]

was looking at the prime doyenne 38s prime primavera 28s on wiggle or merlin have a set of dt swiss p1800 spline 32

 

[vickster]

was looking at the prime doyenne 38s prime primavera 28s on wiggle or merlin have a set of dt swiss p1800 spline 32

Not sure I’d be spending much money with Wiggle right now!

 

[Jameshow]

Depends on where you live in the fens on a still day go for it.
But in the hills a pair of Durace c24 are sublime!

 

[cyberknight]

Depends on where you live in the fens on a still day go for it.
But in the hills a pair of Durace c24 are sublime!

I did look but they are out of my budget 😕

 

[DogmaStu]

There are an awful lot of carbon wheels out there and they look and feel beautiful. Almost works of art. I was asked by a customer to build a rear wheel.....carbon rim, decent hub, new ss black spokes all supplied by him and I built it. Looked awesome. I road tested it, felt great. I even felt faster lol. Would I like a set of carbon wheels? No. Why? I'm sorry and I know it'll upset a lot of folks on here but I don't trust carbon. I've got a carbon bike and I'm on the second frame. The first one snapped when the rear mech got caught in the wheel and broke the chainstay on the drive side. The replacement frame I managed to crack on the seat tube when I came off in a TLI bike race (fixed it DIY with a cf repair kit). When I was building that carbon wheel I had to take extra care that the tools I was using didn't damage the inside of the rim (it was a deep section rim). I just think CF isn't as robust as alloy. Just my opinion of course. I'll now put my bulletproof vest on and retire to the bunker at the bottom of the garden 😉

Choosing a bike and what it is made from is a personal journey; none is wrong, it's simply a choice based upon individual preferences.

All I would add is that not all carbon is equal.

You get different grades of steel, alloy and carbon is no different. The design, layering and choice of carbon sheets is critical to how a bike will handle, weigh etc and how strong it will be. There is no debate that carbon done properly is stronger than steel and alloy but it also has different stress points and when stressed to breaking point will break differently too.

The issue you described re your rear mech broke your chainstay could easily have cracked a steel 753P frame or alu.

As for carbon wheels, they are undeniably stronger in every way, designed to tackle the infamous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix at Pro speeds. You can run a carbon rim without tyres and not break it, as proven by GCN in one of their tests.

 

[T4tomo]

I have some 38mm Zeds, you don't get an issue in cross winds / windy days, (you might with 50 /60mm) and they are lighter than what they replaced so better for climbing, obviously more aero and look very nice / bling. Braking is fine in the dry (rim brakes) with the proper brake blocks , but I wouldn't put them on an all year round bike, but glad I bought them for my summer bike.

The wiggle deal on the primes looks cracking value.

 

[DogmaStu]

Also different wheel designs handle lateral wind better than others.

Zipp 353 for example are great in crosswinds. 45mm average depth (wavy rim design) and handle like 25mm! I have the 454's and 404's.

The 404's are 60mm deep and do feel the wind a bit albeit not terrible, better than many 60mm. The 454's vary between 53mm and 58mm, give the same aero advantages as the 60mm but handle crosswinds like a 35mm in my experience.

Rim profile design is really quite good on certain brands for dealing with wind.

One thing is certain though...carbon rim brake is never as good at stopping as alloy rim brake. Carbon really does need discs to be effective. I have Hunt carbon rims on my Winter bike and they are nice but definitely compromised in the braking department.

 

[derrick]

I had a set of alloy wheels made cost £600.00, they are not a patch on my £400.00 Ali express Carbon rims.
The braking track also last longer on the carbon rims.

 

[wafter]

There are an awful lot of carbon wheels out there and they look and feel beautiful. Almost works of art. I was asked by a customer to build a rear wheel.....carbon rim, decent hub, new ss black spokes all supplied by him and I built it. Looked awesome. I road tested it, felt great. I even felt faster lol. Would I like a set of carbon wheels? No. Why? I'm sorry and I know it'll upset a lot of folks on here but I don't trust carbon. I've got a carbon bike and I'm on the second frame. The first one snapped when the rear mech got caught in the wheel and broke the chainstay on the drive side. The replacement frame I managed to crack on the seat tube when I came off in a TLI bike race (fixed it DIY with a cf repair kit). When I was building that carbon wheel I had to take extra care that the tools I was using didn't damage the inside of the rim (it was a deep section rim). I just think CF isn't as robust as alloy. Just my opinion of course. I'll now put my bulletproof vest on and retire to the bunker at the bottom of the garden 😉

Same. On top of that it seems especially horrible in a rim-brake application given the friction, abrasion and potential heating involved... nope for anything safety-critical; double nope for rim-braked wheels.

All that said, a nice set of deep composite rims do look hard as fook on a modern steel road bike..

Not sure I’d be spending much money with Wiggle right now!

Bang it on ze credit card and let the bank worry about it

 

[T4tomo]

Same. On top of that it seems especially horrible in a rim-brake application given the friction, abrasion and potential heating involved... nope for anything safety-critical; double nope for rim-braked wheels.

With the exception of when its proper wet, carbon rims are in many ways better than alloy rims, stronger lighter and the brake track wears much less. The brake blocks wear quicker and you must us proper "for carbon rims" brake blocks, but then blocks wearing instead of rims is a good thing. . You also get none of that"bits of alloy working back into your brake blocks and then wearing your alloy rim quicker".
In the dry, Braking performance is as good if not better

With a little bit of rain, the block quickly clears it of the rim and braking performance is OK.
If its very wet braking performance is a tad scary.

 

[cyberknight]

something putting me off is the reviews saying 25 mm tyres are hard to fit on the prime wheels ? not sure i can for wider on the intended bike