Buying Carbon Wheels

[trippyho]

Hi All,

I'm looking to get a pair of racing Carbon wheels and my budget is around $1200.

I'm currently looking at the Mavic Carbone SLS 2015 wheel set for $1265, but before I drop the cash on them, does anyone have any recommendations or other better alternatives at that price point?

Thanks in advance! By the way criteria is that it has to support both 10 and 11 speed cassette, and it can be a hybrid of alloy and carbon, doesn't necessarily be full carbon.

[softy]

Hi,

There are many threads on this topic on this forum, search function is your friend.....

But just my thoughts;
At your budget, i would serious consider top end ally rims, there are just as light as the cheap carbons and more durable, brake in the wet, can use normal brake pads, etc.

If you are still set on carbon, make sure they are light! This is the whole point of carbon, otherwise i see no real advantage over ally, of course this puts you into a different price bracket. Now i would suggest if you can stretch to say $1500 you could pick up some secondhand low milage wheels, tri riders or racers do this, keep the good wheels for races so are generally in very good condition.

Freehubs can be changed on some makes from 10 to 11speed, beware some are not so easy, like zipps. So do some research before buying 10speed wheels or ask your local bike shop if they can upgrade and how much. Factor this into your price.

hope this helps.

[CXCommuter]

http://www.swissside.com/hadron/

Swiss side Hadron

[trippyho]

http://www.swissside.com/hadron/

Swiss side Hadron

Wow pretty cheap! Haven't come across this brand before. I'll check it out some more thanks

[AUbicycles]

Have a look, we have good contact with Swiss Side and they are the real-deal, a customer direct approach means they are price competitive but also have the tech data from wind-tunnel testing to really back themselves up. Have a look at some of the discussions of Swissside on this forum.

Aside from that, keep in mine that a hybrid wheel - aluminium braking surface with carbon faring may be a better combination than a full-carbon if you want reliable braking in all weather conditions. Carbon fiber braking can cause issues for some (i.e. spongy in wet) and is also susceptible to heat deformation (delamination) if the wheel build quality isn't up to scratch or you have particularly heavy braking requirements. Shimano also do a hybrid.

Otherwise, do checkout the brand reputation for anything you consider - you certainly want an overwhelming majority of positive rider / user feedback.

[softy]

Have a look, we have good contact with Swiss Side and they are the real-deal, a customer direct approach means they are price competitive but also have the tech data from wind-tunnel testing to really back themselves up. Have a look at some of the discussions of Swissside on this forum.

Aside from that, keep in mine that a hybrid wheel - aluminium braking surface with carbon faring may be a better combination than a full-carbon if you want reliable braking in all weather conditions. Carbon fiber braking can cause issues for some (i.e. spongy in wet) and is also susceptible to heat deformation (delamination) if the wheel build quality isn't up to scratch or you have particularly heavy braking requirements. Shimano also do a hybrid.

Otherwise, do checkout the brand reputation for anything you consider - you certainly want an overwhelming majority of positive rider / user feedback.

this is all good info....
Just to comment on carbon wheel braking tracks, yes delaminations can occur, but all the big brands are aware of this and are designed to tolerate heat associated with braking. Unless you are doing high speed consistent long decents with continous heavy braking i don't believe this to be a issue.

I have carbon wheels;
Now the science says a aero helmet can give you the same advantage as aero wheels and a aero helmet is alot cheaper, why I personally like the weight reduction, as you can feel this when you put your foot down.

I run carbon brake tracks with swiss stop pads and they brake fantastic in the dry. Wet with carbon tracks is definitely less effective than ally in the wet.

I would evaluate your aplication and what you would like from your wheels. Then decide what is going to suit your application.

[rheicel]

I won't buy alloy+carbon wheels again. Most of them are overprice and heavy anyway.
The above is with the exception of alloy wheels like hadrons and some mavic wheels. They are actually alloy wheels flared with carbon for aerodynamic only.

[trippyho]

Thanks all, I think I'm sold on the Swiss Side Hadrons. All the reviews I've read have been very positive and it's only a fraction more than the Mavics. Now to decide if I want the 625 set or a mix of 625 up front and 800 for the rear. (For Tri use).

Also does anyone know of a Swiss side distributor in Australia? Otherwise I'll just order on their website. Thanks

[Storm Boy]

I've put several thousand km on Hadrons with no dramas. The Swiss side guys are also very approachable if you have any questions, with quick replies to emails.

Regards,

SB

[Duck!]

...keep in mine that a hybrid wheel - aluminium braking surface with carbon faring may be a better combination than a full-carbon if you want reliable braking in all weather conditions. Carbon fiber braking can cause issues for some (i.e. spongy in wet) and is also susceptible to heat deformation (delamination) if the wheel build quality isn't up to scratch or you have particularly heavy braking requirements. Shimano also do a hybrid.

Otherwise, do checkout the brand reputation for anything you consider - you certainly want an overwhelming majority of positive rider / user feedback.

this is all good info....
Just to comment on carbon wheel braking tracks, yes delaminations can occur, but all the big brands are aware of this and are designed to tolerate heat associated with braking. Unless you are doing high speed consistent long decents with continous heavy braking i don't believe this to be a issue.

I have carbon wheels;
Now the science says a aero helmet can give you the same advantage as aero wheels and a aero helmet is alot cheaper, why I personally like the weight reduction, as you can feel this when you put your foot down.

I run carbon brake tracks with swiss stop pads and they brake fantastic in the dry. Wet with carbon tracks is definitely less effective than ally in the wet.

I would evaluate your aplication and what you would like from your wheels. Then decide what is going to suit your application.

The big killer of carbon rims is prolonged brake dragging, which builds up heat in the rims, leading to melting of the resin that binds the carbon fibres together. Brake hard, in short bursts, and allow the rims to "breathe" & cool between applications and you can ride even hard, twisty descents without problems.

With advancements in pad compounds, in particular moving away from cork-based pads, and with many rims now incorporating a ceramic or other hardened (basalt - essentially volcanic rock dust - is also common) surface coating applied to the brake tracks, braking on carbon is a lot better than it used to be.

The other benefit of full carbon wheels is that they absorb road vibration better than aluminium or aluminium/carbon hybrid rims, which ultimately makes a nicer ride, regardless of weight or aero.