This carbon wheel issue has been burning a hole in my soul for so long. The twin headed snake of thrift and indecision (not such an impressive snake as far as twin headed snakes go) held me at the impasse for years. Having @mauibike commit to all carbon for his lifetime wheelset needs got me hot. Seeing Fabs winning Paris-Roubaix and the Ronde on his Aeolius 5.0 wheels made the fever burn higher.
Maui is a very gusty place to ride and I was loath to own some deep section rims that would be the death of me. Looking pro while getting blown off the road at speed, uncool. Bontrager has the budget to blow on high speed computing and wind tunnels to make sure Gianni is not buffeted unduly. They also use Alpina spokes with plastic inserts so the the wheel should be truable for years.
Ebay is full of people who buy tubular wheels then sell them after very light use (or their first flat tire). Voila, Gianni finally owns Fabooo’s tubular wheels.
The first impression on the first ride was holy smokes, these float uphill. The weight difference was what impressed me immediately. I take off the front wheel when transporting the bike and I still marvel at its lightness. This lightness is also noticeable when cornering and not in a good way. The flywheel effect of a heavier aluminum rim is diminished making the steering, for lack of a better term, whippy. I’m used to it now but for the first few weeks the front end felt less stable.
My wife was quite vexed that I was undroppable on climbs; these wheels were feeling better and better. The improved climbing alone was enough to make me embrace the benefit of carbon construction.
It was during the first descent of Haleakala volcano where the other lightbulb switched on in my dim brain. Unintentionally I was going into every corner faster than usual. My V-meter does not give me data to substantiate the feeling but these wheels are more impressive going down than they are going up. They are fast. When you get off the brakes on a descent the bike just hauls more ass. To add to their list of wonders, they are very stable in gusty crosswinds too. The windtunnel testing was money well spent. Score one for the boffins.
I have not done enough riding in wet weather to have an opinion on rainy day braking. This is my number one bike after all and I’ve avoided the real steep descents if I have a choice.
To address the original question in the original article; can carbon wheels be one’s everyday, go-to wheels? I now say absolutely. These aero wheels are faster in all directions, why would you deny yourself that pleasure everyday. They do cost a huge amount to money new. That is their one massive downside. They can be had reasonably if one looks at slightly used tubulars, what is not to love about that? If one buys the premise that wheels are the most important upgrade to a bike, then buying light, aero, carbon wheels is the way to go.
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@markb
Yep that was it. ROTFL. It usually coincides with my daughter's birthday so it's one of the events I can pretty much count on being back from Dubai for. Last couple of years have been decent weather.
I had a bit of a nightmare though. Got a flat coming off Toy's Hill, checked and changed, lasted 200 metres. Checked it again, new tube, 200m, pssssss. Now seriously pissed off, tyre checked by riding companion, Jules, nothing we could feel or see but they seemed to be snakebite punctures in the same place near a spoke hole although the rim tape was fine but I put a boot where it seemed to be, got to the bottom and heard the dreaded sound again.
By now we were out of tubes so Jules rode on while I called the Velomissus for emergency pickup. She was going to be at least an hour and a half so I had a closer look and could see that the tyre had two small holes at the side of the rim, only visible when the tyre was turned out. I think what was happening was that when it was fully inflated the tube was pushing into the holes and touching the metal or Kevlar threads. So I used a Lezyne patch to repair my tube and a boot in the right place and managed to get to the end.
I seriously considered riding straight home instead of going to the end at Dulwich in case anyone looked up my finishing time and thinks it took me five hours.
@Puffy
More power to you. Ride what you got. I too was riding a Sora equipped aluminum trek for more years than I care to admit. You are racing, right? Maybe not a pro, but still racing. Its my opinion, why is your Lycra all in a bunch?
@therealpeel
I'm going to ride my Faboo wheels all the time because I can. My friends can take pleasure in dropping me on a climb even with my badass wheels, all the better. They are just more fun to ride because they make one faster. Maybe not fast enough but faster.
@Puffy You are in the right here, @therealpeel is just in violation of Rules 2, 3, and more critically Rule #43.