Dolly Parton sang a song in the seventies called...'Can you ever fix a carbon wheel'. The chorus went 'Some things can't be fixed, but please baby, can you ride them to heaven.'
I know this comment isn't going to win me any friends, but I just find it hard to justify the cost and durability issues of carbon for average riders. I don't have a massive disposable income and the days of me having something to prove are long gone. So for me I just fell more confident on a good old-fashioned set of aluminum wheels. I hope no one took offense as I certainly didn't mean any.
A good carbon rim may be a one-time investment with higher aftermarket value. Aluminium rims degrade no matter the care and initial condition. So durability IS justified, but in a longer run, than you might think And I feel awfully sorry that you had to apologise for an absolutely reasonable saying
they aren't that bad. i upgraded my back wheel on my CAAD8 to a low end zipp 302 after a crash and i have never had issues. i used to constantly break spokes on my aluminum wheels i used prior to them, not a single spoke broken on my carbon rims yet in about 2 years. i even started bike packing with tons of extra weight, plus i am a heavy 86Kg rider, and I'm not that careful at all. i guess they just don't flex as much so the spokes experience less stress? I do however break carefully on longer descents and allow them to cool, especially when bikepacking.
The one thing you can learn watching this video is that with rim brakes and carbon wheels you can’t brake as much as you want. And that’s not safe. I’ve learned by myself by cooking a set of Roval, but there was nothing much else I could do. Buy disco brakes or use aluminum braking surface
So the take home message is, if you break your carbon rim, it's done. And possibly, get a disc break version, so you "sacrifice" a cheaper part of your bike
rim brakes, and tires glued to the track, brings back bad memories. Such disgusting and unneccesary work to do with those. disk brakes, tubeless with inserts, last you a lifetime
@@armadillito which is somehow economical to produce in the first place. In other words, it is rather about the competence of repair centres and in the end of the day, their hour rates
@@feedbackzaloop erm... No. When you manufacture a wheel rim you lay up quality controlled carbon mats to form the part, whereas repairing a damaged rim you don't know what you're working with without conducting extensive scans. Even once you've imaged the damage, repairing it is probably more work than making a new rim. For a very basic analogy imagine forgetting a dowel when assembling something from IKEA, you might need to take most of it apart just to fix that little thing! But a carbon rim is dependent on the whole structure being bonded together with continuous integrity.
@@armadillito this is exactly what I meant under competence of repair centres: they need the tooling of a manufacturer and the know-how of the manufacturing process. What, again, is incorporated into the customer bill as hour rate of the worker. As an example, when you change the tyre of a car, you pay for 20 minutes of shop work, not 0,000001% of workshop equipment leasing
@@feedbackzaloop I mean, you're technically correct there but I'm missing what point you're trying to make. Are we both simply agreeing that it's daftly complicated and time consuming to repair carbon in different words?
I had a crack running about six inches along the rim bed on one side of my rear wheel. I drilled a tiny hole at each end of the crack, then used a dremel tool to ream out the crack, cleaned the surface thoroughly, then mixed up some “chemical metal” which is essentially a polyester resin; filled the crack and clamped the wheel on either side. Left it to harden. It has been fine for about 800kms. I wouldn’t do it with a front wheel though.
There was one question I was hoping you would ask that professional, but you did not. I was waiting to hear if brake tracks on carbon rims can be resurfaced with fresh coat of heat resistant epoxy in order to rebuild the tickness.
@@GeorgeD1 Not quite! Flat spot is just a hotspot in its very early stage (before localized excess heat causes substrate delamination). They said flatspots can be repaired meaning they can remove the brake pad material that started being transfered to the braking track. What I want to know is whether it is possible to rebuild a worn off braking track on a perfectly sound rim.
@@boc-tonysyklist2145 Sure, but they're a hell of a lot cheaper to replace. Couple hundred bucks per wheel for all new vs how much for even budget carbon rims?
This is the primary reason I went with disc brakes. I don't have to worry about delaminating or melting a rim while descending the gaps and there's no accelerated brake track wear from riding in the wet.
that's why I bought a pair of clincher Shimano Durace c60 whit aluminum braking surface wheels, to avoid all those problems brilliantly explain here in this video.
There is a local idiot where I live who will happily repair your cracked cheap Chinese carbon rims for a few $100s. He is an expert in carbon cosmetic car body kit and so knows just how to patch a bit of carbon over the top of the crack. After he's done his magic you can no longer see the crack and you are perfectly unsafe to join a local crit race again... 🤦🏻♂️
Seems like carbon wheels have benefits but only buy them if you can afford to throw them away for pretty much any type of damage that you are likely to come across.
The localised wear on the Lightweight rim was more likely because the wheel wasn't quite true and the brake pads were set too close to the rim, causing the pad to contact that segment of the rim on every revolution. Either that or it's just what happens when the rim is out of true. Same goes for aluminium rims, so it's nothing to do with the material. I reckon that's far more likely than the rider having some kind of flawed braking technique.
I have a question for rob. Could you re-lace a carbon rim that had brake track damage, to a disc brake hub? So since we don’t trust the brake track, but can’t repair it. Can we repurpose it to a front or disc wheel?
Trek has a 2 year no questions asked replacement warranty and then after that a serious discount on a replacement wheel should something happen. I happen to ride Aeolus XXX4 wheels but I suspect other brands have similar warranties. I would do that long before I would trust someone on repairing a wheel...
That's why I switched back this year to aluminum tubeless wheels for my rim brake bike. On my disc brake bike I still ride carbon and also on my triathlon rim brake bike. But for the triathlon bike, only in competitions. Otherwise I stick to aluminum tubeless wheels as well for training.
bought some cheap chinese deep section wheels years ago. Lasted a year (very flexy though), then over a small bump in the road, got a puncture due to the edge of the rim chipping off and cutting the tyre. Bodged a repair to get me home and the wheels went straight to the recycling centre/rubbish dump.
This bike was really easy to assemble czcams.com/users/postUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.
If there's an argument for road disc brakes, THIS is it! Someone in another forum asked about carbon road wheels on tandems. No way in hell would I use them on a tandem with rim brakes. No way. But discs? Absolutely! I find it hard to believe that companies like Lightweight would even manufacture a carbon rim-brake rim/wheel. Insane.
I'm using a set of $370 unbranded carbon clinchers with 23c GP5000 tires, Michelin light weight innertubes, and rim brakes with carbon pads. I've taken the bike on moderately hilly rides for hours at a time and they have been great. I am mindful to feather and pump the brakes evenly and both together, like on a motorcycle. I think as long as you don't drag the brakes all the way down the hill or slam on them hard repeatedly, they will be fine. Go for middle of the range carbon wheels, cheap will be poor quality, expensive will be delicate and expensive to repair.
Now I understand why Lightweight wheel owners use them two or three times a season for that one special hillclimb or when the entire club rides out to show off. If you damage any part of that wheel, it is a write off.
I broke my Roval wheel. I took it to a shop and they say its repairable. I'm assuming because the nipple pulled through the cowl and not the rim. I'll find out in a week if it was successful.
Maybe not accessible to more people as much as more people willing to invest a shit ton of money for bike wheels. there's a big difference and a difference in presenting GCN"s attitude.
I had a tubular nightmare come true as it becameunglued and jam in the chainstay/seat tube after which I fishtailed a few times before going down. The rim was ground down, thankfully more than me. Can they repair and build up the flat spot in the carbon rim or is it junk?
Here’s my summaries for rim break lover. 1. Carbon rim break, use it on flat because you don’t apply break frequently. 2. Use alloy rim break or alloy rim on hilly because on a descent, you’ll apply more pressure on breaking surface. This is the only way to last you carbon rim break. The only hustle is changing breakpad back and forth.. Enjoy riding..
Enve rims still retailing for $950, so a $200 repair to the rim would save $950 for a new rim, $70 rebuild cost and another $70 for quality spokes & nipples. $1090 or $200? Not sure it makes sense to bin a repairable Enve rim if it could be repaired.
madfiber where carbon meets rim surface was seperating... used JB WEld can withstand temps of about 500 f i live in flat area ....and am careful...2000 miles no problems
@@dietbountyicecream1444 wel it’s a mixture of the carbon and resin that makes it strong. Without resin the carbon is not strong at all. Resin might solve the problem if you use it correctly.
If you can afford it then buy 3 pairs of carbon wheels. The hills in new cycle routes can have unpredictable potholes or even gravel. Carbon has its place but its not the overall best.
If you are forced to ride up and down hills with rim brakes & carbon wheels, just carry one side of the box your bike came in. Deploy wind sail to slow down. Easy solution! No more brake/rim overheating! That will make your $6k investment in the best Lightweight wheels worthwhile!
Carbon wheels are lighter but more susceptible to damage at the brake track. Alloy rims are more durable with rim brakes but a bit heavier. Disk brakes are better for carbon wheels but the brake system is a bit heavier. Rim brakes are best with alloy rims and the braking system is lighter. Doesn’t going with carbon wheels and rim brakes negate the weight savings over alloy and rim brakes?
What is a good introductory carbon wheel set all I hear about are the zipp 404s but those cost almost the price of my bike! Is there a value brand that is good?
Hmmm, carbon is difficult to repair if damaged, it cannot be recycled and not that healthy for the workforce who make the parts. Now where is that GCN+ documentary on Bamboo bikes when you need it? Sorry guys, you are not selling this carbon stuff to me with this one, in fact I'm starting to look at the carbon bits on my bike with a more critical eye.
Yeah, at least in their current form composites need to be viewed as a luxury and perhaps priced accordingly to cover the end of life costs. Have a look at what EAV are doing with hemp based composites for e-cargo bikes though!
Be like me and get a titanium bike. (Hand made in America for the same price as a high end carbon bike) I don't have any carbon components (bar the fork) and it's 7.6kg in a size 56!
Wait, my nipples are connected to the spoke outside of the rim, so they pertrude out of the rim slightly. I had a rough road and realized that one spoke was loose at the side of the rim, and the nipple was inside the rim rattling around. My local bike shop repaired it easily, they told me there was no crack in the rim, connected the nipple with the spoke and trued the wheel. Has had no problem since, now you tell me its a nono?
Can you imagine you go to the company called "carbon bike repair" to repair your carbon bike and they tell you: sorry, it's not possible to repair carbon bikes, that will be 20€, thanks.
I've never understood why someone would take the risk of rim brakes and carbon wheels. Rim brakes *are not* better in any way, just get a bike with disks. It's really that simple.
If you can afford to buy new carbon wheels. You should be afford to replace it. If it’s too expensive for you to replace. Then just stick to alloy wheels. As the carbon repair expert shows both rim brakes and disk brakes carbon wheels could suffer irreparable damage. So if you avoid potholes and brake sensibly. You can avoid damage to make your rim or disk brake carbon wheels last.
Most sensible answer here. People hating on one side or the other don't understand that others have different use / budgets / expectations. Go with what suits you, live & let live
So if you got carbon fiber wheels you should have disc brakes not rim brakes because the rim brakes will damage and wear them out? That defeats the purpose of having carbon fiber wheels to begin with though? Disc brakes add significantly more weight to your bike than rim brakes on carbon fiber wheels. 🙈
Self repair.....how much is your safety and health worth....serious failure of material can lead to serious damage to you....had a friend with carbon bike it fractured while he was on board at speed...he fell off and was paralised from neck down...he lived in hospital 6 months and died when clots moved to his lungs......so again i ask you ...is carbon worth the risk. ...i sold my trek carbon bike after the accident of my friend as i could not get the courage to ride it again......so want to play Russian Roulette with your life...ride carbon
Buy some Fine Carbon and grab the best Epoxy Resin available in your country and clamp it down and Sand carefully and your done. How am i so confident with my comment? Well im From souteast asia and have seen it done many times. Carbon can be repaired just expect that the outcome will be a bit ugly since you cant tig weld it.
What interests me more is that there are businesses ‘specifically’ set up to repair carbon bikes and bike parts. Would this put you off from buying a carbon frame. What does this actually say about carbon manufacturing? Thoughts 🤔🤔
Carbon composites are labour intensive and difficult to rework or repair additively. Used judiciously it's great stuff, but it's prone to invisible damage and brittle fractures.
@@armadillito indeed, like components in any material, it has to be designed , manufactured and maintained correctly …..hope all those commercial aircraft wings and other components are designed and manufactured correctly :)
I listened to an interview with the owner of Starling Cycles where he explained why he opted to build with steel. He has a background in aerospace, but he said anytime he’s cut up a carbon bike component the quality of the layup is severely lacking compared to what you would find in a carbon aerospace component. Also once the mould is made laying in the carbon is relatively low skilled work, whereas welding a bike frame is high skill, so the manufacturing costs between metal and carbon aren’t all that different.
Simple carbon rim brake wheels only for hill climb racing. Carbon disc wheel for everyday riding. Aluminium rim/disc for most durability and versatility
Have you ever repaired your carbon wheels? Let us know in the comments section!
Those damages can be repaired with JBweld and a sandpaper, who cares about safety, lightness is more important
I've fixed them w/ super glue & baking soda, then sanding smooth if its in a critical spot
Dolly Parton sang a song in the seventies called...'Can you ever fix a carbon wheel'. The chorus went 'Some things can't be fixed, but please baby, can you ride them to heaven.'
comfortable in using carbon with alum braketrack..
@@JPDynamics I like the look of the Shimano C40s for that reason... but I’d like something wider than a 17mm internal width
My favorite adage, albeit from my M/C days, still applies = "Pros ride Carbon Wheels because they dont have to pay for them..."
Fuuuuuuuck I never thought about it like this!
I know this comment isn't going to win me any friends, but I just find it hard to justify the cost and durability issues of carbon for average riders. I don't have a massive disposable income and the days of me having something to prove are long gone. So for me I just fell more confident on a good old-fashioned set of aluminum wheels. I hope no one took offense as I certainly didn't mean any.
A good carbon rim may be a one-time investment with higher aftermarket value. Aluminium rims degrade no matter the care and initial condition. So durability IS justified, but in a longer run, than you might think
And I feel awfully sorry that you had to apologise for an absolutely reasonable saying
@@feedbackzaloop eh, why and how should aluminium rims "degrade" and why is that different to carbon rims?
@@Rossingiol because of aluminium fatigue curve, not having an endurance limit.
@Robert Kavanagh so does carbon. CFRP also suffers from fatigue.
I dunno man, I don't see my team's carbon wheels failing anytime and there's one pair of them, and like 7 of us lol.
So basically, avoid potholes and ride sensibly. Seems like good advice in general.
And learn how to bunny-hop 🐇
@First Last I've damaged more al rims than carbon rims. You hit anything hard enough it's toast.
Or get a gravel bike.
what about the don't use your brakes part?
The best advice to remember when bombing it downhill on a country road ;)
This video have convinced me that I shall never have carbon wheels. I had no idea they were so finicky
Me too. 🙊
No kidding. I'm glad I decided to go with alloy for my upgrade from stock wheels
they aren't that bad. i upgraded my back wheel on my CAAD8 to a low end zipp 302 after a crash and i have never had issues. i used to constantly break spokes on my aluminum wheels i used prior to them, not a single spoke broken on my carbon rims yet in about 2 years. i even started bike packing with tons of extra weight, plus i am a heavy 86Kg rider, and I'm not that careful at all. i guess they just don't flex as much so the spokes experience less stress? I do however break carefully on longer descents and allow them to cool, especially when bikepacking.
i ride 600 miles a week on carbon wheels. no issues.... i have worn out the brake tracks on alloy clinchers before, but never carbons.
Seems like this is a plus for the disc folks out there. Carbon with rim brakes just dont go well together in the longevity aspect of things.
The one thing you can learn watching this video is that with rim brakes and carbon wheels you can’t brake as much as you want. And that’s not safe.
I’ve learned by myself by cooking a set of Roval, but there was nothing much else I could do. Buy disco brakes or use aluminum braking surface
I want a disco brake. That would be fun at night! 🕺
If anything, this video has made me reconsider carbon rims... I think I'll just eat less.
So the take home message is, if you break your carbon rim, it's done.
And possibly, get a disc break version, so you "sacrifice" a cheaper part of your bike
The rim can be replaced, so if you got expensive hubs, it's worth to replace the rim.
Sounds like most of what Carbon Repair do is more to frames than wheels.
I'd much rather replace a rotor than a carbon rim. Unless your sponsor is buying wheels for you, rim brakes carbon wheels dont make sense.
@@kibbee890 I could agree with that, but given all the trouble I've had with discs on my CX and XC, I'd rather live a problem free life on rim brakes.
@@panzerveps you can't have it both ways karen
rim brakes, and tires glued to the track, brings back bad memories. Such disgusting and unneccesary work to do with those. disk brakes, tubeless with inserts, last you a lifetime
Controversial 😂
Im not touching that with a 20 foot pole
Rim breaks are best
@@thomashardbattle4287 I hate it when my rim breaks
@@stephenwatkins7592 same
Wow, if repairng a Lightweight is "not economical to do", implying you should buy a new one, how much does Rob charge for the work?
Wasn't he saying that delaminated carbon fibre on the brake tracks is never economical to repair because of the nature of it?
@@armadillito which is somehow economical to produce in the first place. In other words, it is rather about the competence of repair centres and in the end of the day, their hour rates
@@feedbackzaloop erm... No. When you manufacture a wheel rim you lay up quality controlled carbon mats to form the part, whereas repairing a damaged rim you don't know what you're working with without conducting extensive scans. Even once you've imaged the damage, repairing it is probably more work than making a new rim. For a very basic analogy imagine forgetting a dowel when assembling something from IKEA, you might need to take most of it apart just to fix that little thing! But a carbon rim is dependent on the whole structure being bonded together with continuous integrity.
@@armadillito this is exactly what I meant under competence of repair centres: they need the tooling of a manufacturer and the know-how of the manufacturing process. What, again, is incorporated into the customer bill as hour rate of the worker.
As an example, when you change the tyre of a car, you pay for 20 minutes of shop work, not 0,000001% of workshop equipment leasing
@@feedbackzaloop I mean, you're technically correct there but I'm missing what point you're trying to make. Are we both simply agreeing that it's daftly complicated and time consuming to repair carbon in different words?
I had a crack running about six inches along the rim bed on one side of my rear wheel.
I drilled a tiny hole at each end of the crack, then used a dremel tool to ream out the crack, cleaned the surface thoroughly, then mixed up some “chemical metal” which is essentially a polyester resin; filled the crack and clamped the wheel on either side. Left it to harden. It has been fine for about 800kms. I wouldn’t do it with a front wheel though.
There was one question I was hoping you would ask that professional, but you did not.
I was waiting to hear if brake tracks on carbon rims can be resurfaced with fresh coat of heat resistant epoxy in order to rebuild the tickness.
I guess the part about flat spots answered your question.
3:20
@@GeorgeD1 Not quite!
Flat spot is just a hotspot in its very early stage (before localized excess heat causes substrate delamination). They said flatspots can be repaired meaning they can remove the brake pad material that started being transfered to the braking track.
What I want to know is whether it is possible to rebuild a worn off braking track on a perfectly sound rim.
So there you have it, every reason to have disc brakes if you have carbon wheels.
I have always found incredible people spend thousands on their carbon wheels and use them as perishable item.
My takeaway from this is to keep riding aluminum disc brake wheels, because the carbon wheel will either be not repairable, or expensive to repair.
Aluminium disc brakes wheels aren´t always possible to repair/true either though.
@@boc-tonysyklist2145 Sure, but they're a hell of a lot cheaper to replace. Couple hundred bucks per wheel for all new vs how much for even budget carbon rims?
And that's why I went with the Dura Ace C50's with aluminum braking surface.
This is the primary reason I went with disc brakes. I don't have to worry about delaminating or melting a rim while descending the gaps and there's no accelerated brake track wear from riding in the wet.
I'm old school aluminium rims and tubular tyres have done me well for 40 years
This video is a great 13minute add for alloy rims if you ask me :D
that's why I bought a pair of clincher Shimano Durace c60 whit aluminum braking surface wheels, to avoid all those problems brilliantly explain here in this video.
There is a local idiot where I live who will happily repair your cracked cheap Chinese carbon rims for a few $100s. He is an expert in carbon cosmetic car body kit and so knows just how to patch a bit of carbon over the top of the crack. After he's done his magic you can no longer see the crack and you are perfectly unsafe to join a local crit race again... 🤦🏻♂️
Pounds like Spyder Composites to me :3
I missed that video, I crash so now I find this content very interessant.
From what i understand,any problems with carbon wheels,buy yourself new wheels!
Hi all what material do I use to fortify a small hole in my carbon wheels. Does a professional carbon repairer use epoxy?
This is making not want carbon wheels 😔
My bike is rim brake.
Maybe Ill just use the money on lightweight aluminium rims.
So the final advice is, ‘No to carbon wheels’?
Seems like carbon wheels have benefits but only buy them if you can afford to throw them away for pretty much any type of damage that you are likely to come across.
me too. aluminium.....
me too. carbon.....
The localised wear on the Lightweight rim was more likely because the wheel wasn't quite true and the brake pads were set too close to the rim, causing the pad to contact that segment of the rim on every revolution. Either that or it's just what happens when the rim is out of true. Same goes for aluminium rims, so it's nothing to do with the material. I reckon that's far more likely than the rider having some kind of flawed braking technique.
I have a question for rob. Could you re-lace a carbon rim that had brake track damage, to a disc brake hub? So since we don’t trust the brake track, but can’t repair it. Can we repurpose it to a front or disc wheel?
Would you trust your life ((70 kph downhill?) to a repaired wheel ?
That’s a resounding no...
Depends on who did the repair.
Nope!!!
Trek has a 2 year no questions asked replacement warranty and then after that a serious discount on a replacement wheel should something happen. I happen to ride Aeolus XXX4 wheels but I suspect other brands have similar warranties. I would do that long before I would trust someone on repairing a wheel...
@@andrewbardwell4832 But you have a lifetime warranty on defects in materials and workmanship! www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/carbon_care_wheels/
That's why I switched back this year to aluminum tubeless wheels for my rim brake bike. On my disc brake bike I still ride carbon and also on my triathlon rim brake bike. But for the triathlon bike, only in competitions. Otherwise I stick to aluminum tubeless wheels as well for training.
bought some cheap chinese deep section wheels years ago. Lasted a year (very flexy though), then over a small bump in the road, got a puncture due to the edge of the rim chipping off and cutting the tyre. Bodged a repair to get me home and the wheels went straight to the recycling centre/rubbish dump.
Sounds like all the issues are from rim breaks
This bike was really easy to assemble czcams.com/users/postUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA and required very few adjustments out of the box. The wheels did not require any truing/adjustments. The frame had some small scratches, but nothing major.I did replace the seat though - the seat it came with was very uncomfortable. The tires need to be re-inflated every 4-5 days, but this appears to be quite common for the narrow 700x25 tires.Overall, in my opinion, this bike looks and rides like a much more expensive bike.
So, if you ride on straight and plain roads, carbon rims are OK.
If you like to go downhill, get alu rims or disc brakes
3 cheers for aluminum wheels
If there's an argument for road disc brakes, THIS is it!
Someone in another forum asked about carbon road wheels on tandems. No way in hell would I use them on a tandem with rim brakes. No way. But discs? Absolutely!
I find it hard to believe that companies like Lightweight would even manufacture a carbon rim-brake rim/wheel. Insane.
Is the front fork aluminum or steel
6:05 Im sorry, but what the heck is that rim brake pad alignment 😳
I'm using a set of $370 unbranded carbon clinchers with 23c GP5000 tires, Michelin light weight innertubes, and rim brakes with carbon pads. I've taken the bike on moderately hilly rides for hours at a time and they have been great. I am mindful to feather and pump the brakes evenly and both together, like on a motorcycle. I think as long as you don't drag the brakes all the way down the hill or slam on them hard repeatedly, they will be fine. Go for middle of the range carbon wheels, cheap will be poor quality, expensive will be delicate and expensive to repair.
if you live in 3rd world country ride like that will bring your carbon to the grave
@@nizamalija3739 Let's hope people in 3rd world countries are spending their money on responsible purchases like food, and not luxury bicycle parts.
Moral of the story, fuck rim brakes, stick to disk brakes.
Loving it!!
Now I understand why Lightweight wheel owners use them two or three times a season for that one special hillclimb or when the entire club rides out to show off. If you damage any part of that wheel, it is a write off.
So basically don’t get ‘Lightweight’ wheels then…..
No
@@vd0o666 I think he meant by Lightweight the brand
I broke my Roval wheel. I took it to a shop and they say its repairable. I'm assuming because the nipple pulled through the cowl and not the rim. I'll find out in a week if it was successful.
Curious to know how your situation resolved. Any follow up advice you can offer?
Maybe not accessible to more people as much as more people willing to invest a shit ton of money for bike wheels. there's a big difference and a difference in presenting GCN"s attitude.
I had a tubular nightmare come true as it becameunglued and jam in the chainstay/seat tube after which I fishtailed a few times before going down. The rim was ground down, thankfully more than me. Can they repair and build up the flat spot in the carbon rim or is it junk?
For me, carbon wheels aren't worth the expense. I'd be afraid to ride them. One ding in the wrong place and you're out $1000+
Discs 🤷♂️
@@brankododig1585 I have time brakes, and I'm not about to buy a whole new bike just to ride carbon
what about hub too fiber on disc rim hed
It's free spinning right now When I add pressure
Given Treks warranty (I ride Aeolus XXX4 wheels) why would I take the chance?
Here’s my summaries for rim break lover.
1. Carbon rim break, use it on flat because you don’t apply break frequently.
2. Use alloy rim break or alloy rim on hilly because on a descent, you’ll apply more pressure on breaking surface.
This is the only way to last you carbon rim break. The only hustle is changing breakpad back and forth.. Enjoy riding..
Conclusion: alloy rims.
It makes more sense to buy a new rim (not complete wheel) than to repair one.
Enve rims still retailing for $950, so a $200 repair to the rim would save $950 for a new rim, $70 rebuild cost and another $70 for quality spokes & nipples. $1090 or $200? Not sure it makes sense to bin a repairable Enve rim if it could be repaired.
Were those brake blocks in backwards? I hope not!!
madfiber where carbon meets rim surface was seperating... used JB WEld can withstand temps of about 500 f i live in flat area ....and am careful...2000 miles no problems
have to find adhesive that has a high temp resistance even the best superg;ue product only good at around 300f the bond will break down at some point
Use some epoxy resin to put them together again
Bro the strong part is the carbon fibre
@@dietbountyicecream1444 wel it’s a mixture of the carbon and resin that makes it strong. Without resin the carbon is not strong at all. Resin might solve the problem if you use it correctly.
If you can afford it then buy 3 pairs of carbon wheels. The hills in new cycle routes can have unpredictable potholes or even gravel. Carbon has its place but its not the overall best.
i just stuffed a front FFWD F6R
After this video , I am not convinced...
If you are forced to ride up and down hills with rim brakes & carbon wheels, just carry one side of the box your bike came in. Deploy wind sail to slow down. Easy solution! No more brake/rim overheating! That will make your $6k investment in the best Lightweight wheels worthwhile!
Carbon wheels are lighter but more susceptible to damage at the brake track. Alloy rims are more durable with rim brakes but a bit heavier. Disk brakes are better for carbon wheels but the brake system is a bit heavier. Rim brakes are best with alloy rims and the braking system is lighter. Doesn’t going with carbon wheels and rim brakes negate the weight savings over alloy and rim brakes?
What is a good introductory carbon wheel set all I hear about are the zipp 404s but those cost almost the price of my bike! Is there a value brand that is good?
Farsport? Winspace?
Just broke my spoke one of it and the nipples just got trought inside the wheelset, but i manage to took the nipple out with magnet
Nowt wrong with tubs on ally rim brakes on big descents
Hmmm, carbon is difficult to repair if damaged, it cannot be recycled and not that healthy for the workforce who make the parts. Now where is that GCN+ documentary on Bamboo bikes when you need it? Sorry guys, you are not selling this carbon stuff to me with this one, in fact I'm starting to look at the carbon bits on my bike with a more critical eye.
Yeah, at least in their current form composites need to be viewed as a luxury and perhaps priced accordingly to cover the end of life costs. Have a look at what EAV are doing with hemp based composites for e-cargo bikes though!
Be like me and get a titanium bike. (Hand made in America for the same price as a high end carbon bike) I don't have any carbon components (bar the fork) and it's 7.6kg in a size 56!
Wait, my nipples are connected to the spoke outside of the rim, so they pertrude out of the rim slightly.
I had a rough road and realized that one spoke was loose at the side of the rim, and the nipple was inside the rim rattling around.
My local bike shop repaired it easily, they told me there was no crack in the rim, connected the nipple with the spoke and trued the wheel.
Has had no problem since, now you tell me its a nono?
Cannot understand what is to be repired and not to repair regrding the pullthroug spokes and not pullthroug. Its contradicting
Can you imagine you go to the company called "carbon bike repair" to repair your carbon bike and they tell you: sorry, it's not possible to repair carbon bikes, that will be 20€, thanks.
Just rolled home after a crash an I see this ahahah... thankfully my rim should be okay :)
This seams to be an advert for don't buy carbon wheels , aluminium rims for me .
I still don't get rim brakes on carbon wheels. It feels...elitist, like eating gold leaf.
Use disk brake
I've never understood why someone would take the risk of rim brakes and carbon wheels. Rim brakes *are not* better in any way, just get a bike with disks. It's really that simple.
Sounds like the solution to most problems is to use a hookless disc wheel.
No
Not really.
If you can afford to buy new carbon wheels. You should be afford to replace it. If it’s too expensive for you to replace. Then just stick to alloy wheels.
As the carbon repair expert shows both rim brakes and disk brakes carbon wheels could suffer irreparable damage. So if you avoid potholes and brake sensibly. You can avoid damage to make your rim or disk brake carbon wheels last.
Most sensible answer here. People hating on one side or the other don't understand that others have different use / budgets / expectations. Go with what suits you, live & let live
@@triplebuse6887 Exactely!
So if you got carbon fiber wheels you should have disc brakes not rim brakes because the rim brakes will damage and wear them out? That defeats the purpose of having carbon fiber wheels to begin with though? Disc brakes add significantly more weight to your bike than rim brakes on carbon fiber wheels. 🙈
Definitely makes carbon wheels less appealing
Self repair.....how much is your safety and health worth....serious failure of material can lead to serious damage to you....had a friend with carbon bike it fractured while he was on board at speed...he fell off and was paralised from neck down...he lived in hospital 6 months and died when clots moved to his lungs......so again i ask you ...is carbon worth the risk. ...i sold my trek carbon bike after the accident of my friend as i could not get the courage to ride it again......so want to play Russian Roulette with your life...ride carbon
Can you repair broken aluminium wheel ?
Message of this video: Tubulars and rim brakes suck, go for disc brakes and tubeless 28's
Eat less and ride alloy wheels with dt-swiss 240s hubs.
Very helpful. Now I know carbon wheels are not for my wallet.
Send it to Russia to repair and it would be economically viable)
Hmmm, more expensive and more fragile?
So NO :)
So in short, No…not really.
Buy some Fine Carbon and grab the best Epoxy Resin available in your country and clamp it down and Sand carefully and your done.
How am i so confident with my comment? Well im From souteast asia and have seen it done many times. Carbon can be repaired just expect that the outcome will be a bit ugly since you cant tig weld it.
What interests me more is that there are businesses ‘specifically’ set up to repair carbon bikes and bike parts.
Would this put you off from buying a carbon frame. What does this actually say about carbon manufacturing?
Thoughts 🤔🤔
Probably not much. There are people in business repairing steel and aluminium frames and components as well
Carbon composites are labour intensive and difficult to rework or repair additively. Used judiciously it's great stuff, but it's prone to invisible damage and brittle fractures.
@@armadillito indeed, like components in any material, it has to be designed , manufactured and maintained correctly …..hope all those commercial aircraft wings and other components are designed and manufactured correctly :)
I listened to an interview with the owner of Starling Cycles where he explained why he opted to build with steel.
He has a background in aerospace, but he said anytime he’s cut up a carbon bike component the quality of the layup is severely lacking compared to what you would find in a carbon aerospace component.
Also once the mould is made laying in the carbon is relatively low skilled work, whereas welding a bike frame is high skill, so the manufacturing costs between metal and carbon aren’t all that different.
Disc brakes on carbon wheels solve most of these issues.
just dont buy Carbon wheels.....seems like you cannot repair any Meilensteins!
Once again - disc brakes ftw!
Simple carbon rim brake wheels only for hill climb racing.
Carbon disc wheel for everyday riding.
Aluminium rim/disc for most durability and versatility
When you invest in carbon rims, take your budget and double it, because you need to be able to afford the pair, and the replacement.
this is why carbon/disc and aluminium is better.
Thanks god I'm rich so I could just tossed the old one with the new one haha
First!
30th!