# Bora One 50 clinchers?



## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Hey guys, been running a set of Far Sports 50mm clinchers for ~6500k miles. They've been totally reliable, but I'm starting to get some pulsing on the front wheel. (I don't ride the brakes so I'm fairly confident I haven't cooked them.) Doing some research and reading around, looks like the Bora's are a really good bang for the buck. Anyone running these care to comment on their experiences?


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

6500k miles...?

holy crap, do you ever get off the bike...ever?


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Oxtox said:


> 6500k miles...?
> 
> holy crap, do you ever get off the bike...ever?


Oh, no man. These are circa 2013, old, narrow V shaped models. I do a ton a climbing, but only get around 2k-2500k a year.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

What pads are you using? How often do you clean the braking surface on the rims? How often do you sand the pads down removing the glazing? How do you toe in the pads?


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

MMsRepBike said:


> What pads are you using? How often do you clean the braking surface on the rims? How often do you sand the pads down removing the glazing? How do you toe in the pads?


Startwd with the stock blue pads (Reynolds?) then went to Black Prince pads which were a big improvement. Dont really sand them down unless I've done a big day of decending. When I get the toe in right, no squealing. The front had some pulsing since the first ride but it was really minimal. As the miles have increased, it's gotten more noticeable which is why I'm exploring options. 

The Boras seem to get good reviews for cost, weight and braking performance. The Farsports wheels were a good experiment, but at this point I'm looking for a more reputable and reliable wheelset with actual customer service that stands behind their product. 

So, who's running the Bora's and what have your experiences been?


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

So no Bora users here?


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## Cat 3 boy (Aug 20, 2002)

I got Bora Ultra 50 clinchers this June - done 2000 miles & love them except when the crosswinds got going this Autumn (fall ;-)
They're light, nearly as light as my Shamals, bearings are great, no squealing after the first 10 days, using campag red pads, paid £1500 UKP. Also the slightly wider rim width on new Campag wheels suit 25mm Michelin Power tyres really well.


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Cat 3 boy said:


> I got Bora Ultra 50 clinchers this June - done 2000 miles & love them except when the crosswinds got going this Autumn (fall ;-)
> They're light, nearly as light as my Shamals, bearings are great, no squealing after the first 10 days, using campag red pads, paid £1500 UKP. Also the slightly wider rim width on new Campag wheels suit 25mm Michelin Power tyres really well.


Good to know about the tire combo as that's what I've been running all summer. So no issues with pulsing when breaking or anything? 
(I wish I could find a set that cheap. With shipping to the US, Starbike seems to be the lowest price.)


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## K Dub Cycle (Oct 22, 2013)

I have the Bora One 35 clincher and the Bora One 50 tubular. Great wheels. Braking is as good as it gets. They don't seem to heat up much on descents with the supplied red pads, although I use intermittent braking technique. The hottest I have measured the rims of my Bora One 35 clinchers with my infrared thermometer has been 57°C (135°F). This was after a 1.3 mile, 375 ft descent where I had to brake hard and continuous at the bottom for a stop sign. I have not tested them on extreme, technical alpine descents yet. I tend to use the tubulars for racing and/or the more technical descents. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

surfinguru said:


> Hey guys, been running a set of Far Sports 50mm clinchers for ~6500k miles.





surfinguru said:


> I do a ton a climbing, but only get around 2k-2500k a year.


You appear to misunderstand the purpose of the "k", which means 1,000.

What you're really saying is you've run the clinchers for ~6,500,000 miles.
And you get around 2,000 - 2,500,000 a year.

Hence why you were asked if you ever get off the bike.


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Ha! Context is everything! That's what I get for trying to use my mobile for posting. :idea:

For clarity, I've ridden the Farsports clinchers for 6500 _miles_. I'm pretty sure as a well, they should last for many, many more miles, but the pulsing while braking is getting to be a real distraction, and unsafe in certain situations.


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## Notvintage (May 19, 2013)

surfinguru said:


> I do a ton a climbing, but only get around 2k-2500k a year.


If you do a lot of mountain goating I'd get some Zipp 202s.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

surfinguru said:


> Startwd with the stock blue pads (Reynolds?) then went to Black Prince pads which were a big improvement. Dont really sand them down unless I've done a big day of decending. When I get the toe in right, no squealing. The front had some pulsing since the first ride but it was really minimal. As the miles have increased, it's gotten more noticeable which is why I'm exploring options.


I suggest the following for now:

Order a set of the ceramic pads and remove and toss the black prince.

Remove the wheels and clean ALL of the residue from the black prince off, this will take a lot of rubbing alcohol, time and elbow grease, will possibly take a couple hours.

Install/toe in the new FSE ceramic pads and adjust accordingly (they're wider and thicker).


The pads you're using now are a softer rubber like material. They do leave residue on the rims, no matter what rims. This can cause pulsing right from the get. Those pads also put a ton of heat into the rims. The ceramic ones will dust off and won't leave any rubbery residue on the rims at all. They also run much cooler because of how they work and their ceramic fiber composition.

Your pulsing is very likely the cause of pad material on the rims. Getting Bora rims isn't going to solve your problems. There's zero special about braking on Boras.


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Just a quick update, I went ahead and ordered the Bora's. A bum knee, Christmas holidays and non-stop rain here in the Bay Area hasn't really afforded me much time to ride in the last month. I'll check back in after I get more time on them, but so far so good.


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## duriel (Oct 10, 2013)

Ya, last month I was coming down the mountain & my front break was pulsing so bad and it sounded like I had a blown spoke. It was damp so I just took it easy & used the back brake. 
I couldn't find anything out of the normal with the spokes or brake surface. I removed the pads & cleaned them up a little (never really found much, a little alum), cleaned the wheels and wammm, the pulsing is gone. 

That climb was about 14k miles, so it was bad!


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## Scubam (Jul 25, 2014)

Very nice. Can I ask where you got them? I just got a set also but they shipped them with the wrong freehub for the rear wheel so I need to exchange them or swap out the freehub for Shimano/SRAM compatible.


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## surfinguru (Jun 17, 2004)

Scubam said:


> Very nice. Can I ask where you got them? I just got a set also but they shipped them with the wrong freehub for the rear wheel so I need to exchange them or swap out the freehub for Shimano/SRAM compatible.


I went through starbike. (Weight weenie forum sponsor?) Took about three weeks or so to get here from Germany. Despite intl shipping and cc conversion fees, it was still cheaper than anything I could find stateside.

Oh man, that's a bummer about the freehub. Hope that gets resolved quickly!


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## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

I have been riding BO50s for the last 8k. They are my favorite wheels and I even ride them committing sacrilege by rolling with Shimano DA drivetrain. I don't care. They are really amazing wheels. They brake well, have really nice hubs, super wide spacing, stiff, smooth...blah blah. To top it all they only ran me 1500. Compare that to any top end wheels and you have an amazing value.


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