# Pros/Cons of carbon vs aluminum clincher



## MJCBH (Nov 25, 2002)

Been weighing pros/cons of a full carbon clincher versus one with an aluminum rim, as I search for the "perfect set of wheels". In addition to the below pros/cons of a full carbon clincher (which may or may not be that accurate coming from a novice like me!), what else can you guys add. I'm just trying to decide if it's worth spending the extra dough on a set of all carbon wheels.

Pros of carbon clincher:
lighter weight
better ride quality (?)

Cons:
price
braking quality (noisier, worse in wet conditions, long term durability?)

FWIW - I would love to find a set of wheels that I could train and race with that would be a good mix between lightweight for climbing and semi-aero for road races. I'm a lightweight rider and does a lot of climbing.

One last note, I've just recently been reading more about handbulit wheels. How would I go about finding a wheel builder and are those typically more money?


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2009)

There has been a lengthy discussion on this topic at weightweenies.com lately you might want to read. I don't really have an opinion either way in regards to clinchers but there is quite a bit of information there, I'll leave it to the reader to form their own opinions.


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## EMB145 Driver (Aug 17, 2006)

The full carbon clincher will be lighter than one with a metal braking surface. Carbon brakes are not loud and don't squeal if the pads are installed properly. They are at least as quiet as any metal wheel I've ridden. Dry braking is as good as a metal rim, wet braking is a completely different story. Wet braking a full carbon wheel is not bad, as long as you approach it like you're stopping a train, ie. apply some brakes well before you need to stop.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I dunno, nothing wrong with having a nice set of bullet proof everyday wheels and a souped up set of race wheels. Trying to get it all in one set of wheels takes away from your race day advantage.


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## wetpaint (Oct 12, 2008)

The only downside I've found to running carbon wheels full time is that they're not that great at stopping in the rain. But they brake better in dry than my aluminum wheels, they're very durable, stiff, and have that cool carbon whoosh sound. I see no reason to run anything other than carbon wheels full time except in the spring when the roads are covered in salt


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## homebrew (Oct 28, 2004)

my road bikes have just seen carbon rims for several years now. I however do not feel that carbon clinchers are a good idea yet. At least if your doing very fast descents and othe extreme stuff. Heat issue can lead to the tire over inflating to the point of blowing off. Yes you can also have issues with over heated aluminium but IMO this is magnified with carbon clincher rims. Its all horses for courses so if your just riding in flat areas I see little problem. I however will stick with tubular tires. Yes I train on them (12000 miles + last year) and yes I can change a flat in about the same time as a clincher. Not trying to convince anyone, just saying it's doable

cheers


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## natethomas2000 (Aug 2, 2009)

These are one of the wheelsets I'm considering for my next bike. 41mm deep semi-aero clinchers. Decent price, but a little heavy at 1680 grams.

https://www.bikesoul.com/s4.html


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Racey*



MJCBH said:


> FWIW - I would love to find a set of wheels that I could train and race with that would be a good mix between lightweight for climbing and semi-aero for road races. I'm a lightweight rider and does a lot of climbing.


Well most racers I know have multiple sets of wheels for training or different types of races and race conditions so you may want to rethink the one size fits all approach and the compromises that come with it.

If you are doing a lot of climbing then lightweight will be a factor but remember that most rides/races with a lot of climbing also include a lot of descending so think about braking on those descents.

In the pros/cons you did not list the fashion component. That is a big factor for a lot of people and not to be overlooked. Some people really like the look of some deep carbon rims while others prefer a traditional set of handbuilts. Think about what you like and who elses (if anyones) opinion you might care about.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

I think another possible issue is that you train on heavier wheels because they're dang near bomb proof and the extra weight often forces you to train a little harder. Simply putting on a nice set of race wheels seems to make you go a little faster than normal, either by performance or the placebo effect. 

Most of the time, most race wheels will have about a 2 year warranty, but if you break them too close to a race, you're a little out of luck. This happened to me with my Mavic CCUs about 3 days before the last road race of the season. I almost didn't get them for a tri relay, but managed to luck out. Breaking them right before Interbike didn't help.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

MJCBH said:


> Pros of carbon clincher:
> lighter weight
> better ride quality (?)
> 
> ...


Just of note, aluminum isn't always significantly heavier. 

HED Jet 4 FR are 1550 grams and $2000.


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

The breaking on modern carbon rims is 99% that of alloy rims because of the scrimmed breaking surface.


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## Scott in MD (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm 200 miles into a set of new 46mm Reynolds DV3KC all carbon clinchers. I wrote up a pretty thorough review on them ... I'll probably ride these a lot more than just for races, especially since they offer a $200 NQA 3 year repair or replace upgrade warranty. Two hundred bucks is a lot less expensive than a nice set of training wheels, so I went for it. Wet weather braking was not a problem on this past weekend's Sea Gull Century in windy Maryland (small craft flags were up, really) ... but braking is not a firm and secure as on my Neuvation aluminum M28 Aero3's, wet or dry. Overall, I dig these and think DV3KC's are a reasonable option for a wheel you can ride all the time, reasonably light (1500grams) and not so deep as to get tricky in the wind ... if you can find a good deal on them. I built them up with the same cassette as my trainers, though, so will probably switch to aluminum Neuvations when I'm not out with the boys.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Heat question*



homebrew said:


> Heat issue can lead to the tire over inflating to the point of blowing off. Yes you can also have issues with over heated aluminium but IMO this is magnified with carbon clincher rims.


A couple of questions related to this. 1) why would the heat generated be any greater with CF rims than aluminum? If you're braking the same amount, wouldn't the heat be the same? 2) Wouldn't a CF rim conduct heat more poorly than Al, and so not allow the heat to get to the tire?

I realize that the lower thermal conductivity of CF composites would tend to not allow the rim to cool as fast as it spun (compared to a similar structure with Al) but is this heat buildup something that has been documented or is it just a worry?


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## boneman (Nov 26, 2001)

*Nice*

I'm looking at those and the S5.2C's. I just moved to Singapore from Shanghai so it will be easy. Most of the terrain here is quite flat although it can get a bit windy. Probably end up the the S5.2C's to give carbon rims a try. No big hills to go down, easy on the braking and I'm currently down to 53kg versus 60 when I was in the UK. The thread on weight weenies is quite interesting in terms of braking, heat and clinchers vs tubs.



natethomas2000 said:


> These are one of the wheelsets I'm considering for my next
> bike. 41mm deep semi-aero clinchers. Decent price, but a little heavy at 1680 grams.
> 
> https://www.bikesoul.com/s4.html


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