Carbon brake pads, alloy rims

G1032

Folks

Thinking of getting a new set of carbon wheels, primarily for racing but will more than likely use sometimes outside of racing also.

I never owned a set of carbon wheels before so I'll have a set of alu rims and a set of carbon for use on the same bike.

Would I need to swap out the brake pads every time I switch wheels? Or is it OK to use carbon pads on alu wheels? It's probably only a 5 minute job anyway to swap the pads but might become a pain in the @ss if it had to be done regularly?

What to you guys all do? Swap pads or carbon pads on alu wheels?

Of cousre a new bike is the obvious answer but not an option at the minute:)

joey100

I think, I'm not 100% sure though, the issue is more if you use the same pads on both alloy and carbon. Can get bits of metal stuck in it from the alloy braking and wear down the carbon rims quicker when you swap to the carbon rims. It sounds like it could be true but might be just something I've heard!

G1032

That makes sense I guess

koutoubia

What Joe said is 100%
Tiny slivers of metal will get embedded in the alloy pads and if you use them on your carbon's they will damage your brake track very quickly.
Swapping pads (presumably they are standard shimano/Campagnolo brakes) is really only a 20 min job once you get the hang of it.
What wheels are you thinking of?

harringtonp

Yes it's not a myth. Just look at your pads on an alu rim and you will see the tiny bits of embedded metal

Not an option for you but I just keep the carbons on the main bike which I use spring to autumn. If it's wet or particularly windy I just take out the winter bike. If I had to change wheels would change the pads as slight quicker than blocks I reckon

G1032

koutoubia wrote: »

What Joe said is 100%
Tiny slivers of metal will get embedded in the alloy pads and if you use them on your carbon's they will damage your brake track very quickly.
Swapping pads (presumably they are standard shimano/Campagnolo brakes) is really only a 20 min job once you get the hang of it.
What wheels are you thinking of?

Thanks folks
Budget is limited I'm afraid so options are also limited!!

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/prime-rr-50-v3-carbon-clincher-wheelset/rp-prod193825

Jonesy101

I dont want to change your mind if youve your heart set on a sweet looking pair of carbon wheels but if you really are on a budget an aero helmet I think is far more beneficial €/watt than wheels if its just to be faster in racing situations. That is if you havent gotten one already. Carbon wheels do look cool and ive always wanted some but now that you say that I have to change pads I definitely wouldnt be bothered to switch unless it was once a year.

Why would you need to switch wheels out if you dont mind me asking? Maybe its only people who are super precious about their stuff change them? Do the people I see out and about only use carbons on special occasions?

G1032

Jonesy101 wrote: »

I dont want to change your mind if youve your heart set on a sweet looking pair of carbon wheels but if you really are on a budget an aero helmet I think is far more beneficial €/watt than wheels if its just to be faster in racing situations. That is if you havent gotten one already. Carbon wheels do look cool and ive always wanted some but now that you say that I have to change pads I definitely wouldnt be bothered to switch unless it was once a year.

Why would you need to switch wheels out if you dont mind me asking? Maybe its only people who are super precious about their stuff change them? Do the people I see out and about only use carbons on special occasions?

Ya, look, I don't have to necessarily change the wheels out. But I'd have a set of Ksyriums just sitting there doing nothing and I might as well use them on ****ty days and save the carbons. That's the thought process anyway!! And at the end of the day, just thinking about it now, it's not a huge job to just replace the pads when I need to.

I wouldn't be super precious but I try keep my bike stuff in as good a condition as I can. I don't really have unlimited amounts of cash to spend on it so I look after what I do have and what I can get.

CramCycle

Thanks for the thread, looks like I also have to start swapping out pads, never even thought about it

G1032

CramCycle wrote: »

Thanks for the thread, looks like I also have to start swapping out pads, never even thought about it

Assume you were running carbon pads on alu rims. What was the braking like? Ok?? Just curious.........

CramCycle

G1032 wrote: »

Assume you were running carbon pads on alu rims. What was the braking like? Ok?? Just curious.........

Seemed fine

Daroxtar

Definitely a risk of metal filings shredding your carbon rims if you swap wheels without swapping the pads. Going the other way, carbon pads are designed to withstand far greater heat than non carbon specific pads. If you use regular pads they can melt onto your carbon rims and cause damage to the braking surface and void the warranty if you have to return them for any reason.
It only takes about a minute per pad so not a major problem and once you get a new bike you can leave the carbon wheels on that

secman

Hijacking this thread slightly, just got a set of zipp 302's which came with zipp specific brake pads. The current carbon pads on the bike are fairly new, bbb pads. Question is..do i really need to swap out the pads for warranty purposes or in essence are the bbb carbon pads perfectly okay to use ?

CramCycle

Wish I had known, anyway, no visible damage done so far and I have been swapping back and forth for awhile but will stop now. Thanks for all the help.

CramCycle

Last question, any recommendations for carbon brake pads, I'll leave the ones on it for my alloys but will get a new pair for the Carbons, so any recommendations welcome.

LollipopJimmy

G1032 wrote: »

Thanks folks
Budget is limited I'm afraid so options are also limited!!

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/prime-rr-50-v3-carbon-clincher-wheelset/rp-prod193825

They're a great wheel by all accounts.

G1032

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

They're a great wheel by all accounts.

They seem to be ya. I don't know anyone that has them but reviews are hugely positive. Was also looking at the Black Edition of those wheels but even if I could stretch the budget for them I don't think I could justify it.

secman

CramCycle wrote: »

Last question, any recommendations for carbon brake pads, I'll leave the ones on it for my alloys but will get a new pair for the Carbons, so any recommendations welcome.

Lots of people swear by Swisstop the black ones, they are on the approved Zipp list of brake pads.

koutoubia

CramCycle wrote: »

Last question, any recommendations for carbon brake pads, I'll leave the ones on it for my alloys but will get a new pair for the Carbons, so any recommendations welcome.

What wheels are you using?
I have used Lifeline blue pads with great success on some wheels but were terrible on a set of edco wheels I have. Put Campagnolo red pads on for the edco and a different ball game.
Had mavic/swisstop on another bike with a set of Boras and were fine. Recently replaced with a set of Black swissstops and are excellent!

CramCycle

Black Swisstops it is, I have a spare set in work so that's one problem solved. Wheels are Rose 50/50 which I suspect are rebranded Newman wheels.

Daroxtar

Campag Reds are a great pad.

G1032

Any opinions on these as an alternative to the Prime RR-50 ?
https://www.gallaghercycles.com/home/1291-4037-novatec-carbon-clincher-wheelset-50mm.html

The more I read about the hubs on the Primes the less and less I'm inclined to go for them.

Mr. Cats

G1032 wrote: »

Any opinions on these as an alternative to the Prime RR-50 ?
https://www.gallaghercycles.com/home/1291-4037-novatec-carbon-clincher-wheelset-50mm.html

The more I read about the hubs on the Primes the less and less I'm inclined to go for them.

From the watermark on the picture at link, it looks like they’re Sakya Carbon wheels from China. I’ve no idea on quality but they are available on Ali directly but you lose the advantage of a brick n mortar shop to return them to if something goes wrong.

I looked into new carbon wheels around this price point last year and I think that buying direct from lightbicycle.com looks the best value. They have been around a good while and plenty of positive reviews and feedback on the various forums. Again you are taking a risk in that if there is an issue it will probably cost you more to sort it than going with a branded wheel or shop. In saying that the number of issues appears to be very low.

It’s worth reading a write up here that I think explains the pros and cons of all the various options to help choose between Hunts, Primes etc https://intheknowcycling.com/the-best-carbon-wheelset-for-the-money-2/


In the end I went with a set of second hand wheels that I picked up on donedeal/ adverts. I got a basically new set of wheels for a decent discount and am very happy with them.

edited to correct link

koutoubia

A friend who is a manager of a bike shop which I wont mention advised me away from Novatec's as they sold a few sets and a good few came back with issues with spokes and nipples.
If you are looking for a decent set have a look at BTLOS in China.
https://btlos.com/road-bike/r-carbon-wheels

You get to choose everything from braking surface to hubs.
I have one set with the graphene brake surface and I was so happy I ordered another set of rims to be built on a set of DTSwiss hubs I had.

G1032

koutoubia wrote: »

A friend who is a manager of a bike shop which I wont mention advised me away from Novatec's as they sold a few sets and a good few came back with issues with spokes and nipples.
If you are looking for a decent set have a look at BTLOS in China.
https://btlos.com/road-bike/r-carbon-wheels

You get to choose everything from braking surface to hubs.
I have one set with the graphene brake surface and I was so happy I ordered another set of rims to be built on a set of DTSwiss hubs I had.

This looks very interesting
What kind of lead time are we talking here? And any issues with import duties??

magicbastarder

would import duty 'issues' would be linked to a single manufacturer?

MangleBadger

I recently decided to go with elite-wheel.com currently being built. So cannot yet comment on delivery times. I think a lot of these Chinese dealers will help you out on the invoice front by saying they are warranty items or for a cheaper price so you don’t get stung with all the taxes.
Ican, winspace and light bicycle I think all have European distribution where you pay a premium but it includes all the taxes and cheaper/quicker delivery.