HOLY COW !!! carbon fiber wheels

well, ive been putting in alot of miles on the bicycle, and whining like a 4 year old about the price of new parts, that is until...

i handled several sets of full CF wheels today!

there were absolutely CRAZY light!


and reported to be super strong in all the correct directions. of course a big hit in the wrong direction would shatter them, but

this was without a doubt, one of the "highest-tech" items ive had in my hands in a good while, and i was VERY impressed.


a cheap set is over $1000, and a good set probably closer to $2k


PS- i did 50 miles in just over 3 hours last week.

[Lebenz]

Is that your bike!? Amazing! And you average about 17 MPH! *WOW* that’s what I do on the down hill stretch of my ride. Awesome performance, man!

So....what’s the weight of the CF rims?

[william rogers]

That's about what I average in my 240D!


William Rogers.........

[el presidente]

Wow! Incredible ride

not my bike, that pic is ONLY an example of the CF wheels.

i would have to research the weight, but its CRAZY light!
so much so, its almost creepy. like alchemists at work.


i ride the equivilant of a 240-D, a "real" steel frame, with 14 gears.
current fashion is full CF (or Ti) bikes with either 20 or 30 gears.
im arguing that for the $ they ask, it should be a CVT drivetrain:
pick the cadence you desire, and gearing infinitely varies to match.


technology marches on. yep, i would love to get a new $3-5k bike,
but as long as i can still deliver a decent pace on a beater, not likely.

[rickg]

heavier bicycle=better workout

[william rogers]

I saw a bike in K Mart that was styled to look like a Harley Chopper with big wide rear tire and raked forks ,probably weighed in at 70 lbs my kind of machine.

Seems to me that rather than pay the price of a good used SL so that one can say my bike weighs less than yours. that the buyers of 27 ounce bikes
would be better off to do every thing possible to reduce the weight of bike and rider that is transmited to the riding surface by sheding pounds at the table..........

William Rogers........

[Ali Al-Chalabi]

I would never use carbon wheels on regular riding. They start to loosen up and come out of true after only 3,000-4,000 miles or so. I would only only only use them as race wheels. As for me, a set of carbon wheels would barely last me 6 months.


If you want a good wheel that can actually last more than a few months, there are plenty of options without resorting to the exotic stuff. Bontrager makes good wheels. Zip 404 wheels with clinchers are under 1300 grams and very aerodynamic. It is still a composite wheel, but will probably last longer than a pure carbon fiber wheel. But then again, it is still a little exotic. I personally like my Rolf wheels, modestly light and still straight after over 15,000 miles on them.

I just have never been sold on carbon bike wheels. I think them to be a poor overpriced value.

[bjcsc]

Originally posted by william rogers
I saw a bike in K Mart that was styled to look like a Harley Chopper with big wide rear tire and raked forks ,probably weighed in at 70 lbs my kind of machine.

Seems to me that rather than pay the price of a good used SL so that one can say my bike weighs less than yours. that the buyers of 27 ounce bikes
would be better off to do every thing possible to reduce the weight of bike and rider that is transmited to the riding surface the by sheding pounds at the table..........

William Rogers........

Yeah, I'm with you. Sort of like the folks ordering supersized fast food meals with DIET drinks...my last bike weighed 550lbs, and barely gave my wrist a workout. I've been thinking about turning one of those bikes like you saw into a whizzer this summer. The kits are only about $200. Seems like it would be fun...

[sfloriII]

Originally posted by ThrillBilly
i ride the equivilant of a 240-D, a "real" steel frame, with 14 gears.

So do I: 1982 Basso "Gap". Columbus SL tubing throughout with Campagnolo Super Record Gruppo. Remember the shifters where you had to actually feel for the sweet spot in the gear? That's what I've got on my bike! I've thought about upgrading to something newer like index shifting, but the shifters, cranks, and chainwheels are custom engraved and painted.

So I'm riding a 22 year old bike. But it still weighs only 19.5 lbs!! Who says modern technology is that much greater!

[IanMB]

A set of Campagnolo Boras cost upwards of $3,400. A set of ADA custom carbon wheels cost upwards of $4,500. Carbon wheels can get very expensive.

[IanMB]

sfloriII,

I hate to admit how old I am, but I do have a 1973 Colnago Mexico with Campagnolo Nuovo Record. And yes, its got a five speed freewheel.

I also have a modern cycle, and very few old steel cycles are going to approach the 14.5 pound weight that a modern carbon frame with a few tricked out parts will easily reach.

[sfloriII]

Heck, I'm pushing 40!

I did finally buy a set of clipless pedals and shoes. Until last year, I was still riding on the original Campy pedals with my Duegi 101's that I bought in 1983. They were just a little too small and would cause my big toes to go numb!

Remember those shoes? Leather uppers with WOODEN soles. That was the high-tech of the day. You had to lightly attatch the cleets, ride for twenty miles or so, then look to see where they made a mark on the bottom of the sole. That's how you knew where to permanently affix the cleet. Otherwise you'd screw up your knees.

[MB Life]

Since were on the subject of bikes,
Are carbon fiber forks, chain stays and seat stays bad as well?
Reason I ask is that a friend of mine had an accident when his front CF fork shattered. As a result, he has a broken collar bone.
I just thought it was an isolated incident.

[IanMB]

JamesAMG,

Carbon fiber forks, chain stays and seat stays are at least as stong, or in some instances, much stronger than any steel or aluminum tube. Basically, one should not crash a bike, period I've gone down on my all carbon bike before at speed, but was lucky that I had the option to put it down sideways and also on the non-drivetrain side. Nothing happened to the frame, but I traded it in for another model two years later. Carbon frames, if properly built, are pretty darn strong. Just as a reference, I grew up riding only steel frames (well, its not like there was a choice.. the alumimum ones were like wet pasta).