A note on tubes...and a question about carbon rims...

[spamjoshua]

I ride roads that are under ice and snow for 6 months a year.

They heave, crack, get sealed, and generally do a reasonable imitation of what it must be like to ride on railroad ties.

Very interesting to me, was that more so than a switch from an MXL to a Serotta Ti, it really seems I can feel the road dampening improved by new tubes .

The tubes in question seem porous, and I ended up inflating my tires much more often than I was used to, and at 120psi, I did manage to blow two tubes at the patch where the valve is attached (the manufacturer's glue did nopt appear to hold), but none-the-less for the same frame, same wheels, the tubes alone make a nice difference in ride quality.

So...

I had not previously put much thought into an investment in carbon rims. I think I had a mental block knowing that less weight was of little personal gain until I had less weight around my middle, and secondly that buying rims for the price of a nice (used) hand made steel frame seemed crazy when I always want another bike. :)

I ask...

If I put money into nice carbon rims/wheels, will I get significant comfort benefits?

At what cost? i.e. if some very nice carbon wheels are $2k, what would cost per year generally be if you consider fatigue, and reasonable replacement schedules?

Cheers,
Joshua

[AntLockyer]

120psi? Sounds like a lot.

[Jacques]

i think the difference in ride quality between rims is often overstated, but wouldn't carbon rims be stiffer?

have you tried bigger tires?

[Erik.Lazdins]

Question

Are the valve stems threaded - this may help cause the failure mode you mention - a smooth valve stem will release a bit easier and reduce the likelihood of tearing the valve off at the tube.

As AntLockyer posted earlier 120 seems high given the rough roads

A larger volume tire will yield far greater ride benefit on the rough roads than any type of wheel - If you are presently riding 23's give the 25 mm a try - the bike doesn't feel any slower, lower pressures and higher volume help over the bad stuff.

[dsteady]

Latex tubes are more porous and require pumping almost every ride.

That said, I would look at first a wider, more supple tire (25 or 28mm Vittoria Open Corsa?) before investing heavily in rims. One problem with carbon rims (and I confess that I love mine) is that braking in wet conditions tends to be sub-optimal if they have a carbon brake track (Reynolds, Edge).

You might want to try a wider alloy wheel like the HED Ardennes, or any of their C2 rim-based wheels first. This gives you the added advantage of lower PSI, plus more cornering stability (allegedly, anyway). Given your road conditions this might be a better payoff than just a change in materials.

[GrantM]

Latex tubes are more porous and require pumping almost every ride.

That's very true, even if you ride twice a day. :)
In 12 hours, they can drop by up to 10 psi.

Just pump before every ride, fill your bottles,
put a fresh set of tighty whitey's over your bibs,
and off you go. where's swoop when we need him?

-g

[palincss]

Just pump before every ride, fill your bottles,
put a fresh set of tighty whitey's over your bibs,
and off you go.

You wear your underwear on the outside???

[dsteady]

That's very true, even if you ride twice a day. :)
....
-g

You got me.

[spamjoshua]

This all makes sense.

I have ordered more tubes; will drop my pressure a whee bit; and will ride enough that I will be soon justified in buying wider tires.

That will definitely save me some trouble.

We had our first rain in months, and enough sand is on my bike that I would indeed fear for carbon rims.

Cheers.

[Bssc]

carbon rims will make for a more harsh ride if you want supple and forgiving wheels you want box section rims just like the pro use during 90% of their riding

butyl tubes are best for tubular manufacturing they will always have odd flatting issues with tear outs and seam blow outs

you are better off using a Michelin light weight tube talc'ed for a supple clincher and tube feel of ride, use of an open tubular will be the tip of luxury

[GrantM]

I loved me my Edge 45 clincher wheels.
Very smooth riding, they seem to quiet some road buzz.

-g

[AntLockyer]

My old Reynolds 46s are smooth riding too, but I only pump my tubs to 95 psi.

[GSmith]

Stiffer wheels do not necessarily equate to harsher ride.

To the OP, I live in an area with tough winters and choppy roads, and on my clinchers it's mainly Vitto Corsas with latex tubes. PITA to pump before every ride, but I do it anyhow out of habit, so it's just part of the ritual.

[spamjoshua]

Its a little funny, in that I can mock myself before being mocked publicly, but it took a dream to associated the obvious connection between porous tubes, and the pressure relief on impact that I call "comfort."

I will pump my tires every day, and be happy I can ride harder with fewer shocks.

In my defense, I note both that I am not very tough, and with allot of miles into a fixie, rough roads aggravate.

Joshua

[dsteady]

what kind of tires are you riding? I just put on a pair of Vittoria Open Corsas w/ 320 tpi, and they're suuuuper supple.

Also, try out a some 2-Way fit wheels (Campy, Fulcrum, DT Swiss). I recently demo'd the DT Swiss Tricons with Hutchinson tubeless tires. This was in Colorado on rough chip and seal road, with lots of frost heave, etc and they were incredibly smooth. I was riding a Ti bike as well.

[davids]

I'd say my Reynolds Attacks are a little bit more damped than a similar set of aluminum wheels (Kinlin 30s and DT Swiss hubs). If I'd paid more that half price for them, though, I would have been disappointed. The differences in ride and handling are subtle at best.