Shopping for a set of carbon wheels. Would like some feedback on aluminum vs. carbon/basalt braking surface.
Aluminum brakes better. Carbon braking depends on the brand and the brake pads. My Zipp carbon clinchers brake just as good as my aluminum training wheels.
Shopping for a set of carbon wheels. Would like some feedback on aluminum vs. carbon/basalt braking surface.
Some (a few of the highly engineered ones) carbon wheels with the right pads brake decently, but none brake super well. None brake as well as a a high quality AL rim with kool-stop (or mathauser) salmon brake pads. Full carbon rims also do not dissipate heat as well as AL rims, so that is where you hear stories of delamination or resin melting.
And braking with carbon rims in the wet? Well, … you better have good health insurance, it doesn’t matter what brake pads you have.
I like hills, mountains, going fast, stopping fast, and all-weather versatility. So I have am sticking with a set of older hybrid zipps (hybrid: carbon rim bonded to AL rim) which seems to offer a good compromise for the properties I need. Discontinued, so not available new, but used hybrid zipps are available on ebay etc.
I’m going to echo what others are saying: in the dry, a really high-end carbon rim like the Zipp FC/FS with the right pads will brake comparably to aluminum. Add a bit of moisture though and that braking performance goes out the window and the scales tilt heavily in favor of aluminum brake surfaces. I used to run a Zipp 303/808FC, and I switched to a HED Jet+ 6/Disc combo.
+1 on greenplease. I switched from zipp FC to hed jet + and love them- so much easier not having to switch brake pads (I do a lot of TTs as well so pain switching). They are just as aero but with alloy braking. They are heavier but not by a whole lot and I really only notice it when accelerating.