Hello… Just chasing some feedback from anyone that has some experience with one.
I picked one of these up a few weeks ago really cheap, otherwise I would have settled for something less pricey…
It is an amazing looking wheel.
I was fitting it to my bike last wknd prior to a race and as I didn’t get the lightweight Swissstop brake pads with the wheel I decided that the Enve pads or zipp tangents platinum pro pads would be ok (after reading some reviews)… Other reviews said that cork pads work well on it and Also black prince pads… I know the use of other pads will void the warranty, but I don’t have a warranty so not an issue.
I fitted them to my bike and rode down the road and the braking was non existent with the enve/zipp pads.
The wheels were fitted to a 2015 trek speed concept… I know the rear brake on the SC is not as strong as a dura ace caliper, but I had still set it up so that there was plenty of bite and the pads were close to the rim…
So just asking if anyone has any advice/experience with one that they can give me regarding improving the braking.
Thanks
So just asking if anyone has any advice/experience with one that they can give me regarding improving the braking.
Thanks
I don’t have specific advice for your wheel/caliper/brake pad combo. But there is this piece of universal advice when it comes to bikes: The rear brake doesn’t do squat, compared to what you can do with the front. Learn how to use the front brake and you will stop faster 100% of the time. When you brake, slide yourself rearward on the saddle and lower your torso, to move your center of gravity down and rearward. Practice that re-positioning while using the front brake until it’s second nature. Done right, you can take the front all the way to incipient lockup without lifting the rear tire off the ground (don’t practice that too much).
Cheers for the advice big endian…
I generally do move back on the saddle etc…
When I fitted the disc last wknd… I took it for a spin and was able to stop using the front brake no problems. Though I have always liked the little bit of extra backup braking that comes from the rear brake… And there was close to zero extra with the disc on 
I have heard that lightweight wheels are known for good braking (for carbon), and that is why I couldn’t understand why the braking was close to non existent… In contrast to the zipp super 9 carbon disc I used a couple of years ago there was a massive difference…
Cheers
I suggest the black prince pads. They are the best pads I’ve ever used on my Zipp and bontrager Carbon clinchers. Good luck!
The Enve and Zipp rims have a different texture on the brake track, so I can see how their pads might not work worth crap on a smooth brake track. Cork is my go to pad for generic carbon applications. They tend to work on all smooth brake tracks and you don’t have to worry about some of the heat issues.
I tried using a non approved Swiss Stop pad on a set of HED Stingers once. They worked great until they got too hot and became super grabby.
As to using only the front brake, keep in mind that the rear brake supplies probably 20-30% of the stopping power under hard braking. I don’t want to give that up!
I use an Autobahn on my '15 SC. Looks like you have addressed one issue which is that the Autobahn is a fairly narrow rim/brake track so depending on what you use for training wheels (assuming you don’t train on the disc) there may be more distance between the rear brake pads and the rim than the caliper can take up.
The second is that I’ve found the wheel to be sensitive to brake pads. I find the grey SwissStop Lightweight pads tend to grab and make it easy to lock the wheel. I went down once because of this and look at Amber Neben’s crash in the 2013 women’s time trial at the Tour of California (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z_6qDX_Yh8) on the same wheel. I now use Black Prince in the low pad height version and find they stop well and are easy to modulate as long as the pad-wheel clearance is adjusted properly. I have not been impressed by cork pads (Trek/Bontrager) on this or any wheel. I haven’t tried Zipp or Enve.
I’ve been using the Swiisstop Black Prince pads and there awesome. When I put my disc on my TT bike, the pads were a big too thick so I had a new set of Reynolds Blue Pads, swapped the black Prince t the Reynolds and there was plenty of room. Braking is great with the Reynolds, a little more softer than the prince but overall, both sets are excellent.
I’ve tried the cork and honestly I didn’t like them at all. It’s like there was no braking and the dust was extreme. Just my opinion.
Yeah I wondered whether the pad was not gripping due to the differing texture of the brake tracks of zipp/enve vs lightweight… Thought in the past I used a set off zipp platinum pros with a set off bontrager wheels and they worked well so I thought I’d give them a try…
I have also used cork on bontrager wheels which worked well, so il look into cork pads or black prince as the others have suggested.
I’m with you on the back brake
Thanks for the feedback man
Very useful reply thanks…
The autobahn is 19.5mm wide and yep I had wider wheels on (24mm)… I stuck with mechanical on this bike and have the bontrager brake levers with the adjustable nibs, so I used them to get in close to the rim after making up the bulk of the deficit by moving the spacers in on the brake shoes… So am pretty confident that there was solid contact…
I think you hit the nail on the head with the type of brake pads and that was what I wanted to hear…
Thanks for posting the video…
Il get my hands on some black prince pads and let you know how I go.
Thanks again
Jeremy
Thanks jimster…
Il post once I get my hands on some black prince pas
I think Wrenchscience in the US carries the Lightweight pads. They come at a cost, but swapping out lower price alts will add up. Going with theirs you’ll at least know if it is a pad issue.
Cheers… But I’m across in Australia… I managed to find one place over here that has the lightweight version… But managed to get my hands on a set of black prince pads today…
Looking forward to fitting them for a test run this wknd
hey try them on your front wheel to! I would be interested to know if there is something better then the cork pads i use now.