I’m looking for experiences from anyone moving from Exalith/alu braking to carbon.
I’ve run my Mavic Ksyrium Pro Exalith SL for over 20000km. I’ve loved them as a solid, lightweight climber, great braking in wet and on decents.
I bought them in 2017, they still run very true and have only needed bearings replaced in the last year. The Exalith brake track is starting to go and I going to try this graffiti pen hack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtMs3NXGvw , but I think it’s time to find a replacement.
I run 28mm Conti 5k, so I’m currently looking at wider options in carbon, including:
DT Swiss PRC 1400 Spline Carbon 35mm
Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C (40mm)
Roval Rapide CLX 32
Hunt 36 Carbon Wide Aero
Light Bicycle Falcon R35 or AR46
I’ve had an amazing experience with Mavic, and happy with the 2 DT Swiss disc sets on my gravel bike (p1800 and e1800). I’ve had Hunt Mason x Hunt 4 Season Disc but they split at the spoke nipples after 4 years of not the most brutal treatment.
My main concern is braking performance in the wet but also on long alpine recents.
TIA
by rwwxx
1 Comment
I have never tried Exalith or HED Black rims only straight alloy and carbon.
I would stick with alloy. The carbon rims I’ve tried (Chinese carbon, and old school Zipp 404s) just don’t have the bite in the wet. Maybe the newer ones with a texture to them are better in the wet but IDK. My carbon rims get loud on long descents but still work fine and never melted the resin. To me being able to stop in the wet on a group ride with a bunch of disc brake roadies is more important than aesthetics / marginal performance gains.
If you’re a recreational cyclist and not a racer then I’d stick with alloy and call it a day.
If you’re a racer then just get a modern disc brake bike.
If you only ride by yourself and never ride in the wet and you like carbon wheels then sure get the carbon.