It has been several years since I rode my Reynolds Stratus Cross carbon tubular wheels. I decided that for those of us who ride without a team support van and spare bikes/wheels at the ready, the benefits of tubulars (low weight, better "road feel") do not outweigh the costs (glue/tape, carrying spare tires, replacing the $75+ tire instead of the $7.50 tube, etc.).
But the hubs on my Reynolds wheels are still as smooth as the day I bought them, and no reason not to repurpose them. So I ordered a pair of carbon clincher rims (25mm wide, basalt braking surface) from China ($360 for the pair, including shipping), and some Sapim CX-Ray spokes from a German online retailer ... and today built up a set of carbon clincher wheels. They look great and should be very fast and comfortable, given the 25mm width and beautiful deep carbon rims.
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| Wheel 00011. Front. 20 spokes. |
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| Wheel 00012. Rear. 24 spokes. |
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| Happened to have a set of Vredestein 700x25 Fortezza TriComp tires waiting for these. Perfect. |
Of course, carbon clinchers have their own, very well-known weaknesses. They melt apart when overheated from braking on long, steep, technical descents. Fortunately, we do not have any such terrain around where I live (hah! just kidding).
So these will probably be my time trial, triathlon and/or flat terrain wheels. Or perhaps I will end up giving them to someone who weighs much, much less than I do and so is not a target for extreme brake-related heat on a descent. ... And I will use Shimano cork-style brake pads, rather than Swisstop Yellow, given the warnings here about a link between heat generation and these pads.
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