Upgrading Zonda C17 Alloy wheelset with Prime Black Edition 38mm carbon rim brake wheels?

[cnsn]

Hello,

I am thinking to upgrade my campy zonda rim brake wheels with Prime black edition carbon 38s. Actually I am happy with Zonda C17 wheelset and I didn't use carbon wheels on rim brake before. Do you think it is worth to upgrade?

[wheelbuilder]

Yes. Don't let the overly cautious frightened guys keep you away. I have been riding carbon clinchers since 2015 without a single overheating issue. This is with latex tubes also. I am a skilled descender and have avoided sustained braking but everyone should do that regardless of rim type. I also prefer smooth not etched brake tracks. Light Bicycle does a good job with the high temp resin on the falcon pro series, as does Zipp, and Bontrager Aelous D3 and XXX. Not the pro series. You will love carbon rims. Good luck.

[CampagYOLO]

Honestly, I'd get something deeper to really get the aero benefit over your Zonda's. Can you get a good deal on the 50mm ones?

[cnsn]

Honestly, I'd get something deeper to really get the aero benefit over your Zonda's. Can you get a good deal on the 50mm ones?

Actually the bike that I am planning to use these 38s is a 2022 giant tcr rim brake version. It is more like a climbing and comfort bike for me. I also have an aero bike with 50mm deep rims. So aerodynamics is not the primary factor for me with this upgrade. As I understand from your comment the aero benefits will be minimal with 38s. The bike will look much better maybe but I don't want to change my reliable Zondas just for this Do you see any benefits other than aero with this upgrade?

[Nickldn]

Have been happy with Bora WTO 45 in terms of stability in cross winds. Caveat is tyre is narrower than rim (GP5000S TR 25mm). Can't imagine you would be likely to encounter scarier moments on a good 45mm vs 38mm even in high mountains.

Slightly deeper wheels (doesn't have to be the WTO) will make your TCR feel great, the 45mm depth has aero advantages on flats compared to 38mm.

Downside is that you'd need to commit to carbon brake tracks, which are going to be less effective in bad weather.

[AJS914]

The bike will look much better maybe but I don't want to change my reliable Zondas just for this Do you see any benefits other than aero with this upgrade?

To me, the primary reason to upgrade to carbon wheels is aero gains.

You get a minor gain in the extra rim width. Lightness?

The downside is worse braking especially when wet.

[CampagYOLO]

Honestly, I'd get something deeper to really get the aero benefit over your Zonda's. Can you get a good deal on the 50mm ones?

Actually the bike that I am planning to use these 38s is a 2022 giant tcr rim brake version. It is more like a climbing and comfort bike for me. I also have an aero bike with 50mm deep rims. So aerodynamics is not the primary factor for me with this upgrade. As I understand from your comment the aero benefits will be minimal with 38s. The bike will look much better maybe but I don't want to change my reliable Zondas just for this Do you see any benefits other than aero with this upgrade?

If aero isn't really a factor and you must upgrade I'd look at some Dura Ace C24's, you'd lose a couple of hundred grams but still have an alloy brake track. Not sure though that you'd notice much in the way of real world improvement over your Zonda's.

Otherwise, as others have mentioned carbon rims come into their own when you get something deeper for the aero gains. Could be worth looking at HED wheels if you want deeper wheels but still have great braking performance in all conditions.

[cnsn]

Honestly, I'd get something deeper to really get the aero benefit over your Zonda's. Can you get a good deal on the 50mm ones?

Actually the bike that I am planning to use these 38s is a 2022 giant tcr rim brake version. It is more like a climbing and comfort bike for me. I also have an aero bike with 50mm deep rims. So aerodynamics is not the primary factor for me with this upgrade. As I understand from your comment the aero benefits will be minimal with 38s. The bike will look much better maybe but I don't want to change my reliable Zondas just for this Do you see any benefits other than aero with this upgrade?

If aero isn't really a factor and you must upgrade I'd look at some Dura Ace C24's, you'd lose a couple of hundred grams but still have an alloy brake track. Not sure though that you'd notice much in the way of real world improvement over your Zonda's.

Otherwise, as others have mentioned carbon rims come into their own when you get something deeper for the aero gains. Could be worth looking at HED wheels if you want deeper wheels but still have great braking performance in all conditions.

I found an article as below which says 30+ mm rims would provide adequate aero benefits for most . Also found other resources that says same thing. So it seems if I do this upgrade I will lose 200+ grams and get the major part of the aero benefits of the deep rims.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/prod ... ou-447785

Additional research carried out by cycling coach James Spragg of Spragg Cycle Coaching found a difference of 3W when comparing a rider on a Specialized Venge with Roval CLX 64mm wheels versus Roval CLX 32mm wheels, when at 40km/h riding at yaw angles between zero and five degrees. The test was carried out in initial profiling of an athlete targeting the Etape du Tour.

Aero Lead and Senior R+D Engineer at Specialized Mio Suzuki agrees that a lot of the initial savings come from the jump between a traditional box section rim, and the wider 30mm-40mm group.

[MrCurrieinahurry]

What is the rest of the bike build any photos?

Basso Diamante rim Campagnolo EPS 12 Bora WTO 60's

[warthog101]

I have some 50mm prime rr50 v3 wheels with about 25k km on them.
Been great. No worries at all with stability in wind.
Not that bad in the wet with lifeline blue pads. I hate riding on the rain though, so avoid it where possible.

Yep they replaced Zondas too (still sitting arond in the garage). Much better.

[cnsn]

Yep they replaced Zondas too (still sitting arond in the garage). Much better.

Yeah, that is good news.

Do you think comfort is increased too after the replacement?

[cnsn]

I bought the wheelset. It is used but the original owner did very low milage around 1500 kms and I think I bought it for a relatively good price for ~550 usd. I will update here after few rides about the results.

[warthog101]

Yep they replaced Zondas too (still sitting arond in the garage). Much better.

Yeah, that is good news.

Do you think comfort is increased too after the replacement?

Comfort not noticeably. If that is what you are after run a 28 at the back with a bit lower pressure. Tbh I cant remember ever worrying about comfort or lack thereof. Haven't ridden the Zondas in years though.
Speed yes, definitely.

[MrCurrieinahurry]

I bought the wheelset. It is used but the original owner did very low milage around 1500 kms and I think I bought it for a relatively good price for ~550 usd. I will update here after few rides about the results.

Great stuff look forward to the review. ...

I've got a set of shamals that I dont think I'll ever sell as just a fabulous rim brake alloy wheels and zondas are close to them... I think if I was your I'd sell the zondas and pick up some shamals if and when a pair pop up for sale.

Basso Diamante rim Campagnolo EPS 12 Bora WTO 60's

[cnsn]

Hi,

After few rides here is my review.

- The Prime 38 black edition wheelset is very very light 1390 gr with skewers. So almost 300gr difference with shimano hub Zondas.

- I am 95kg. I have climbed with the new wheels and I can say the wheelset is really really quick at climbs. It is not like a 50mm set. I also didn't realize any lateral flex at all, no brake rub etc.

- I didn't feel a difference in beaking power in dry conditions. I was using swisstop bxp for alu rims and tested braking on carbons with brand new black prince pads. It was all good but I just realized that the pads are wearing very fast but this is an expected outcome with carbon rim pads. There was some powdery material on the tips of my brakepads even after short rides. I didn't test the carbon rims in wet conditions and I don't think that I will ever do this since I am keeping alu rims and pads for wet rides.

- The ride comfort noticably increased. I think the main reason for that is the external width of the rim. The Prime 38s much wider than Zondas. It means my tires are much wider too.

- No need to say this but comparing to alu wheels the bike is much more sexy now. I think this is the second most important benefit with this upgrade

- Most importantly the bike is noticably faster than before and it really holds the speed very well like my Scott Foil. It is definitely not the same bike on flats.

So I believe if you find a nice cabon rim brake wheelset for a bargain price like me don't think about it too much and just replace your alu rims but don't sell the alu ones and keep them for wet conditions.

Here is the visual result