BTLOS 30mm wheels for pure climbing?

[thwart]

Originally Posted by mcteague

2-3 mph increase in speed for about 200 grams saved? So, figure a 17lb bike and a rider weight of 140-170 lbs and you think 200g saved will increase the speed of an object weighing around 170ish pounds? I'll need actual data.

Tim

Agreed… although the psychologic benefits of lighter bike parts can’t be dismissed. If knowing that you’re running lighter wheels helps your ‘engine’ run faster the end result could possibly be something like this.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by Dave

https://btlos.com/road-bike/r-carbon...ad-bike-wheels

All you have to do is spend a couple of minutes on the BTLOS website and select the build you want. The weights listed by some posters here are much lighter than the values listed at the BTLOS website. My extra light 29mm profile disc brake wheels weigh around 1350 which is what I get with a WRC-35 extra light build with bitex hubs for $717 with a free freight code. I suppose that rim brake hubs are lighter.

Thanks Dave. There are so many different permutations on their site, it's kind of easy to get lost in all of the different options. Which is why I was curious about the cost of some of the builds that people had been doing AND their experiences running BTLOS carbon wheelsets compared to high-end aluminum clinchers.

Austin is a mix of hilly (numerous short, punchy climbs with 15-20% + grades) and flat, so I'm not really looking for a climbing wheelset per se, but just an overall improvement in responsiveness and ride quality. An additional 200-300 grams weight savings would be nice, but given that I need to lose about 4500 grams myself at the moment, the loss off of the wheels would be somewhat trivial in comparison.

Texbike

[sevencyclist]

I sold these after riding my BTLOS for a while.

2023-03-31 10.13.19 by sevencyclist, on Flickr
2023-03-31 10.13.39 by sevencyclist, on Flickr

[Greyfox]

Like many here, I too am tempted by carbon rim brakes.

What’s held me back is how well they stop. I appreciate the newer ones have better brake tracks than the old ones. However, it’s never clear to me how well they stop in comparison to an aluminum rim.

Would love a lighter stiffer wheel, but not at the cost of braking power.

I often hear people say that the carbon rim stop pretty well, but I’m never sure what they’re comparing it to.

So, in a direct comparison of rim brake carbon to rim brake aluminum, which have you found better? And, if the carbon stop less well than the aluminum, are we talking a significant difference?

Interested to hear what people have to say.

[edgerat]

I have a set built by oldpotatoe, I am effectively 100lbs more than you and they are great for me.

[sevencyclist]

Originally Posted by Greyfox

Like many here, I too am tempted by carbon rim brakes.

What’s held me back is how well they stop. I appreciate the newer ones have better brake tracks than the old ones. However, it’s never clear to me how well they stop in comparison to an aluminum rim.

Would love a lighter stiffer wheel, but not at the cost of braking power.

I often hear people say that the carbon rim stop pretty well, but I’m never sure what they’re comparing it to.

So, in a direct comparison of rim brake carbon to rim brake aluminum, which have you found better? And, if the carbon stop less well than the aluminum, are we talking a significant difference?

Interested to hear what people have to say.

I don't feel a difference between Campagnolo Shamal Mille (aluminum) and BTLOS carbon with ARC or Arrow Graphene surface. I like ARC better than Arrow pattern because Arrow makes whizzing sound when stopping. I also use TPU tubes with these carbon rims and have not had issues with overheating or tubes or tires.

Full Disclosure, I don't ride in the wet with road bike since I am in the Bay Area so not many wet days, and if it rains, I ride my Peter Weigle Randonneur with fenders which has aluminum rims and cyclocross cantilever brakes which is a lot worse than any of my road bike brakes with carbon rim.

[Greyfox]

Thanks, sevencyclist.

That’s a strong recommendation.

I too would mostly be using a rim brake bike in dry weather.

Going to look into the ARC brake track rims further. Thanks for your feedback.

[AngryScientist]

Do we think there will be some kind of good Black Friday sale, or another one before the end of the year?

I may be interested in a pair myself.

[bigbill]

I need to dust off my Cosmic Carbones, the best of most worlds except weight. I got them from Dufus who got them from Spinelli.

[MXLeader]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Do we think there will be some kind of good Black Friday sale, or another one before the end of the year?

I may be interested in a pair myself.

I just checked last year's BTLOS's Chinese New Year discount and it came out to be 12% off, but they were charging for EMS shipping at the time ($62 for a rim, or maybe $150 for a wheelset?).

I'm currently waiting on an order for a mountain bike wheelset and they were (and are) offering Labor Day free FedEx shipping. That came to a savings of $266 according to the invoice.

Seems like free shipping is a better deal than 12% or even 15% off a wheelset by math.

[fogrider]

Originally Posted by mcteague

2-3 mph increase in speed for about 200 grams saved? So, figure a 17lb bike and a rider weight of 140-170 lbs and you think 200g saved will increase the speed of an object weighing around 170ish pounds? I'll need actual data.

Tim

I stand by my comments based on my own results, your results. Your results may vary! I'm sure some of it is because of 'new wheel' affect but a PR is a PR. to be honest, I doubted too, this was with tubulars when I first got sucked into lightweight wheels...

[fogrider]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

What configuration are you using to get that weight and price?

if you're look to be under 1250 grams, go with 30mm, extralight rims, bitex hubs, for rim brakes; High TG brake surface, I like glossy, and sapin cx-ray spokes and alum nipples should get you there. default on other options.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Do we think there will be some kind of good Black Friday sale, or another one before the end of the year?

I may be interested in a pair myself.

last year it was free shipping.. so. who knows.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by fogrider

if you're look to be under 1250 grams, go with 30mm, extralight rims, bitex hubs, for rim brakes; High TG brake surface, I like glossy, and sapin cx-ray spokes and alum nipples should get you there. default on other options.

i've always heard aluminum nipples are a bad idea? Have they gotten better?

[bfd]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

i've always heard aluminum nipples are a bad idea? Have they gotten better?

I have two pairs of BTLOS 45mm deep carbon wheels. Love it! One set weighs a whopping 1305g and the lighter one is 1304g! lol, So light! I found the aero deeper dish rim makes it worth the extra 50-ish grams. For example, I don’t think the wheels makes me that much faster on the climbs as I’m a heavy guy, but on on the flats, I know the aero of the 45mm deep rims definitely help as it is easier to “close the gap.” Of course, one negative with deep dish rims is they’re very sensitive to wind, especially trying to cross the GG Bridge on a windy day!

Nevertheless, for the money, it’s hard to beat these wheels. Although I’m heavy, so far they can hold up to my weight as I got the extralight rims, aluminum alloy nipples (I oil them), pillar spokes (4.4g vs 4.2g for Sapim CX which are like twice the price) and the Arc braking track works well with both their own $15/4 carbon pads or Reynolds blue carbon pads. If you can get free shipping that should save at least $100-120, I say go for it!

Of course, YMMV!

Good Luck!