New ENVE Braking Surface. Break in Period?

[Shortsocks]

Hey Folks

Just bought a new Set of ENVE 3.4 wheels, w/ the new Braking Surface.
I put some new ENVE black pads on them, and the Braking isn't so good. My question is, is there a break in period for the brake pads to seat in? Or have I set them up incorrectly?

I apply the brakes and there isn't a Firm stop, it just slows down...a little to slowly. I was riding some Far Sports that stopped super quickly. (Chinese open mold wheels)

Using Dura Ace 9000 with new cables, so I don't think that is the problem. But the rear brakes work better than the front.

What experiences do you guys have with these wheels?

[sales guy]

I have a set and no they don’t change. They suck.

[Tickdoc]

I have an older set and they suck worse.

Fast wheels moving forward though!

[Blown Reek]

Soak a clean rag in alcohol, wipe down the entire wheel, and wipe down the brake pads.

[Shortsocks]

Originally Posted by sales guy

I have a set and no they don’t change. They suck.

I love this answer. Really disconcerting but love it regardless.

[adub]

The textured surface make a sucky braking surface loud. Now you have loud and sucky braking.

And brake pads, these wheels eat'em for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

[bshell]

The textured brake track is clearly better (+noisier) at braking than the original, smooth version. They will never brake like aluminum.

[Spdntrxi]

Mine work fine .. all 4 sets .

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by Spdntrxi

Mine work fine .. all 4 sets .

My 2 sets work fine, albeit noisy. Call ENVE and see if they will send you new and improved pads. They did for me, braking was the same, just a bit quieter.

Good luck!

[Shortsocks]

Okay.

So took them into the shop. They adjusted the pads, made them flatter, and adjusted the cable tension. It took 25 miles to make the pads “wear & seat” in. They brake fine now. And they are actually really grabby. It’s going to take some getting used to. But they are pretty good. Very different than my FarSport Carbon wheels. (Which I still think are very good for the price).

I guess the pads just need to be worn in a bit. Another poster wrote that these pads will get worn quIcky. I can definitely see that happening.

As it stands these aren’t as good as Alum, but they seem really good.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Shortsocks]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

My 2 sets work fine, albeit noisy. Call ENVE and see if they will send you new and improved pads. They did for me, braking was the same, just a bit quieter.

Good luck!

Did you use the Black pads that came with it? I’m using the black pads. Are there newer ones?

[vqdriver]

hrm. interesting. mine brake just fine. in fact, my impression is that the initial bite is actually harder than aluminum, almost too grabby with less modulation. the noise, well, the noise is whiny and annoying.
one thing to note is that the grooves in the pads will fill up with pad material rather quickly. doesn't hurt to periodically clean em out.

[jj911c2]

I contacted Enve about brake noise and they sent me the old gray pads to try (with 2017 wheels). They have better braking performance but definitely wear faster.


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[RyanH]

I sent a rather harshly worded email to Enve about their new textured rims. They definitely need a stiff caliper as switching to Campy from eeBrakes made a big difference. Annoyingly though, the Boras, two sets of Mavics and even gen 1 Enve with Reynolds Power Pads were all good with eeBrakes. I made the switch to 9100 today to try to get better braking. On the Crumpton, I had 9100 and Mavic CCU with Campy red pads, that was the jackpot of carbon braking. Well, those and the new itgmax track that are on the Ksyrium Pro Carbon.

Anyway, I tested the other day the Mavics with itgmax and the New Enve from 35mph to a dead stop and both seemed to stop in about the same distance. Brake feel and feedback hands down goes to the Mavic but I think the problem with the Enve is they lack the urgency or immediacy you get with alloy or some of the other top contenders in carbon. Its probable that's just a feeling rather than a real performance item but I'm like 80% sure I'm buying my CCUs back from the guy I sold them to or I'm jumping ship and going disc.

[snicko]

I've ridden both the old and new surfaces on a set of 3.4 . The new ones are noisier, but they have more initial bite and are easier to modulate than the old smooth surface.

if you can get past the jet engine noise - I think they are better.

As for breakin - As far as I can remember - I just threw them on with the new pads and went for a ride..