Joaquin makes good points, though there's going to be disagreement on the specifics, as Vlad demonstrates.

Vlad, I completely agree, and don't mean to suggest that Reynolds wheels will have bad braking or stability.  I just want to warn people away from some of the hype and encourage prioritization of some of the more practical wheel demands.  And your experience with the Enve's proves my point: a good set of carbon wheels left you feeling confident.  The Enve's seem to have a good reputation (and higher price) for that reason.  But there's no denying that carbon wheels in general are still a work in progress, so it makes sense to sort out the good wheels from the bad before dropping lots of cash.

Thanks for that information, guys.  It's helpful to hear about everyone's experiences as I look into new wheels for myself.

I've ridden a few sets of carbon wheels: Enve 45, Enve 65, Zipp 404 Firecrest, Enve SES 3.4 and Shimano 9000 C50.

Of those I have put the most  training miles on the Enve 45 (because it was a clincher) and the new wider Shimano C50.

I find the new fatter profile of these Shimano to be very stable, and far less impacted by crosswinds than say a set of Mavic Ksyriums or Campy Eurus. (Both of those have flat alloy spokes).
Braking in the dry is as good as alloy, in the wet a little less so (absolute stopping power is there, but modulation is harder to gauge), but nothing really significant.

What my experiences with carbon wheels has taught me, is that carbon clinchers are a mistake (at least for a portly gent such as I). I never suffered the catastrophic wheel failures that some on the interweb have, but I have had front and rear inner tube failures while braking heavily on  long, twisty, descents. So heat build up is an issue.

But I solved that problem by training on tubulars.

I will add in that in the last few years most of the big companies have invested a lot of research into solving the heat issue with carbon clinchers. Their new products might be trouble free.

ian ellis said:

I will add in that in the last few years most of the big companies have invested a lot of research into solving the heat issue with carbon clinchers. Their new products might be trouble free.

In the past, I know that some people had problems with Reynolds on long descents that required lots and lots of braking--the heat build-up definitely softened the rim walls to an unsafe point.  Definitely weight was an issue for a number of them--and these were big, not huge, people.  And their earlier iterations weren't great in wet-weather braking.  I don't think we have to worry about heat build-up riding around here or even in mountainous new england roads, but certainly on long descents found in the west or tricky ones like in Malibu, the old rims had some troubles.

Thanks for that information, guys.  It's helpful to hear about everyone's experiences as I look into new wheels for myself.

As a member of the aluminum-only club, I'll chime in to mention that pad selection is crucial even with alloy braking surfaces.  I had a terrifying experience in an afternoon downpour with stock SRAM black pads.  Nearly went off the road.  Got home and immediately ordered SwissStop GHP II's and happily discovered that the new pads were a vast improvement in both the wet and the dry.

FYI SRAM fitted all their brakes with the standard SwissStop black pads. I usually end up replacing with the salmon colored KoolStop ones, the cheaper alternative for wet weather riding. Personally can't tell the difference...

I do clean the rims of my Al wheels using Simple Green degreaser periodically and it does wonders in the quality of the breaking.

Well well well

David Yang said:

Thanks for that information, guys.  It's helpful to hear about everyone's experiences as I look into new wheels for myself.

As a member of the aluminum-only club, I'll chime in to mention that pad selection is crucial even with alloy braking surfaces.  I had a terrifying experience in an afternoon downpour with stock SRAM black pads.  Nearly went off the road.  Got home and immediately ordered SwissStop GHP II's and happily discovered that the new pads were a vast improvement in both the wet and the dry.

FYI SRAM fitted all their brakes with the standard SwissStop black pads. I usually end up replacing with the salmon colored KoolStop ones, the cheaper alternative for wet weather riding. Personally can't tell the difference...

I think the SwissStop GHP are a bit better than the BHP, and the BXP are better than the GHP.  Where I've definitely noticed a difference is wear--the GHP and BXP last longer than the BHP.  For the carbon crowd, I also think their Black Prince is better than the Yellow King--if your rim company allows for SwissStop pads.  

You know what really sucks? BPH. Makes it hard to pee.

mugwump said:-if your rim company allows for SwissStop pads.  

What your rim company doesn't know won't hurt them. I can't see how a different pad can hurt the rim.

dstokes said:

mugwump said:-if your rim company allows for SwissStop pads.  

What your rim company doesn't know won't hurt them. I can't see how a different pad can hurt the rim.

except when you warranty the rim.  At least Enve and Reynolds make this explicit in their warranty.  Can they tell?  I guess someone has found out.

mugwump said:

btw, the swirl lip generator is not about sidewinds but about smoothing airflow for better aerodynamics.  

One nitpick, Reynolds claims the SLG does have a positive effect on crosswind performance. They hypothesize that the lip generates a turbulence across the rim, keeping it attached longer to the low pressure side, reducing the tugging torque. They don't do a good job explaining this, it's buried in a white paper somewhere.

Anyone notice what brakes Powers had on his bike for his national championship victory?  

I had a bit of a twitter exchange with JPow, where I "read between the lines" of one of his interviews and basically got out of it, that discs still not ready for prime time. He took exception to my interpretation and said, basically, "Yes they are!"

He also didn't ride the stairs. He clearly went for every advantage he could think of because this race meant so much to him; "not ready for nationals when you want to win it" is pretty different from "not ready to race"

Well...getting an ACME fit tomorrow...don't want to move on anything until I confirm that my crank length is optimal.  I likely will get a Stages meter and not because it is accurate or a good value comparatively.  Not because it is crank based power reading allowing me to use all 3 of my wheel sets.  Not because it is ANT + and blue tooth enabled.  Not because it is an American company.  I will be getting it simply because it is...wait for it............ALUMINUM ! 

Uh oh...

@yacks I have a stages. It seems to do exactly as one would expect, without issue. Only used for steady riding, no explosive efforts yet (maybe I never will, I think explosive efforts might be over rated, anyway I digress ...).

ian ellis said:

@yacks I have a stages. It seems to do exactly as one would expect, without issue. Only used for steady riding, no explosive efforts yet (maybe I never will, I think explosive efforts might be over rated, anyway I digress ...).

where did u buy yours?

directly via the stages website.

I bought mine from Ride BK with the club discount.... dummies.

no offense.

Oh snap ! that's how eyes be getting mine 

Brendan,