I want aero, light, durable, pimp looking and cheap. Obviously. 🙂
A good chunk of my riding is (or will be once I’ve got a new bike) lengthy commutes from Oxford to London. Normally I pick dryish days, but it will rain sometimes. There’s lots of silly cars and junctions and stuff at the London end, so I do have to speed up and slow down quite a bit. But I like the aero look, and like going as quickly as I can when the opportunity presents.
SO, I think full carbon would probably be foolish, mainly because I use the brakes from time to time, so might find them a bit rubbish when wet, and might wear them out a bit quickly. Aeroish means a bit heavy if not going full carbon – those Mavics are not light, but then nor are others with alu braking surfaces.
Ideally I’d like something 35-50 mm deep, at least moderately wide, with a durable braking surface and not too heavy. And less than a grandish. (Though that might tighten, depending on the insurance payout!)
I guess going with some direct Chinese carbon jobber and accepting that the braking surface might wear out might not be a bad option.