Carbon wheels are a coveted piece of equipment these days. They are also one of the most expensive cycling investments you can make. For this reason, some roadies on a budget will take on chance on Ebay or Craigslist and try to score a used set of carbon race wheels. It’s true that you may be able to score the deal of a lifetime on a pair of lightly used, never crashed hoops, but carbon can be a finicky material and you could end up with wheels that are, or are on there way to being, irreparably damaged. Even honest sellers may not notice the signs of wear that could lead to cracks and breakage down the road. Here are a few thing to look for if you decide to take the plunge on used carbon wheels.
Find out how old the wheels are and approximately how many miles they’ve been ridden. This may sound obvious, but it’s a good starting place. Any wheels older than 5 years should receive a close inspection . You also may want to find out what type of riding the owner has done. Were they race day wheels only, or were they training wheels as well? You may also want to find out how heavy the owner is. Simple physics tells us that bigger riders will put more stress on a pair of wheels.
Ask yourself what kind of shopper you are? Are someone who would suffer terrible buyers remorse if the wheels failed after 200 miles? Would you feel better riding a pair of carbon wheels under warranty by the manufacturer? Or are you the kind of person who just can’t stand paying full price for something when there’s even the slightest chance of getting a deal?
Check for obvious cracks and breaking-area wear. Stay away from wheels with any large cracks and be sure to check the area of the rims around the spoke nipples for small hairline cracks. These are the areas where small cracks are most likely to show up.
Carbon rims require special break pads and regular cleaning to ensure optimum breaking performance. Check the rims for any exposed fibers. Exposed carbon fibers and excessive brake-surface wear could severely limit performance.cooperative, take them into your LBS and have a trained eye look them over.
If you’ve followed this checklist and the wheels appear to be in good condition, pull the trigger and enjoy the ride.
If worse comes to worse and you’ve purchases a pair of used wheels that turn our damage but salvageable, check into a carbon repair specialist like those at Calfee Design.Or you may choose to buy some best price carbon wheels from excellent best supplier Yoeleo.com
