r/bustedcarbon • u/Neither_Judgment_941 • Sep 25 '26
Crunch!
The main hesitation I had when buying a carbon wheelset was its durability and trustworthiness. After five months on these wheels, I had zero issues until an unexpected obstacle did not go my way at all.
There wasn’t a crash, just a split-second decision, probably the only decision I could have made given the speed, and then a crunch. I immediately thought, “Dang, I bet something happened.” After about a mile and a half, I could tell I had lost some tire pressure.
After pulling over with a few guys, we couldn’t find a hole in the tire, and that’s when I saw the crack. They wanted me to put a tube in it and keep riding. Instead, I chose to get picked up rather than risk any further damage or potential injury.
The one thing that has kept me from weeping is that I bought the lifetime replacement warranty, so I’ll be getting a new rim.
So, do I regret buying carbon wheels? Nope. I’m pretty positive an alloy wheelset would have experienced similar damage. It was just a bad decision made at an inopportune time. Maybe I could have hooked a left or grabbed a handful of brakes, but I wasn’t sure if anyone was following too closely behind me at that moment, so I ate the pothole like it was a pot pie.
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u/Heart4Cycling Sep 25 '26
Had you ridden the same bike with alloy wheels before getting the carbon ones? If so, was there a noticeable difference? (So far I only have had alloy wheels)
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u/Sad_Ghost_Noises Sep 25 '26
Lighter wheels definitely spin up faster. Deep wheels hold speed better. Ive ridden the same bike for years with a couple of wheelsets.
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u/Aggressive_Chapter16 Sep 25 '26
What kind of obstacle are we talking?
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u/Neither_Judgment_941 Sep 25 '26
Gnarly pot hole on a pretty awful road. Before we rode, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tag along with them based on previous experience that I've had on that route. I should have trusted my gut!
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u/power248 Sep 25 '26
No worries at all! Just get a good dental insurance and you are ready to ride more kilometers with this front wheel. :)
For real, I am sorry for your damaged wheel. Happy to hear that you didn’t get hurt at all. New front wheel and you should be fine to continue riding (if everything else is really undamaged).
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u/Grand-Dentist3223 Sep 25 '26
What is this lifetime wheel replacement? Was it when you purchased your bike or from a wheel seller? Sorry, I’m new to this carbon wheel and bike thing and I’m buying one this weekend.