Hi everyone, I’m just wondering whether the wear I’m seeing on my carbon rims is purely cosmetic or whether I need to be concerned. The wheels in question are a set of Roval Terra CLX which were purchased in 2019. They’ve accumulated a fair number of blemishes from normal use on road and gravel over the past five seasons. I’ve attached some photos. Any input would be much appreciated.
If those are disc brake rims, I say ride on…
Just sharing some thoughts for the paranoid (i.e., me). The resin that impregnates carbon fibre can sometimes degrade over time, when exposed to UV, becoming brittle, etc. Not knowing what resin was used in wheels, frames, etc can give me pause, especially when the top coat/lacquer has been removed through wear and tear, or otherwise.
In such circumstances, where the damage/blemishes are not structural, and mostly cosmetic, I’d usually apply a dab of UV-resistant clear coat/varnish with a steady hand, and you should be fine.
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Carbon really is talked about like it’s weak and brittle far too much. Unless you’ve crashed them, just cover the blemishes with paint or the method above and ride on.
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My carbon gravel wheels look much worse and they are still super solid.
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I see no evidence of damage to the epoxy matrix; UV damage to epoxy usually shows as reduced transparency and increased colour (towards orange), for reasons interesting only to chemistry geeks, see: Effect of Ultraviolet Aging on Properties of Epoxy Resin and Its Pultruded Fiber-Reinforced Composite - PMC
IMO the advice above to simply repair the damaged topcoat with something UV resistant is sound. Plenty of them available for cars etc.
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I encourage folks to try to destroy old carbon handlebars. It’s enlightening.
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I had an old, unbranded, tubular carbon rim - many years of use, hub cut out of it - and it was incredibly hard to break. It was a surprise for everyone in the bike shop.
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Back in the day the Trek rep came round with an OCLV tube encouraging us to try to break it. It was incredibly strong. We tried to crush it in a vise, smashed it against concrete. Very tough. Now if it’s crashed or contaminated, that’s different but in general yeah, we should stop talking like you can’t breathe on it without it exploding.
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The discussion reminds me of this old video of Danny MacAskill trying to destroy a Santa Cruz wheel.
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