I've seen them, and have heard reviews from people who bought them. The build quality seems mixed. Some are good, just slap some Zipp stickers on the side and nobody will know the difference. Other wheels like these like to breakdown and split where parts of the rim are bonded together.

I have an 80mm front CC. I was impressed when I got it, and still am. Brake pads that come with it are a little iffy, but the wheel works great and looks great. Have hit some large holes with it and it feels fine, which is decidedly non scientific.

Is it worth the risk? Seems not to me, cycling is dangerous enough already.

As you said, cycling is dangerous but I don't see why these rims are more of a risk day to day. They are a bigger risk because of warranty replacement but I have been using my 88 mm rim all year with zero issues. Granted I had my LBS build it up but from all of the threads I have read there may have been 1-2 issues with the rim, and I think both of those were people melting the rims on descents. If you get them already built, spin them to make sure they are true or take them to your LBS and have them look at them, but only you can decide if they're worth it. They were worth it for me because I did not have $700+ to spend on a rear wheel so I got the Chinese one for like 250.

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Twitter - Instagram

I've had a set of 88s for about a year and half. Bought them from http://www.yishunstefano.com/


Haven't had any issues except for a local bike shop getting upset when I took them in for truing "they have tight spokes, and one broke".
Nothing since then. Would totally buy again. Have about 500 miles on them, mostly used for racing.

I have a set of 60mm for 6 months. I really like the rims, but have broken two nipples, I weigh over 200. easily fixed and will change all them out if another one breaks with brass. They are light and roll great and the price was right. I ride them 150-200 miles a week.
.

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Swimming is Tracking, Torque, Traction and Timing

you can check out this link from an earlier thread last week about carbon wheel comparisons with velonews testing. One of the options was psimet, a generic Chinese wheel set ~$1k and they tested very well for the money.
http://www.enve.com/...2.pdf?20120626022821

I know you can find cheaper options for almost half that. I had a quote a couple weeks ago for a set of 60 front 88 rear for $520 shipped. These were on alibaba.

Anyone remember what they paid for their generic wheels. Is $500-600 shipped the going rate for a generic carbon set?

thanks
Barry

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Great things never come from comfort zones.

Eta: I paid $550 shipped for the 88's.


I had a set of 50mm carbon clinchers that I rode to a PR at IMAZ last year. No problems with them at all. Sold them and bought a set of 88's at the beginning of the year and they are just as nice. I only race on them (or ride the trainer) but they have been rock solid. Of course I'm not going to be bombing hills and riding the brakes on them (what usually causes the stories you hear about delam issues) but I wouldn't be doing that on any carbon clinchers.

Insane to consider purchasing a component that if it fails, can cause you extensive harm or death.

yes, 90% might be OK, but what if you get one of the 10% that might break down while taking a corner at 30 miles an hour...........and if it breaks.....are you going to call the chinese manufacturer to get a new set?

screw that!!! my life is worth more than a set of cheapie wheels

enrique wrote:

Insane to consider purchasing a component that if it fails, can cause you extensive harm or death.

So you've never bought tires for your car before?! We buy stuff every day that "if it fails" can harm or kill us. I don't understand the gross exaggeration. The vast majority of people haven't had any issue with these wheels (and that's my experience with the 50mm carbon clinchers I purchased from Taiwan as well) and of course there are examples of name brand, high dollar wheels failing (Mavid R-Sys wheels ring a bell)? I think the key is to purchase through a reputable manufacturer/distributor who has a track record of making a quality product regardless of the logo on the side of the wheel.

Fred

i apologize, it should read......insane to buy chinese shit.....doubtful quality.....if it fails i can die.....prefer to buy from a company that i know makes quality products

like mavic?

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who's smarter than you're? i'm!

there ya go!!! good luck buying chinese!!!

will do, along with the thousands of others who use them on a daily basis

Almost every part of your bicycle is Chinese!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

And when the part gets to be 16 years old, it inexplicably gets faster! (there was a bad joke in there somewhere)

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Ian

Why not buy flo?

It's not that they are chinese, even if they were Swiss made I would want to know that they were from a reputable source that has quality control.

I have not purchased the chinese wheels but I have noticed that others I ride with have had minor wheel failures from all the major brands. Never a total failure which resulted in an accident causing harm but all failures that stopped one from riding them. I have some new Easton wheels and they have developed horizontal cracks around a handfull of the nipples/spokes. I still ride them but don't haul butt down a hill (+35mph). I really don't like the braking surface on them either. I also have some Reynolds wheels, super nice, they feel great and I love them. They also have minor cracks in them.
So even the higher end 3,000-5,500 wheels have issues too! They both are being covered under warranty :)
I weight 158-162#

littlefoot wrote:

Why not buy flo?

Limited production capacity and very small purchase windows. I don't believe the myriad of Chinese carbon wheel sellers are similarly constrained. I'm not bitching as I plan to try the FLO lottery shortly to get in line for wheels. Just stating facts.

i bought some tubulars and they seem to be a nice enough wheel. I had to drill the valve holes a little bigger and the first time I used the rear it pinged a lot and needed some truing when I was done. They seem to be entirely machine built. The spokes are bladed and they use a lot of spoke prep so they tend to wind up when tightened, so I had to hold them with a crescent wrench and take my time. After that the wheel is straight and works fine. It only has 24 spokes so I notice when I use it in road races it tends to flex a lot against the brakes when I go hard. I opened the brakes up a lot and it solved that. I mostly use them for duathlons and intend to use them for cross. the hubs are crap I'm sure but overall they seems like nice enough wheels. I would not use them much for road racing, at least not the rear it's kind of flimsy for my 175#.

I'm not sure if I'd buy anyone's carbon clincher wheels, there seems to be issues with failures from extended braking, but maybe that's another topic.

And grows huge hands and feet

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Get your head out of the sand mate!! Just about everything is manufactured in China these days. They are taking what they have learned from foreign corporations setting up their manufacturing plants in china to save money and maximise profits (whilst still charging us the full whack). So they start their own factories and sell the stuff to us at a more reasonable price. Instead of spending $4k on zipps and lining their pockets spend $500 on chinese wheels and invest the other $3500 in your local economy!

I only ride chinese carbon clinchers and tubulars. I have a pair of 88s and 50 clinchers that have served me well for thousands of miles. I recently bought some 24mm tubular carbon rims off ebay and built up a pair of 1050 gram tubulars. So far so good. I couldn't be happier.

A LBS Shop in North Texas sells a no-name carbon clincher. They get the carbon portion from China, and claim they are shipped from the exact same address that ships to Reynolds. The LBS builds it up from there.

Is this believable?

Yes I wouldn't doubt it on the cheaper models.

Looks fast :))) And and this price it is a great deal.

http://2quik.storenvy.com/
check these out. I see a lot of people riding them.
Seem to be Ok wheels and the price is good. He offers some warranty and customer service/support.
located in Arlington Tx.

I bought a pair of 80mm two seasons ago - no complaints at all - got them to Canada in less then 3 weeks - had read the thread on roadbikereview.com so used the guy they all used and reviewed - near as I can figure, by purchasing direct from the manufacturer, I didn't pay for the stickers and the all black wheels go with everything - plan to purchase carbon frame same way in a season or two.

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Advocating for research & treatment for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
http://www.meaction.net/about/what-is-me/

"Suck it up, Buttercup"
(me, to myself, every day)

Simply put these Chinese rims are a flat design and do NOT have the aerodynamic performance of a name brand, toroidal or shaped wheel.
Low tension spokes, mid-grade hubs and bearings.

They are pretty fast and the ones I got were well constructed. But they ain't no Zipps. I just got some Zipps and will never use the flats again on my bike.

Because of the handling issues at 30 km/h+ and in crosswinds - imo they are not suited to Tri bike use where the aero position increases steering input "gain". I might put mine on the road bike and see how they do.

For the money try to score a used set of the toroidal design.

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Training Tweets: https://twitter.com/Jagersport_com
FM Sports: http://fluidmotionsports.com

First race (sprint) on Chinese carbon wheels today (88mm rear-60mm front, all clinchers) and they felt great.
If it was not for a particularly explosive bottle rocket I could have kept 33-34km/h (I guess, hope...).
Aero helmet was on as well.
I am very pleased so far and I guess longevity is the real question mark here...
But for $830 I get a pair of 88mm and one front 60mm as training-racing wheels.

They might be a lesser equivalent of Zipp before Firecrest and toroidal advances from 3-4 years ago. (I am no expert)
Still, they did the job. The way I see it, big brands may allow these guys to keep old molds and pull an extra shift now and then, sell them later at discount price without stickers and with less thorough inspection.
Also, it is not 12k carbon but 4k for what it means.

My LBS put them together and said the truing was well-done and they felt and looked like solid wheels.
I have nothing to compare them with but at my modest pace they suit me!

Now on to the hills (read: Dumb cheap French man tumbles downhill in great fashion in hope of saving meaningless amount of cash)

If only I could find a Chinese acupuncture expert to help me lose 10 pounds. Gotta trust Chinese expertise, they obviously know what they are doing!
Aero trumps weight but I still have to carry the extra baggage...

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Only fools never change their minds and I'll never change my mind about that.

I have a pair of Chinese 88 clinchers, been training on them for the last 3 months and just did Vineman with them. They are definitely fast, the only issue I have with them is the brakes pulsate a bit (I'm using Swisstop Yellows, the cork pads that came with them were awful). The biggest appeal to me is I can afford to train with them rather than only race, so I had plenty of time getting comfortable with the deep front in the crazy wind we've had lately here in the North Bay.

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http://www.onelesshiker.com
http://www.twitch.tv/1horsepower

I race on generic tubular rims, that a friend built up.

I race cyclocross on them, slamming into everything known to man. They have yet to explode and I die.

How much did you pay for your set?

I think they ended up being around $600 shipped

Has anyone bought or ridden on any of the aluminum/carbon chinese wheels like these:

http://www.alibaba.com/...arbon_rims_60mm.html

I'd like to just get some of the full carbon clinchers, but I live in a really hilly area so having to ride the brakes at times is inevitable.

great point. I never saw the ones with an alu brake track. Looks like a great way to get some deep rims, cheap, and still be able to stop.

any reviews, comments out there??

thanks

Looking to get a set for my road bike for daily use. Options right now are pick one off eBay, Road Fox (which I think are the same thing), some other web store or the Planet X aluminum clinchers.

Going back and forth over which to get. The Planet X would seem to be the safest to me because of the brake track. And they'll be daily drivers because I don't race anymore.

For those that have bought any of these, how bad/good are the hubs? Many seem to be Novatec. Are they really noisy?

Planet X is pissing me off. I returned the Alum wheels on June 11 and still haven't gotten my credit. Nobody will answer emails and one phone call was never picked up. I've filed a dispute with my CC to get the charge remove.

Since I sent them back I bought a CX bike so now I wish I had the wheels since my CX came with boat anchor wheels.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

My Novate hubs are quiet and they spin forever.

That's part of my problem making a decision. I emailed the first part of last week with some questions. Haven't heard anything.

At least the eBay guys respond right away.

Yeah I had never seen them either. I did some searching through the threads and haven't seen any comments on the aluminum clinchers with carbon fairings. I'd like to lace a PT into one, but I'd like to see if anyone has bought a pair of these before I give them a shot.

http://www.dhgate.com/...p+wheels&catalog=

BOOM!

Are you dealing with Planet X USA (Brian?) or are you dealing with Planet X UK?

Planet X USA. I've emailed a Scott and a Micheal. Scott is the one who answered questions and gave me the green light to return the product. Yesterday I filed a dispute with my CC. Wish it didn't come down to that, but zero communication and no refund is very suspect. Right now, I'd recommend people steer away from them, unless they have some golden reason for the delay in refund and no communication.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Keep in mind that many of the links posted from Alibaba and Aliexpress are simply trading companies that market products from a variety of sources but few actually manufacture any of the products listed on the referenced site.

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¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I bought a frame off of them and I had not one issue. Emails went back and forth quickly and the product shipped out very quickly and arrived as promised. I am sure that I dealt with Brian there but when it came to shipping out the frame and tracking numbers and such Scott was the guy.

When I initially ordered my wheels it went smooth and wheels arrived quickly. Have no idea why customer service has crashed since.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

how can that be right?

a pair of 808s for 600 bucks?

I bought some football jerseys off this site. There is no difference between the "authentic" Nike jerseys and the ones sold on this site, however I don't know if the same would go for the zipps.

So, in all likelihood they're not 808s......they're FAKE-08's. I've never ordered via DHGate so I can't be sure - but it seems quite obvious you're paying for what looks like an 808.

Just like a woman buying a fake Gucci purse - it may well LOOK like the real thing at first glance. But dig deeper and you may find some discrepancy - in form and function.

Most likely, but there is only one way we can find out. I think you should buy a set and let us all know... :)

They're just the same open mold carbon clinchers being sold super cheap on the internet with zipp stickers slapped on them.

This has the potential to be 100% legit. I purchase and trade with many over seas clients. Sometimes the products are 100% OEM products. For example with certain electronics I can purchase 30-40% of what i can purchase in the USA from my vendors. Exact same products shipped from the exact same address. The only difference is the box and branding. I am not saying these are legit and likely do not have the Zipp Manufacturer's warranty. Best thing to do is email/call the vendor and get a model number and serial number. Then call Zipp with that info and say you just purchased them.

For example I know of a "fairy" that can purchase genuine Shimano Di2 from about $1,120.00 USD with a genuine Shimano serial number and warranty :)
Fuji and Trek frames the same way :)

You can tell from the closeup photos that they aren't OEM Zipps. No dimples.

Yes those are not! But yes you can find Zipp Firecrest 808 on the grey market! If you know where to look you can find them for about 20-25% cheaper than dealer costs

I got these from Farsports about two weeks ago and rode them a couple times without the cover. I got the wheel cover yesterday, just finished putting it on and I'm going to ride as soon as things dry up outside;




Here's my ten year old bike with my cheap wheels

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I love Kestrel's :)

how much did you pay and please let us know how you like them.

I didn't get in the ride today. Just as I was going out the door another storm was rolling in. So I ran for 42 minutes and finished just as the rain came down. I'll do a ride in the morning and report back. I chose Farsports; http://www.farsports.cn/ViewProduct.aspx?id=731 because their rims have a basalt breaking surface and the advertised weight is better than the other 88mm wheels. Mine came in at 1790g and the cut down wheel cover is 270g. My center pull front/ side pull rear Campy brakes work better with the supplied brake pads on the basalt surface than they did with the standard pads on alu. The brake track is 21mm wide so I guess you could call these semi-wide. With the 88mm rims front and rear the front end got light when I was passed by a truck going 40 mph downhill but no worse than the old Spinergy RevX wheels used to be. I expect the wheel cover to add stability in the wind. I'll let you know tomorrow. The wheels surprised me by being good climbers; with reasonably light wieght and deep wheel aerodynamics I went up one of my regular hills faster than ever.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I have a set of the RevX - I still like the old school look. Some of the people that see them when I need an occassional old school moment and decide to rock them would actually pay me more than I paid almost 10 years ago....... They look cool but I don't trust them over 35 mph....

The hubs are novatec on those fake zipp from taiwan so far from being real zipp.

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Formely stef32

Took them out today. It was nice. It was fast. It was a perfect disc day; I rode east and west on the Long Island Expressway service road and the wind was from the north west, strong at times, variable and blustery. The bike was fine, it would lean sometimes and drift sometimes but it was a controllable fast (for me right now) ride. I did this same ride twice last week, first time with regular road wheels and tires and regular road helmet at 17.5 average speed, the next day I did it with the new wheels, Mich Pro3 tires and latex tubes and a LG aero helmet at 17.8. Today I added the disc cover and again with the aero helmet and the wind at 18.2. The wind always makes a disc wheel ride faster but if the bike was unstable I would have been slower.

My old race wheels were an 808 front and a Renn Medeara disc, both tubular. I didn't feel any appreciable difference in the handling or ride between my new budget set-up and my old one.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

What's the story on the basalt braking surface? Do you use pads for aluminum brake track or carbon brake track?

"What's the story on the basalt braking surface?"

I don't know. I read in the huge thread on RoadBikeReview.com that it worked, and it does. As I wrote above, the Campy brakes work better on the carbon wheels than the aluminum.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

  
Yeah I had never seen them either. I did some searching through the threads and haven't seen any comments on the aluminum clinchers with carbon fairings. I'd like to lace a PT into one, but I'd like to see if anyone has bought a pair of these before I give them a shot.

I'm quite interested in this as well. I'd really like a pair of C2 Jet 6's with PowerTap, but can't justify the $. I would have purchased a set of the Flo's, but they don't have a rim compatible with a PowerTap, and since they use a fairing (as does HED), the spoke hole location in the fairing is slightly different for the taller PowerTap hub flange. I just had a chat session with Yoeleo, and these are not fairings, the carbon is structural and supports the spoke nipple as on older Zipps. So no issue to lace in a PowerTap. However, these are only 20mm wide, and if I'm gonna buy new wheels, I'd really like to try the wider rims.

Has anybody seen any wider Chinese aluminum/carbon rims?

Brian

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive

Seems like Farsport has some on their website

Do the brake pads line up with the brake track? I found one of those RBR threads and the guy's pads won't go low enough on the caliper to actually hit the designated brake track.

Yes, the brake pads line up and they are about in the center of the adjustment. I wouldn't be saying how great they worked if they didn't.

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

Flo looks a great deal! Are these Chinese? Would you recommend them? Thank.

Anyone know anything about Yishun Bike? http://www.yishunbike.com/

They have some good prices, not listed on their site, but i emailed them and got prices.

They appear to be a manufacturer for other companies as well, they offered to have my company logo put on the wheel, and while they do sell individual sets, they seemed more accustomed to larger orders.

I'm wondering if they aren't making some carbon wheels for a big company and then selling some on their own as well.

Well known good company. Check velobuild.com for more info.

I wanted to follow up. I used these wheels a few times and after a race noticed the rim had cracked at the braking surface and the other wheel had developed a bulge in the sidewall. I contacted the seller and began this tedious process of sending pictures, waiting for days, sending more pictures, etc. etc. I finally sent them back to China and they sent me a warranty pair that I sold immediately.

I think for a TT / Tri rider these would be a decent bargain. For training day to day or road / crit racing, I don't think they are a great option. I'm back to plain old metal wheels.

Spinergy 4-bladed wheels anyone? Even the bigger names have issues.

I've been doing a bit of reading on chinese wheels and frames 'cause as much as I'd love a pair of Zipps, I'm broker'n all get out. I've heard of zero issues with the wheels, 1 with the hubs, and none with the frames. YMMV of course.

http://www.velobuild.com or the chinese threads on http://www.roadbikereview.com are your best sources of info on this subject.

Note of caution about alibaba: there's lots of scammers that post there. If you stick with one of the bigger names (Farsports, Hongfu, Dengfu, et al) you *should* be fine.

HTH

M

 
Thanks for the reminder. I had an e-mail exchange with Yishun at the end of March, and they indicated they had 44mm deep carbon/aluminum rims with wide brake tracks, but when I asked for pricing I never got a response. I just re-replied, we'll see. This seems the only possibility out there, everything else is either a fairing or full carbon or sold as complete wheels only.

Brian

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive

"It only has 24 spokes so I notice when I use it in road races it tends to flex a lot against the brakes when I go hard. I opened the brakes up a lot and it solved that."

Same thing happens with my Reynolds 32s.

You realize that there are at least 10 such components on every bike, all made in china, right?

I agree. I hear brakes rubbing in nearly every race I do (my focus is crits and RR). I've seen plenty of big name wheels rub. Most of the reasons are summarized here: http://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Stiffness_3449.html

My Light-Bicycle 50mm chinese carbon wheels have ~8000 miles on them. I've been pleased every one of those miles and I've never heard them rub. Part of this might be due to the fact that I've laced it to a 32 hole hub (powertap) though.

Do you recall what "brand" or site they were from? I have been looking for the exact same thing but feel almost lost with all the different options out there that all look to be about the same. Are the hubs and spokes about the only things that vary from one Chinese carbon wheel to the next? Or are there totally different sizes? Im getting tired of my Mavics that came on my Cannondale, I've had to true them way too much already, but dont want to spend that crazy amount of money for some Zipps or Enves and be afraid to ride them everyday. Thanks!

Anyone have a pair of these yet?



http://www.yoeleobike.com/...wheels-clincher.html

I saw these and they reminded me of the Corima Tri Spokes.

Don't go the carbon clincher route, unless you absolutely want/need them. What kind of Mavics were you riding? There are so many factors that can influence wheel quality/durability that I usually recommend talking to a shop/wheelbuilder. If you're a lanky 165 lbs and ride smooth roads, you can probably get away with 18/20 radial spoked front and 24 in the rear. If you are 225 lbs and ride pot-hole ridden streets, you can't beat a good set of 28/32 spoke wheels with 2x/3x cross. I've seen folks complaining about name brand wheels always going out of true, breaking spokes, etc. and it doesn't take me long to figure out why.

Ironically, I have one set of wheels that have the brake track wearing out. I can reuse the hubs and likely the spokes, but don't want to disassemble the wheels. They've been perfect. Never needed truing and have performed flawlessly.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

Nancy Yu at sales@light-bicycle.com

My rear hub is a 32 hole 2010 Powertap Elite. They sent me 251mm spokes and I had to have them cut and rolled at a local shop so they would fit ($10). Nancy credited the full value of the spokes for the error. I would confirm with her that they can supply the lengths you need if you don't go with a pre-built wheel. Here are the specs from my order.

Front Wheel:
- 50mm, 20 spokes, clincher, external nipples, 3k, matte finish, with basalt braking surface
- 20 spokes,black
- 20 nipples,red
- Novatec hub, black
Rear Wheel (built by customer):
- 50mm, 32 holes, clincher, for external nipples, 544 ERD, 3k, matte finish, with basalt braking surface
- 18 spokes 250mm, black
- 18 spokes 248mm, black
- 36 nipples, red
- Novatec hub, black
- 1 pair of brake pads (2pcs)
- 1 pair of skewers

Hi JTK, i have tried their normal weight 3 spoke wheels, they performs amazingly! Although the weight is heavier than this one, but i was told that heavier 3 spoke wheel is their most popular 3 spoke wheel, and some guy from leader bike also source the that 3 spoke from them. I got my 3 spoke wheels clincher painted in white, very beautiful.
http://www.yoeleobike.com/...carbon-clincher.html i dont know how to post my bike picture here?
Contact person:Jasmine( jasmine@yoeleo.com)

Just remember one thing, you get what you pay for.

Actually, maybe not even.

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http://www.falcobike.com
https://www.facebook.com/falcobikeglobal
http://www.twitter.com/Falco_Bike
falcobike@gmail.com

I paid $200 for a pair of those trispokes, used them for IMNZ. I don't think they are fast and they don't like cross winds much. The spokes have a diamond shaped profile and the hub area where the spokes join maintain that profile, meaning that area is not a smooth disc, like a hed3, but is kinda faceted. They are also noisy, chop chop chop chop, definitely more noticeable than hed3 or spinergy revX. None of this makes me think they are at all aero. They look cool though.
.

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bikemessengersrepresent

OK- I just installed some Chinese full carbon wheels (from Yoeleo) 25mm wide with 38mm rim profile and Novatec hubs (291/482) on Focus Mares CX and so far = AWESOME!
The bike has Avid Shorty 4s so it took some maneuvering to get the brake pads and pad holders sorted as the original pads were the long (70mm) threaded post-style for alum brake surface. I called everywhere and no one could help me with a carbon pad to fit the original set-up. My solution; I bought some Avid Shorty 6 threaded pads/holders (same system threaded pad as the Shorty 4, just a shorter pad then the 70mm originals) and replaced the pads of the Shorty 6 with SwissStop Yellow and all set! They work great and look amazing! I put over 100km on them over the weekend on some punishing gravel roads/trails and PERFECT!

Another plug for light-bicycle. I bought their 45 and 90mm rims and. Built them up myself. So good I sold my firecrest 404s and 808s.

These posts are super old. Looking for some racing wheels for this season on the cheap and considering the Chinese stuff. Anyone have recent opinions to offer up?

http://www.yoeleo.com/

any other shops people have liked or disliked?

I have 4 sets of wheels from him. He is the best!!!

http://www.dzmlykwheelworx.com/

I've had two sets from http://www.wheelsfar.com/ no complaints after 9 months of use.

I just pulled the trigger(yesterday) on a set from carbonspeedcycle off of ebay. 25mm width U-shape 60mm fairing Carbon Clincher light SAT 11-speed. The SAT stands for Special Assembly Technology which essentially means they have covered up the spoke holes in the wheel with carbon so that you do not have to use rim tape. The 'light' is the lighter version of the wheel and adds about 40$ more to save about 200-250grams on the set. The SAT adds a little to the price to ...I paid 520$ and that includes shipping. You have color options to choose from that you must include in the notes to seller. The emails to confirm my order have been pleasant so far. last year I ordered a 29er frame from China and am loving it. I had 2 issues with it...the Bottom Bracket was about .007mm too small for my bearings...problem solved pretty easily by a paid professional. The second problem I had was going back through the same seller to get a Thru Axle hanger....I ordered 2 times and both times I got a hanger that was not compatible with my frame. That was frustrating....but its all forgotten now that I get to go tear up some trails on my super light carbon 29er.

Now back to the wheels...if you can wait...Ill give you a little review of my wheels when they come in. Shipping is usually under 2 weeks but Ive heard up to a month on occasion. I plan on running these Tubeless for training and some racing.

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"WHEW...I really regret that workout!"..............Noone

An engineer with probably correct me here but the SAT design you described sounds like a bad idea to me for three reasons.

1. Isn't access to the spoke nipples going to be a real pain in the backside. If it is spoke replacement is going to be tough as will truing the wheel as during tightening there is a potential the spoke will hit the carbon and stop any further tighening.
2. Won't it be heavier rather than lighter? It depends a lot here on the quality of the CF but the weight removed by the spoke wholes will offsets the weight of rim tape.
3. Isn't there a real risk of catastrophic outer rim failure if on hitting a bump/hole in the road the spoke nipple impacts the rim. As far as I can tell SAT means the outer rim (Non fairing portion) is structurally all connected so a crack in the anywhere on the rim compromised the whole wheel. CF has very little impact resistance and won't survive potentially repeated high energy impacts from metal spoke nipples which can occur from wheel deformation following rough impacts on the road. Slack can be built into the whole system if like HED Stingers or Zipps the deep carbon portion of the rim is structural but not if this portion is a fairing like the HED Jet. The fact that Zipp and Hed still use rim tape further suggests there may be problems with SAT type design even on full strutural carbon deep rims.

Jumping the gun by posting here, but I recently ordered a 60mm carbon rim from light-bicycle to lace to my 32h Powertap. I haven't received it yet, so no review. It'll be paired with a front Flo 60.

As far as I can tell this is both why Enves are rad and suck at the same time. The spoke holes are molded into the rim, so it's super strong and doesn't have any holes drilled into it. But they are also hidden, so the tire needs to be removed for any minor truing job. Not terrible for a clincher, fairly terrible for a tubular/tubeless. Not that I'm in the market for any $2800 wheels, but if I were that would be a deal breaker.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

"An engineer with probably correct me here but the SAT design you described sounds like a bad idea to me for three reasons.

1. Isn't access to the spoke nipples going to be a real pain in the backside. If it is spoke replacement is going to be tough as will truing the wheel as during tightening there is a potential the spoke will hit the carbon and stop any further tighening.
2. Won't it be heavier rather than lighter? It depends a lot here on the quality of the CF but the weight removed by the spoke wholes will offsets the weight of rim tape.
3. Isn't there a real risk of catastrophic outer rim failure if on hitting a bump/hole in the road the spoke nipple impacts the rim. As far as I can tell SAT means the outer rim (Non fairing portion) is structurally all connected so a crack in the anywhere on the rim compromised the whole wheel. CF has very little impact resistance and won't survive potentially repeated high energy impacts from metal spoke nipples which can occur from wheel deformation following rough impacts on the road. Slack can be built into the whole system if like HED Stingers or Zipps the deep carbon portion of the rim is structural but not if this portion is a fairing like the HED Jet. The fact that Zipp and Hed still use rim tape further suggests there may be problems with SAT type design even on full strutural carbon deep rims."



I actually had the same considerations while making the decision however, the wheels are too intriguing to ignore at that price point. Plus they are a birthday present from my wife:) So I consider it a perfect chance to try something that I normally would be skeptical to blow my own money on. I have ordered a MTB frame from them and it has been kickass! Maybe my wife just wants to collect some life insurance with some poorly engineered wheels but hey, Ill stick my neck out there for the ST community in the name of Progress. If I crash n burn then may my name be carried on as an ST legend:) I plan on breaking them in modestly though.

But honestly...I am interested to see how they engineered these wheels for the same reasons you mentioned.

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"WHEW...I really regret that workout!"..............Noone

I've been looking at these as well, also light-bicycle.com Which ones do you have? I'm looking for a new set of CX race wheels, also considering a st for my 27.5 hardtail. Any reservations?

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

I've got two pairs of the 88 clinchers.

The second were bought as rims only to build up on a 32h powertap hub I have.

Absolutely no complaints with them at all - they look, sound and ride great.

Yeah I went with some 88mm clinchers from Light-bicycle. Had them 12 months, very happy and LB were great to deal with. They have a live chat tool on their website so you can get answers to questions straight away.

Anyone know if light-bycicle wheels are equipped with real Novatec hubs, or are they fake?

Thanks!

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Sr. Salitre

Considering the price of the new Swiss Side wheels, I don't think I'd bother with no brand wheels.

Who do you think makes the swissside wheels? Yep most likely in the same shop as that no name wheel.

On topic i have used some carbon clinchers from far east bike imports which were high quality and very good braking surface. I have also used yoleo team build or their name brand set and those are as nice as any wheel you can buy today, really high quality for a 800 dollar wheel. Local team i race with did a large purchase from far sports and they all seem to be very nice quality. I am also always amazed at how true they are when they arrive, whoever is truing these wheels over there is 100 times better than my LBS.

+1 to light-bicycle. I got a pair of their all-mountain 33mm (wide) carbon tubeless rims, laced them up with Sapim D-Lite spokes onto my old Hugi hubs. Haven't ridden on them too much yet but light-bicycle was good to deal with and the rims look good - no funky weave in the layup or finishing that I could see, and they trued up easily.

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Less is more.

I picked up a set of 60mm no names from ebay and spent about $300. My want was fastish/cheap wheels for crits. So far this season I've raced them twice and put a couple hundred training miles on them. So far so good. In crit corners they seemed fairly stiff and predictable. Racing them again tomorrow morning.

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1*

I can't speak to road rims but I have two sets of mtb rims from LB. both 29", 24mm internal width hookless.

• One (32h) is going on the third season - to be fair the first season was a partial but I can't remember if they came in May or July or ??? anyhow, these are daily drivers. DT comp spokes, 350 hubs
• one (28h) is going on second season, race only, dt revolution/350

In my opinion, the rims are awesome but they will only be as good as the builder is skilled.

n=1 I'm ~180# in my birthday suit so probably ~190# geared up. I race xxc, ride fast and while I do think I ride light and smart, I am driving a hardtail. I have NO reservations about these wheels at all and they've been all over on pretty rough terrain (Moab, Crusty Butt, Fruita, St. George...) without issue. I'd buy the rims again (am looking at the 29er tubulars for cx) in a second but have a trusted builder whip up the wheels.


ymmv

Thanks for the info, that's pretty much exactly what I've been considering doing. My one qualm about the wheels was the braking surface, but I'm only really interested in MTB/CX wheels right now, and I have disc on both, so no problem there. Can't decide between just buying rims and having them built, or buying a whole wheelset but immediately taking it to a trusted wheel builder and having them check spoke tension, etc, etc. wheelsfar.com has some perfect CX tubulars, 25mm wide, with DT Swiss 240 hubs for $895. If I get them built over here I'll probably use the 350s as you did, those are the hubs I have now on my new HT. I'm smaller than you (~155 lbs), so if they're good for you they'll probably work well for me.

Slightly tangential question, how were the LB rims for tubeless setup?

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Most things carbon are made in Asia of course, but what you are paying for is the R&D, warranty and quality control of a European based company. Just because something is made in the same factory doesn't mean it's as good.

Only real knocks I can make is they're still more $$, and powertaps are an unknown (not sure if the holes in the fairing are aligned right). Otherwise, they seem pretty great.

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The question of who is right and who is wrong has seemed to me always too small to be worth a moment's thought, while the question of what is right and what is wrong has seemed all-important.

-Albert J. Nock

They're real. Not the best hubs, but they do they the job.

They were a breeze to set up. one layer of 25mm yellow tape. Using Vittoria\Geax and Maxxis tubeless ready tires. First set I used my floor pump - I'd lent out my compressor :(

second set needed the compressor as the bead wouldn't move out of the center channel with the floor pump.

I've heard that the wheels are built/tensioned relatively well but do note that they use alloy nipples and there are countless threads on the interwebs regarding some sort of corrosion whether it's galvanic or something from stans or ?? I don't know. Bottom line is you're better off using brass but you could probably get a season or two out of the factory built.

I've got 2 sets

One complete I bought last winter, used front for some training rides and 1 race, used the rear the entire season. 23mm V shape 88 deep (FS if anyone interested)

Second I bought as rims only, laced a DT 240 straight pull into the front, used that second half of last year and laced up the rear a few weeks back with a bike hub store light weight rear. Sapim CX-rays on both, these are 88s also but 25mm wide and U shaped.

Last year I was 200-220 the whole season and the only wheels I used on my tri bike, they are flawless and held up great. Only handful of outside rides so far this year, saturday before PR 70.3 I was out getting a ride in and smashed a pot hole in a shadow instant flat on both wheels. Can't tell at all on the wheel itself where it may have hit even after lining up the tubes during my inspection back in my hotel room. Just got back 2 days ago so haven't put them on the stand to check them fully but quick spin on the bike they were flawless.. These were the ones I built so maybe i'm just awesome :)..180lbs for that race so a little lighter but that was a very hard hit.

just made an order for 50 mm carbon wheelset 23mm wide - i've been trying to buy a "legit" set on ebay but i kept getting outbid.

so im going to "test" this wheelset on my road bike and maybe swap it around with my tri bike.

Strongly considering going thus route (buying only rims and have the wheels built locally) for a track wheelset.

Here is my dilemma. ...tear down a rear pre-Fircrest Zipp tubular and rebuild with a track hub or just purchase a 60mm carbon rim and build my track wheel?

This thread is encouraging me to just buy the rim instead of using my preexisting Zipps.

Anyone have any qualms about racing one of their Chinese carbon clincher as a track wheel?

Thanks.

I'm excited to see what the results are with them! I'm going to go the same route you are, 50MM carbon wheels with 23MM and have em build it for a disc brake bike for the cross bike. Light bicycle seems to be the forerunner for quality chinese rims, so I'll go the same route you do.

I'm jealous you have disc brakes! That would solve my concern about carbon braking

I had Reynold assault rims with powertap before

Just not comfy braking ; but I was a newer rider then

I ordered through yeoleo

I have some 80mm Chinese clinchers, probably done 800 miles on them to date. Absolutely no problems with them whatsoever and the novatec hubs remain fine (unlike Easton and Mavic hubs I've had in the past). Only thing I'd say if the carbon finish isn't as durable as a set of Reynolds tubulars I've also got - there are some light scratches and chips from stones on the sides that I've never had on the Reynolds.