Do you like stopping your bike when you brake?

The problem is that you don't really know what you're getting. They could be great or terrible. How bad can they be? Are you hoping that someone here answers that all Chinese wheelsets are reliable and safe? Does that seem like a plausible answer to you?

Come on Pubes...you know between the garbage that there are also some outstanding chink wheels are slutbay...

They're fine, but over-priced when you consider what 2nd hand wheels like Zipps go for. I got my Zipp 808/1080 set for $900. Resale is poor. $700 for a wheelset vs $1000 for Flo wheelset?

If you go to a Chinese company that has been around for a few years then you do know what you're getting e.g Lightbicycle. Wheels come with a 2 year warranty and build quality is pretty good. They've now opened a US factory too. But like I said, they're overpriced. $300 - $400 for a 90mm wheelset is a more realistic price.

I didn't interpret the OP to be asking whether there are *any* good Chinese wheels, I interpreted him to be asking whether there are any bad ones, with a focus on the "really inexpensive" ones. I think the question answers itself, frankly.

Sounds like a plus for the Chinese. You'll get better quality hubs than the shit Zipp uses.

Funny that you say that...and it made me think...
The only hubs that I have had that disintegrated were from Zipp wheels...I've also replaced bearings in Zipps more often than others. Other than that...I like Zipp. I've rebuilt many Zipp wheels with different hubs without issues.

glad to see casual racism is alive and well here still.

Ah gotcha.

OP - If the amazon wheels are anything like the Aliexpress ones I'd stay well away. Look at companies like LightBicycle, Yoleo, Yishun etc or buy 2nd hand, lots of bargains around.

I bought a pair of yoeleo as my first foray into aero wheelset. They are nice and they sell direct - not through eBay. They are a brand and if you have a problem with Chinese-made, then you're either blind or ignorant as to where most other branded product is coming from.

Having said that, I bought an aluminum-rimmed carbon wheelset. Not all that light and not much cheaper than Flo. 1st shipping attempt went fubar and returned to China, turned back around, and finally I got my product.

For a 2nd wheelset recently I went Flo. Easier!

My race wheels are Yishun. I have probably completed 4 full IM and 4 half IM on them, plus training on them a few weeks before each race. Never had any problems with them. They seem fast to me. I have a wheel cover on the rear. They are 60/80 carbon clinchers.

I used to think they were probably ok, until I rode up Mt Baldy in California with my friend last year who had some generic carbon wheels on his bike. One of the braking surfaces started to split in half, so it was rubbing on the brake pad the whole way up. As a result, he had to use only his rear brake going down the mountain, while praying the tire/tube wasn't going to pop due to the rim splitting and making a huge bubble out of the tube. Not a fun experience. Not safe either. And I'd rather just buy used Zipps or a real brand name than any junk to save a few bucks. And sure, he had used those wheels plenty in the past.. but it just takes one incident like that.

The wheels I purchased from Carbon Speed Cycle on Ebay have been going strong for the last year.

I took them to Portsmouth Ohio a few weeks ago to ride them in the hills, I deliberately tried to heat them up while descending and all I managed to do was wear down the brake pads. (disclaimer, I am pretty small though)

Also, the braking was quite good.

A couple years ago I rode across the country with a pair of disc-brake chinese wheels... they held up beautifully! It was actually my name-brand bike frame that ended up cracking on a chain stay.

I gave passing thought to getting some Chinese wheels but upped my budget a few hundred bucks and got some Flos.

Gone are the days when you can just make a wheel that looks alot like a Zipp and it will be decently aero compared to the alternatives. That might have worked several years ago at the dawn of the deep dish carbon trend but fast forward to today and all "just make it look fast" gains have long since been made. It takes some subtle design work (and money for the necessary computer and wind tunnel time) to make a competitive aero wheel these days. At this point, you can get a well designed set of wheels for $1200. You can an older model of something that was well designed a few years ago for less than $1000 (e.g the Reynolds at Performance Bike). Your knock off Chinese wheel might be fast. Or it might weigh more than they said it would and be no more aero or reliable than that 5 year old name brand set you could have gotten on eBay for less money.

Its not that Chinese off brand wheels are 100% bad, it is just that you have no idea what you are getting and, the costs have come down enough on the lower priced reputable brands that is it not that much more to buy yourself some certainty.

Not sure which wheels on Amazon you are referring to - is this the set?. Regardless IMHO, I would rather purchase a set of HED JET+ 6 from the perpetual sale that Competitive Cyclist runs at 42% off or $1099. This is for a variety of reasons:

1) Aluminum brake track offering far superior braking. I wouldn't trust just any old company with carbon braking. Too many warped brakes tracks I have seen which either did or could have resulted in tire blows off at high speeds.
2) Get immediately, no waiting for the next group buy
3) Great CS from CC (owned by BackCountry)
3) Wide internal rim - 21mm
4) Proven reliable and aero from HED
5) Still lightweight. probably 50-100 grams lighter than FLO.
6) Easy to get a wheel cover to match the rim and turn into a disc.

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Thomas, thanks for the input. Those HED wheels look like a bargain. And you are correct, that was one of the Chinese wheel sets I was referring to. My post wasn't just about the quality coming out of China. I have no doubt that some off brand wheels are sketchy and dangerous. And I probably don't know enough to differentiate the dangerous from the merely acceptable. Although it sounds like LightBicycle, Yoleo, and Yishun are acceptable. It's more that when the well known companies are charging 2 to 3 times what other companies are charging, at some point it becomes about more than just quality. I'd be curious to know the relative profit margins. I suspect the big companies have a huge mark up.

Triathlon/cycling gear is a complete and utter rip off. I've been wavesailing (windsurfing) for years and the cost of windsurf gear is high, but pales into comparison with that of bike gear. A carbon mast would cost around $400, measuring 4.5m compared to a 40cm carbon seat post that can cost over $300 (Aus $). Crazy. We are being completely ripped off. There's only so much r&d that goes into a seatpost...

It's a bit disappointing that the Chinese bike market hasn't taken off, stuff is getting better, but the cost is simply too high and the resale way too low.

Probably from the same factory as most wheels. Just have to watch out if something happens.

Yeah, you only need one seatpost. And one bike.
W/ modern windsurfing, you need 3 boards, 4 masts, 6 sails, and 2 booms, just to have fun.

It's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

I had a rear rim from Carbonspeedzone (?) built up by my lbs with a Powertap hub and rode it and raced it for over a year before I sold it with zero issues. The communication was great and they helped me out a lot. From reading it seems a lot of the "issues" with these wheels is they aren't made perfectly sometimes. Solution for that? Buy the rim and have your lbs build it up. Or ask them to ship it unbuilt with hubs and spokes.

I would for sure buy from them again and would love to test out their carbon wheels with aluminum brake track too. Now this post is talking me into spending money!

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FWIW I have been riding 88mm clinchers from carbonspeedcycle for over two years on my tri bike and have raced them 10+ times in both oly and 70.3s. No problems whatsoever until this week when I noticed my front wheel's sidewall had warped. Loud snapping noise when rotating and thumping when breaking. It was 2.5 years ago when I purchased them for $400usd. Currently in talks with them on getting front wheel replaced lol. Will try to remember to update thread with verdict from China.

Although I would not recommend for someone training/racing in mountains. Steep downhills will always be scary on those bad boys!

I have all my equipment from when I was in high school, so it's over 20 years old and going strong. I get odd looks if I launch at places where everyone is out on boards that that are shaped like a door (7 feet long, 5 feet wide :-p ) but it's the same if someone showed up at a tri on a bike with 7 speed downtube shifters.

The advantage is that windsurfing gear lasts for ever vs. a hard bump on your race wheels and you're in the market for new ones.