Jloewe wrote:
Who makes the most reputable and best Chinese wheelsets? I figure we all have to die sometime... but might as well go out on a nice one. Is it Flyxii? Dengfu? Superteam? Or are they all just made by the same sweatshops?
Reliability is mostly fine if you go with one of the more established Chinese companies. However the price isn't worth it when you consider shipping cost, shipping time (mine took almost a month) and warranty issues. My Light Bicycle wheels had an issue, they took 3.5 weeks to arrive, 3 weeks to be sent back to China, 1 week to be evaluated and another 3.5 weeks for the new set to arrive, so almost 3 months. The season had ended by the time they arrived. Other things to consider are resale value, it doesn't matter how good they are, if the word "China" is associated with them, they are near on impossible to sell.
Personally I would have a good look at the 2nd hand market, you can get some absolute bargains, especially if you go for tubulars. I picked up an immaculate zipp 900 disc/808 firecrest wheelset for $800. The disc had been ridden once.