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.