Look like rebadged carbon wheels from a china supplier to me.

No experience but I just moved to Tokyo. The foreigner cycling community is a pretty small but tight group with some serious riders. You might want to try tokyocycle.com, which is the central forum for The community. I don't know James Ferrer the guy behind Tokyo Wheel, but doing a quick search on the forum, I see some strong riders talking about rides with him.

You gotta wonder, with some of their wheels being named 'epic', that they might be headed for, uh, lawsuit territory .... as the cafe roubaix guy almost was recently.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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Hi Guys,

This is James Ferrer from Tokyowheel. I just saw in our system some visitors coming to our website from this URL, so I checked it out.

Thanks to you all for discussing Tokyowheel. I'll let you discuss what you want between yourselves, but also I invite you to use this forum as a channel to communicate directly with Tokyowheel and myself. Ask anything directly to me that you wish. I realise these forums are a great place for you to get non-official advice and opinions, so I don't want to take over the thread with any spammy promo stuff. Just let me know if you have any questions. I will give you one additional piece of info. Here is a link to a page on our site that we have collected some youtube reviews. Check that page if you are hunting for reviews, we've got some on there. http://www.tokyowheel.com/pages/reviews Thanks, and let me know if there is anything you need.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

I have a set and like them very much. I also have Zipp 202 firecrest and 303s but wanted a cheaper wheel for daily trainers. I typically ride Zipp 101s for training but honestly I just got tired of changing brake pads between the different sets so I searched for a cheaper alternative. I posted a youtube review with some data from the rear wheel with width measurements of the braking surface taken with a micrometer at 21 positions around the wheel; you draw your own conclusions. I will measure the front wheel this weekend and post that data on youtube too. I have weight and spoke tension data if anyone is interested. I have the clincher 50 mm deep wheels and so far I've beat them up pretty good on somewhat rough country roads and I'm happy. Am I a little concerned about a CC clincher that is manufactured in China? Sure I am but given the price of what I had with DT Swiss 240 hubs and Sapim CX-ray spokes I'm happy enough. Trust me, if I experience a failure that I perceive as a manufacturing defect I will make it known. I will say that the first set of wheels I received had a slight problem and I contacted Tokyowheel and returned them. After the wheels were released from customs my account was credited but then I decided to try again and I'm pleased. Here is my $0.02. Are the wheels worth it? Are they as good as my Zipps or your most favorite brand? I don't know. Have they done all the research that the big companies have done; probably not but why don't you just ask? Sure you can buy cheaper carbon wheels and you can certainly buy more expensive wheels and maybe they are or aren't any better but to me the customer service I've received has been outstanding and I wasn't looking to spend >$2700 for yet another set of wheels. I wanted a less expensive wheel for training Oh, by the way my Zipp 101s are for sale if anyone is interested.

Oh, forgot to include the link in case anyone wanted to see the data I collected on my Tokyowheel. I have no idea if this is good or bad since can't measure my Zipps for comparison due to the Firecrest shape proving difficult for precision. The data is what it is so please let me know your thoughts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITR4kLwEPH4

We are planning a series of videos on testing, so this is a relevant topic. All suggestions are welcome. We plan to show our testing process, and also compare data from our wheels and other major brands in an unbiased, scientific way. We'll take any request for test, so please let us know what you want to learn about the wheels. Thanks.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

  
Any disc wheels in the works?

hblake,


Thanks for your question. Yes, we have both Disc Brake Road Hubs and Carbon Clincher Disc Rear Wheel in testing now for release in 2014 Q2. Let me know if you want more info about anything, or have any questions. Thanks.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

+1 on Disc Brake hubs.
I will buy a pair regardless, but a disc brake hub would be great.

Hi There, I was very hesitant to buy these Tokyo Wheels without any representation here in Australia or any real history of sales etc. No-one I knew had any etc. I bought a set of Epic 38-50 with the Sapim upgrade in December 2013 and have found them to be the best wheels I have ever ridden (I have been lucky enough to have Zipp, FFWD, TWE, Shimano etc). Very stiff combination - have the brakes dialled up very close and no flex touching the pads. Roll brilliantly - so well I am selling my Zipp Tubulars I have been using for racing and will use these with Latex Tubes and GP4000s.

Most impressive is the braking - first ride I was caught out in the pouring rain and found them to brake almost as well as Aluminium rims. I really was unexpectantly impressed here!

Love the wide profile although it can be problematic with your brakes - need them almost at thier width limits. The spokes are a great upgrade - very quiet with the use of brass washers etc.

Really am very impressed and I have found James a delight to deal with. Bit hard to get them on the phone - only issue I have had. But respond to emails very quickly.

Longevity yet to be proven - but in 12 months time if they are still running well I will certainly buy another set.

Out of curiousity which hub did you choose? I opted for the DT Swiss 240s but for my next set of wheels I'll likely go with the spec'd hubs or maybe up upgrade to the ceramic hubs but since the next set will go on my CX bike I probably just need to stick to steel bearings. Anyway, just curious.

I guess I don't know why people would spring for them in the first place. They are almost surely just rebranded rims, rebranded hubs and generic steel spokes. It's nice that they let you upgrade to DT Swiss and cx rays, but by the time you do, you could get some Zipp clincher 60s for less.

Hi Runless,

Thanks for your post. I won't make any comments about the pro's of buying Tokyowheel. I'll leave that up to the other users, so you can get an unbiased response. But I would like to personally thank you for your post, and ask a followup question to you. What type of 'differentiators' would get you excited and interested in Tokyowheel, or any wheel for that matter? i.e. Aero performance, weight, speed, innovative engineering, modern design, customization, technology integration, name brand components, testing transparency, advanced manufacturing, grassroots support, pro rider endorsement, online popularity, positive reviews in slowtwitch, great education about maintenance, education about training technique, sincere customer support, your purchase benefiting a good cause, etc.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for your post, and if you or anyone else has thoughts about what you would like to see in wheels, let me know. We have always based our product direction on direct feedback from riders and customers. We're here to support you as a rider, not just sell wheels. The more we learn how we can support you, the more we will innovate in areas that matter to you and start doing things that you'll be interested in and would like to benefit from.

I appreciate the chance to engage in this type of two-way dialogue. Let me know if you have any questions, or need anything. Thanks!

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

How wide are your rims? How does the aero data stack up against flo or zipp?

How are your wheels different from the products offered by Farsports or DengFu?
Who did the rim and mold design for your wheels?
Do you own the rim molds/tooling at the factory where your wheels are made?
Where are your wheels laced, tensioned, and built?
Have you performed any aerodynamic testing on your wheels vs competing wheels?

Why should a consumer buy your wheels vs the Farsports wheels available at the following link?
VELOBUILD MALL

Thanks for your post, and your question. We are about to do an update to our website, which will include all our aero data and also a knowledge base where you'll be able to get info about some of the more detailed aspects of our wheels. Our time line to make that info public is within a few weeks. I'll make a post on this thread at that time and you can check it all out. Thanks again for your question, and let me know if you need anything else in the meantime. Thanks.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

Pantelones,

Thanks for your post and your great questions.

About the difference between Tokyowheel and other brands of wheels: We're in the planning phase of a comprehensive test and comparison of multiple brands of wheels (All on the same testing equipment in the same conditions). The reason why we are doing this is because its not possible to give an unbiased answer to you about our wheels vs other brands without doing this type of analysis. Those other brands might offer great wheels, with passionate customer service and solid guarantees, I don't know. I do know that Tokyowheel offers those things.

About our moulds. Our inhouse team worked in cooperation with our mould maker to engineer and design the moulds for our rims, and yes we do own them.

About our manufacturing locations:
We are an international company, we have our office in Tokyo, where we originally begun business. Over the years we have manufactured wheels and wheel parts all over the world. Currently we build our wheels in two locations. We build our Manufactured in USA wheels in Tokyo, and sell those only to the domestic Japanese market. The wheels that you are interested in are the EPIC and ELITE series road bike wheels, which we offer to the worldwide market. For these wheels our rim engineering and design is done in our Tokyo office. All our hubs are made in Taiwan, including the DT Swiss 240s. Our ceramic bearings are made in the USA. Our spokes are either Sapim, made in Belgium, or our standard spokes which are Pillar, made in Taiwan. We used to make our rims in Taiwan, but this past year we upgraded production to a new world-class facility in east China, near Taiwan. This is also where we hand build, and multi-test each wheelset. We hold every part of our production to strict quality tolerances, and there are more technical advancements in our rims than I have space to mention here (Aero profile, DuraHeat R braking surface, clincher tire hook, etc.). We produce each part of our products in what we believe to be the specific best facility in the world for that part.

P.S. Some people have an idea that made in China means low quality, bad products. We moved our production there for exactly the opposite reason. We can now provide a higher quality, higher performance wheel based upon the new EPIC and ELITE rims. We make a great product, and we stand behind it.

About Aero Testing Etc: I mentioned this to another poster, but i'll restate it again here. We are about to make an update to our website, to make public all our aero data, testing procedure, and more info about about manufacturing, as well as a detailed knowledge base giving info about many specific things customers have been asking about our wheels. Sorry, but I can't give you any numbers until we make that public on our website. I'll make sure to post on this thread, to let you know when you can check it out.


Lastly, you asked why someone should buy Tokyowheel vs. another brand of wheel. As I mentioned before, I'd like to give you an unbiased, data driven answer, because its too easy for me to say "Our wheels are better. Buy them!'. And ultimately the decision is up to you, so I will give you some info on why our customers are choosing Tokyowheel over other brands. There are many different types of riders out there, and each person has a different priority in choosing new wheels. We have some customers calling us, saying that they love our brand and the look of the 'Epic' logo and thats why they are choosing our wheels. We also have customers that only care about weight, drag, braking performance, and the technical features of our wheel. A large fraction of our customers live outside of the main US market, and are more concerned about free shipping worldwide and our guaranteed no customs fees. There are also a lot of customers that contact us to ask for info or have a question, and they really appreciate the way we treat them and value them as a real individual. What I mean to say is that there are a lot of factors that go into the decision.
If you were to ask my personal biased opinion of who should buy Tokyowheel, I would say someone looking to improve their riding or racing in the undeniable way that upgrading to carbon wheels will. They want high performance wheelset at a low/mid price. They also care about how their bike looks and want their wheels to either fit the aesthetic of their bike or improve it. They want the purchasing process to be easy and straightforward. They want free shipping, no matter how remote their location is, and they don't want to pay more for their wheels, just because of taxes and import duties. They want friendly, compassionate support from real people who actually care about them. They also want the security of knowing that if anything ever goes wrong with their wheels, the situation will be handled in the best way possible, and if they aren't happy with their wheels for any reason, they can easily return them for a full refund, with free return shipping and an additional 10% cash back for their troubles. In general, if someone is concerned about those things then they would be very happy buying Tokyowheel.


Thanks again for your post and your great questions. Sorry I couldn't give you all the performance numbers right now that you asked for, I know you would really like to see them, and I'll post on this thread to let you know when we update our site with all that data. I just can't post that type of thing on the forum until it's live on our website. If you've got any other questions, feel free to ask, and you can also send me an email direct at james [at] tokyowheel.com


(And to all the other readers of this post, thanks for taking the time to read such a long post. You also are invited to ask any questions that you have, and let me know if you need anything.)


Thanks to everyone.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

I'm in the market for a new front 88mm carbon clincher and these look promising.

I do need the wheel before April though and it would be interesting to see the test results before taking the plunge.

What tyre combination would you recommend for use with this wheel for minimum drag (aero/rolling)?

When I placed my order it arrived within 7 business days; US customs held onto it for an additional day but knowing it's a govt agency they don't get in a hurry to do anything. It probably would've arrived in 5 business days but that's just speculation. What do you have to lose given the money back guarantee? Order, ride, and wait for data. If you don't like the data or the ride return it since they have the test ride guarantee.

Hi kevpt,

Thanks for your post and your questions. Great choice on the Epic 88's you'll love them. As for the aero data, I don't think we are going have that published in time for you to review it before your deadline, sorry. As always you can check out some reviews at http://www.tokyowheel.com/pages/reviews .

As for the tire choice, that's a big topic, so I can't give you a definitive best tire and tube recommendation. But I can give you a few guidelines that if you follow you'll be in great shape with your personal choice of tube & tire.

Tire width. You can use any tire width from 23c up, but we recommend at 25c tire. Our Epic and Elite rims are 25mm wide at the tire mount, and a 25c tire will give you the benefits in aero, rolling resistance and handling that we have designed the rims around.

For tubes, just be sure you get tubes with a removable valve core, because we include 60mm valve extensions with the Epic 88 (Epic 38 & 50 get 40mm extensions, Epic 60 & 88 get 60mm extensions). If you aren't familiar with what a removable core tube is, essentially that means you can unscrew and remove the presta 'tip'. You would then screw in your valve extension, then screw on the original presa 'core' to the extension as well. Some people get a bit confused about that process, so just let me know if you have any questions.

Just to make it clear, that means you don't need to get tubes with extra long valves.

As for the specific tire choice, we haven't stated our official tire recommendation at this time. We will be stating this later this year. (To give you some insider info, we will be offering our officially recommended tires and tubes as a pre-installed option when you get your new wheels. That's going to be in Q2 though). That being said, you can't really go wrong with one of the Continental Grand Prix series.

Send me an email if you want to ask some more questions. This thread is turning out to be very healthy, but in all honesty if you want to get the most timely support possible, then it's best to send us an email at questions@tokyowheel.com or me personally at james@tokyowheel.com

Thanks, again.

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

Attilamonster,

Thanks for your post. Since you brought up our guarantee, I think it's appropriate for me to elaborate. Our website should make these guarantees more clear, but I'll take this chance to give everyone a plain english explanation.

Tokyowheel has a few guarantees designed to take anxiety out of purchasing, and eliminate the chance of a rider having a negative experience buying Tokyowheels.

We have 3 main guarantees.

110% Guaranteed No Customs Taxes


110% Moneyback Test Ride


110% Speed Guaranteed

Here is a little more info on each of those.

110% Guaranteed No Customs Taxes. We are experts in global logistics and shipping, and we ship out wheels so customers don't pay any fees or taxes. As a company philosophy we believe that in an ideal world all riders in the should have equal access to our products. A rider in L.A. should get his wheels for the same total price as a rider in Mozambique. Free worldwide shipping and guaranteed no customs taxes is a big part of our effort to make that a reality. It's also an integral part of how we plan to lead the cycling industry and expand globally. We back that up with a 110% Guarantee, which means that in the case that you have to pay any additional fees to get your wheels to your door, we'll refund you 100% the cost of those fees, plus an extra 10% to say thanks (This rarely happens, but when it does we go the extra mile to support our riders)

110% Moneyback Test Ride. If you buy wheels from Tokyowheel, and don't like them, then we have a responsibility to do something major to help you out. It's only fair. What we do is pay for the return shipping of the wheels, give a full refund, and an extra 10% cash back (via paypal). We don't want anyone to ever say they experienced anything short of amazing when dealing with us. That's our goal.

110% Speed Guaranteed. If you are looking for that extra speed edge, try Tokyowheel. We guarantee you will ride faster with our wheels, and if you don't we'll pay for you to send them back, give you a full refund, and pay you an extra 10% as a thank you for trying them out.

As you can probably see, we're confident in our products. There would be no way that we could stay in business if our wheels were bad and we had a large number of people taking us up on these guarantees. The truth is we rarely have anyone that needs to use these guarantees, but if you happen to be one of the rare people who have a negative experience with Tokyowheel, then we appreciate the chance to show you how much we respect you as a rider and a customer. These guarantees are the official structured company policy that we use to show our respect and appreciation for our customers.

If anyone has any questions, just let me know, and also let me know if you need something the we don't offer. Thanks

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride

Hi Everyone,

As a general rule, I will refrain from turning this thread into marketing spam. I want the discussion to be directed by you, as forum members. I try to only respond to post by other members. That being said, I think everyone would appreciate seeing a few customer images. We get a lot of great feedback at Tokyowheel and we respect our riders very much. The enthusiasm for Tokyowheel from riders all over the world is something we feel very good about, and we wish to bring that positive experience out to more people.

I'll just post a few images that we've received. A few at the end are snapshots of customer's wheels just before they were sent out, but the majority of the following images were sent in from customers around the world.

As always, please feel free to post any questions, comments, or complaints on this thread. And let me know if you need anything, or want something that we are not offering. Thank you.

P.S. My apologies, if the images overload your computer ;)

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James Ferrer

Full Disclosure - I work for Tokyowheel

http://www.tokyowheel.com Carbon Wheels For Road, Triathlon & Cyclocross Bikes | FREE Shipping Worldwide | Guaranteed No Customs Fees | 110% Money Back Test Ride