Carbon Wheels Express - Opinions?

liamcahill1
liamcahill1 Posts: 146
edited February 2014 in Road buying advice
Hi,

Looking at buying some of these for a wheel build. -> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-23mm-widt ... 417c208d6a

Has anyone had any experience of these rims or this seller? Also any advice on the best lacing option for a 61kg racer would be welcome.

Cheers!

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    They look alright...

    The point of wider rims was to be able to give them a side-wind friendly shape, like the "egg shape", also called toroidal. If the rim is simply a wider V, it won't behave much better in cross winds (which can be anything 5 degrees away from full front).

    Because of that, I think they are a bit too deep for you. YOu would be better off with shallower rims or toroidal rims (which are however much more expensive)
    The lacing pattern is dictated by the drilling... if they have a oriented drilling, it would be better to follow that lacing pattern... most far eastern rims are meant to go 2 or 3 cross on the drive side and radial on the non drive side... radial front is pretty much a given.
    If you use alloy nipples, use those with hexagonal head, that way you have a better way to access the nipple in case it gets seized
    left the forum March 2023
  • liamcahill1
    liamcahill1 Posts: 146
    Cheers ugo.santalucia :)

    I have some shallow section wheels but I'm looking form some deep sections to use in flatter races and crits. I was just wondering about the build quality of the rims as I have bought from CarbonZone before but not this seller. The bassalt brake surface is a positive but was just seeing if anyone had any experiences with this guy?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    These Chinese rims are pretty much all the same thing... they are overbuilt to minimise the number of rejects in QC and generally speaking won't give you many structural problems... they won't probably give you any advantage either, but at least you get some advertising space on your bike in case you get a sponsorship... :o
    left the forum March 2023
  • liamcahill1
    liamcahill1 Posts: 146
    I reckon I'll give these a go then :) thanks
  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    liamcahill1 wrote:
    I reckon I'll give these a go then :) thanks

    I think it's good advice to try and use an established supplier when buying goods from China. Some of the eBay sellers come and go and potentially leave you with no warranty back up. If I was going down this type I would be looking at their likes of Farsports or some of the vendors listed in velobuild.com. you don't want to take unnecessary risks with wheels for the sake of a the price of a few pints.

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