Zuus Wheels

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

http://www.zuus.co.uk/zuus-carbon-aero-xcr-38-clincher-wheelset-pair-front-and-rear-in-stock-uk-next-day-delivery-japanese-toray-carbon-1-year-warranty-crash-replacement-now-only-399-99/

£399. Novatech, Pillar, crash replacement. Anyone tried any?

Assuming they are any good, which if you read this thread seems a mixed bag of opinions, for someone like yourself, who shifts stuff on a fairly regular basis, it's probably best to buy some branded stuff when on offer, that has a better resale value.
As second hand, you will struggle to get more than 100 quid for them.

I certainly won't buy your Cannondale with a pair of Zuus on...

Probably true, but you ain't getting your hands on my 'Dale. Though, well, I have had this offer on something "premium"

Anonymous

I have what can be counted as the equivant (also 400 quid, generic rims, novatec hubs, pillar spokes) and they've been adequate. Ridden in sun, rain and snow for 2 years now.

The spokes are showing signs of rust/pitting
There is a loud creak from front wheel when out the saddle (only when I put my right foot down, oddly)
They went a bit out of true (2mm or so) and I had to use pliers to twist the nipples as the had basically seized to the spokes.

I bought mine from a company called Amp who have since folder after shifting all their tat on Sportpursuit so I can't really do much about it.

Not totally sure if that's good or bad, but basically they ride really nicely, don't get smashed around by the wind, climb and descend ok and also braking is pretty good with the Planet X "selcof" pads (same as wiggle lifeline, I guess). I could probably fix the creak but I took the hub apart and can't work out how to knock the bearings out.

If our resident wheel builder hadn't departed, I'd ask him to take a look!

I reckon for 400 quid and uk recourse they are pretty good value. I personally think alu braking tracks are abhorrent so P-X is a no go for me and I don't ride tubs.

ugo.santalucia

coriordan wrote:

I reckon for 400 quid and uk recourse they are pretty good value.

yet, when you could do with their support re. the front hub, they have folded, as you say, which is true for most of these re-badged Chinese jobs, so I am not quite sure how they are better than a pair of Farsports or similar...

It's a highly competitive market, that of carbon upgrades, where only big players can survive, unless they offer something truly unique... but even there, look at the fate of the 3T carbon wheels range (Mercurio and the likes)...

Anonymous

Not really better at all, but Zuus have been around for a bit now so there's a chance they'd be around next year, which is more than a Chinese seller would likely offer

bendertherobot

Ditto Cosine. It will be interesting to see how far Wiggle expand that but, even if they discontinued the line, at least the support in terms of a potential refund would be there. (Had a look btw, CX Ray and Gigantex, no idea what the hub is).

warrior4life

Has anyone got a long term review of the Zuus wheels?
I contacted them and they told me there'd be no issues with 30 degree alpine descents and warping.

If this is the case I'm very tempted, its just hard to find customer reviews.

trek_dan

warrior4life wrote:

I contacted them and they told me there'd be no issues with 30 degree alpine descents and warping.

No responsible company would say this about any sort of carbon clincher IMO, with the exception of perhaps the newer Dura Ace models which has an alloy infused brake track :roll:

ugo.santalucia

warrior4life wrote:

Has anyone got a long term review of the Zuus wheels?
I contacted them and they told me there'd be no issues with 30 degree alpine descents and warping.

If this is the case I'm very tempted, its just hard to find customer reviews.

Sometimes it's better to be honest and say that they have no data but they are confident of their product and advise to brake in short sharp squeezes.
I am confident that most folks, alloy or carbon wheels, disc brakes or rim brakes would find it terryfing to descend from something like Monte Zoncolan, which "only" averages 12.5% over 9 Km or so.
BTW: anyone with year 8 maths should know that 30% and 30 degrees have nothing in common... a 30 degree descent is a 58% one, which does not exist... another proof of what kind of people you are dealing with

MikeBrew

ugo.santalucia wrote:

warrior4life wrote:

Has anyone got a long term review of the Zuus wheels?
I contacted them and they told me there'd be no issues with 30 degree alpine descents and warping.

If this is the case I'm very tempted, its just hard to find customer reviews.

Sometimes it's better to be honest and say that they have no data but they are confident of their product and advise to brake in short sharp squeezes.
I am confident that most folks, alloy or carbon wheels, disc brakes or rim brakes would find it terryfing to descend from something like Monte Zoncolan, which "only" averages 12.5% over 9 Km or so.
BTW: anyone with year 8 maths should know that 30% and 30 degrees have nothing in common... a 30 degree descent is a 58% one, which does not exist... another proof of what kind of people you are dealing with

To me, this post illustrates nicely that whether your aim is to avoid folk voting to leave the European Union or getting them NOT to buy competitors wheels, scaremongering is the still the weapon of choice .... :roll:
I thought that they were pretty shady tactics even for the political arena.... Much like Milan attempting to lure some of London's big businesses by default.

Several guys in our club have ZUUS wheels and are delighted with them. One even recently completed the Raid Pyrenean using a set.

BTW, did it not occur to USL that 30 degrees is a reference to the temperature and not the angle. :idea:

rolf_f

MikeBrew wrote:

BTW, did it not occur to USL that 30 degrees is a reference to the temperature and not the angle. :idea:

I shouldn't think so. His command of the English language is very good. That said, I worry that you regard carbon wheels as potentially needing a health and safety announcement re their suitability for use on mildly hot days........

warrior4life

ugo.santalucia wrote:

warrior4life wrote:

Has anyone got a long term review of the Zuus wheels?
I contacted them and they told me there'd be no issues with 30 degree alpine descents and warping.

If this is the case I'm very tempted, its just hard to find customer reviews.

Sometimes it's better to be honest and say that they have no data but they are confident of their product and advise to brake in short sharp squeezes.
I am confident that most folks, alloy or carbon wheels, disc brakes or rim brakes would find it terryfing to descend from something like Monte Zoncolan, which "only" averages 12.5% over 9 Km or so.
BTW: anyone with year 8 maths should know that 30% and 30 degrees have nothing in common... a 30 degree descent is a 58% one, which does not exist... another proof of what kind of people you are dealing with

I did actually mean 30 degree heat not a 30% descent.

warrior4life

II want a wheel I can rely on long descents, I'm more than happy to stick with an alloy clincher but at the same time I wouldn't mind taking an aero wheel with me.
Zuus wheels seem like a good value budget carbon option with a little more back up than a non UK Ebay seller.

Another option is a Gigantex rim on a DT hub. These are second hand but have only covered around 400 miles, has anyone got experience of Gigantex wheels on serious descents? They seem to have a good reputation and seem to be a step above the cheaper generic carbon rims.

ugo.santalucia

Rolf F wrote:

I shouldn't think so. His command of the English language is very good. That said, I worry that you regard carbon wheels as potentially needing a health and safety announcement re their suitability for use on mildly hot days........

That's probably what he meant though... :roll:

Air temperature doesn't have much bearing on the rate of heating/cooling... certainly not as much as gradient, road conditions, type and number of bends and all those descent characteristics that make you use the brakes a little or a lot... most important of all rider's level of confidence and technique.

I have done pretty much all the Pyrenees descents the Tour does year in year out and they are not particularly technical, most of them are fun rather than scary.
But there's more than the Tour de France: I was fully satisfied with my HyRD brakes when I came down Monte Scalaro in one go... that's over 9% average and it has over 40 hairpins with mixed road surface... basically you are always on the brakes, or you hardly spend more than 5 seconds off them. When I was on rim brakes I would typically lower the tyre pressure before descending and stop a couple of times on the way down to allow the rims to cool and take a bit of the views in.

That is one technical descent, but there are far worse ones in the alps and there is no rim/disc braking system that can offer a guarantee of safety in any condition and it's not even a matter of carbon Vs alloy, as a very skilled friend of mine in pre-carbon era blew up a tyre coming down an unpronounceable Austrain Mountain during the Tour de Transalp and he was on a pair of Ksyrium.

ugo.santalucia

warrior4life wrote:

II want a wheel I can rely on long descents, I'm more than happy to stick with an alloy clincher but at the same time I wouldn't mind taking an aero wheel with me.
Zuus wheels seem like a good value budget carbon option with a little more back up than a non UK Ebay seller.

Another option is a Gigantex rim on a DT hub. These are second hand but have only covered around 400 miles, has anyone got experience of Gigantex wheels on serious descents? They seem to have a good reputation and seem to be a step above the cheaper generic carbon rims.

It depends how confident a descender you are... if you have never had problems and you have never been scared of coming down a mountain, then you'll probably be OK on the most basic carbon clinchers if the descent is not too technical... if you are not then you might want to give yourself the best possible chances of coming down in one piece.
Anong the major carbon manufacturers, being them Mavic, Enve, Zipp, Reynolds or else, they've all gone the high TG route, while most Chinese rims rely on a strip of ceramic material (often referred to as basalt) to protect the underlying carbon from excessive heat. The high TG is a better route as the actual core of the material is more resilient, while the basalt has a limit in how much it can insulate, besides the more you brake, the more you grind it away from the surface.

cookeeemonster

I've just bought a pair of Zuus wheels - one one ride so far so not gonna review them but...I sure as hell wouldn't use them in the Alps. They probably would be fine...but what are you gaining? Faster on a descent? Don't you think you'll go fast enough on alu rims?

I recently came back from the alps and the amount of time you spend on the brakes can vary a lot - from constantly being on them to often being on them (this is subject to how good and confident you are of course). At no point did I think I need an aero advantage to go faster. I was on Zondas btw, if i were to choose something else I'd go with a lighter weight option I suppose, though the Zondas were fine for me.

bendertherobot

Yeah, I'm doing Marmotte next year. I'll probably get some Neutrons. Mind, Racing 3 are coming in LG. Might be worth a look.

MikeBrew

warrior4life wrote:

I did actually mean 30 degree heat not a 30% descent.

Yes, I (and, probably, most others) followed you on that..

MikeBrew

Rolf F wrote:

MikeBrew wrote:

BTW, did it not occur to USL that 30 degrees is a reference to the temperature and not the angle. :idea:

1) shouldn't think so. His command of the English language is very good. 2) That said, I worry that you regard carbon wheels as potentially needing a health and safety announcement re their suitability for use on mildly hot days........

Well to answer your points in reverse order :

2) 30 degrees c is not a mildly hot day. I didn't say that I thought carbon wheels to be a concern on midly hot days or 30 degrees C days : What I said was that WFL was very obviously referring to degrees in temp rather than angle as, as USL rightly pointed out, 30 degree-58% descents are not something that you'll come across on a road bicycle.
1) I'm unclear as to why USL's no doubt superb command of English would hinder him considering the blindingly obvious - ie that 30 degrees is temp not road angle- as your first sentence seems to suggest that he might of ?

I hope that, that has clearly that up for you.

rolf_f

MikeBrew wrote:

I hope that, that has clearly that up for you.

Errr, yes - that 'has clearly that up for me'!

30 degrees can be certainly be a mildly hot day. Plenty of people ride in the middle east and would be close to shivering in that sort of temperature (sl exaggeration but the point is that 30 degrees is hardly an uncommon temperature and if the wheels can't handle that, what about the frame?).

It sounds like warrior4life was just asking the wrong question in the first place hence the confusion. 30 degrees air temperature and alpine descent is an irrelevant combination - there's no reason why a manufacturer would mention them otherwise. The gradient and style of descent (ie alpine ie long) is relevant.

ugo.santalucia

bendertherobot wrote:

Yeah, I'm doing Marmotte next year. I'll probably get some Neutrons. Mind, Racing 3 are coming in LG. Might be worth a look.

Did you say you are doing the Fred with me in preparation for the Marmotte?

The mountain goats on the Italian forums still swear on the Neutrons (and the Spada Stiletto, of course)

MikeBrew

Rolf F wrote:

MikeBrew wrote:

I hope that, that has clearly that up for you.

Errr, yes - that 'has clearly that up for me'!

30 degrees can be certainly be a mildly hot day. Plenty of people ride in the middle east and would be close to shivering in that sort of temperature (sl exaggeration but the point is that 30 degrees is hardly an uncommon temperature and if the wheels can't handle that, what about the frame?).

It sounds like warrior4life was just asking the wrong question in the first place hence the confusion. 30 degrees air temperature and alpine descent is an irrelevant combination - there's no reason why a manufacturer would mention them otherwise. The gradient and style of descent (ie alpine ie long) is relevant.

From this we learn that you consider typos to be note worthy, that road cycling is taking off in the middle east and that you still think that someone said that carbon wheels can't handle 30 degree C Fascinating !....

bendertherobot

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Yeah, I'm doing Marmotte next year. I'll probably get some Neutrons. Mind, Racing 3 are coming in LG. Might be worth a look.

Did you say you are doing the Fred with me in preparation for the Marmotte?

The mountain goats on the Italian forums still swear on the Neutrons (and the Spada Stiletto, of course)

I'll have a think! Only thing is that it's Carten100 weekend. Not hard, by any means, but something I do!

a.palmer

Just seen this in another wheel thread, anyone had any experience of these Bax wheels? £100 more than the Zuus for 50s, but they do look nice

https://roubaixcycling.cc/2016/07/26/ba ... h-science/

bendertherobot

I have some experience.

What I can't tell you is whether they are the same or even similar. Superficially there are clearly similarities such as the Novatec and Pillar usage. Same width. But different weight claimed.

Bax have their own design on the wheels themselves rather than stickers.

I've no way of saying whether one set is better than the other. But I do like the ones I tested very much. Climbing on them tomorrow, then a TT next week.

a.palmer

Have you had experience with the Zuus wheels bender? Would be interesting to compare the rims

bendertherobot

No, I'm afraid not. And yes, that's the question. They are different rims to the extent that one is "custom" but I don't know whether they are different rims!

Different weights are quoted (within a margin) and I reckon they might be slightly different. But who knows.

rokt

Today I've seen both wheels, the Zuus and the Bax side by side and without doubt they are the same wheels. The only difference is the graphics, the Zuus have a removable vinyl graphic and the Bax are a laser printed type.

Is it only me or is not blindingly obvious what's happening here ? Two guys at different ends of the country buying mass produced carbon wheels from China, adding their own designed graphics and selling them mail order with a lot of advertising through the likes of Facebook.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea for a short term money making business, but I stand by my original comment, the wheels are not that good.

bendertherobot

They seem good to me. But good in relation to? I guess we're back to that whole chinese clincher thread.

Can you explain the laser printing comment? Not a criticism, I'd like to understand how it works for the black bax sections (not the logo stuff)

jdee84

Surely as the bax claim to be tubeless ready and the zuus are not they are different rims and this might account for the higher weight?

bendertherobot

jdee84 wrote:

Surely as the bax claim to be tubeless ready and the zuus are not they are different rims and this might account for the higher weight?

Well spotted.