Bladex carbon clincher 38mm wheelset review
vicente33
Posts: 12
Bladex carbon clincher 38mm wheelset review
My purpose about this review it's just to share the riding experience with the Chinese wheelset, before the purchase I did a lot of research on Chinese sellers like Farsport, Light-bicycle, Yoeleo and Bladex Bicycle, finally I choose Bladex wheels mostly because of their ceramic bearings and their basalt brakes, as I heard a lot about the braking issue and I’m really interested in the ceramic bearings.
I hope this information can be useful to those who are in searching for a affordable carbon wheelset as I was.
I use this wheels both for training and racing, but i use training wheels too.
Wheelset Specs:
- Weight: Front 652g, Rear 811g; 1463g;
- Spokes: Pillar aero;
- Hubs: Ceramic Bearings;
- Rim: Basalt Breaking surface;
- Drilling: 20front, 24Rear.
Rider weight: 65Kg
Tyres: Continental GP4000 S
Brake pads: BBB Carbstop( so good as the original)
Build quality:
So far I'm fairly impressed with the build. Wheels were true out of the box and remain true despite sometimes Roubaix like road conditions. The brake surface remains like new and the stopping as well. After near 5000Km what impresses me is the wheels and the bearings looks like new.
Hubs:
The hubs do not have some brand but they are what impress me most, they are smooth as a feder and continue after all that Kilometers, i think the stiffness of the wheels came from those hubs too because when you sprint it feels amazingly stiff and smooth at the same time.
Braking:
After doing +/- 5000km i can say that is a long term review and i can say don's worry about braking if you use a good brake pads like Swissstop or bbb Carbstop it's almost like aluminum rim, and brake track doesn't seem to have any sign of wear. But attention if you come from aluminum you need to adapt first, the braking pads take long( like milliseconds more) to actuate but when it does it brake very well. So an emergency stop has to be trained or get used to this braking (basalt braking).
Braking in the wet:
Here i can say that all carbon rims are equal nut does not lost much for aluminum, but is a little bit weaker than aluminum, but for me was never a problem when i needed they brake.
Aero Qualities and Sidewinds:
In this point and beginning with sidewinds i can say that is no problem, and never experienced a problem, must be for these wheels are 38mm but they are very good in gusty winds as i experienced.
The aero qualities are enormous compared with non-aero rim and have a good feeling after you put the speed on.
Cornering and ride quality:
Theres only one way to say about cornering and is that they make feel safe and flying down descents and i think that i own it to them stiffness it's really a good sensation, like you can push your limits.
The ride quality is very nice, they are carbon wheels and are stiff so they are a little harsh but it's normal and feel good because you know that you have a pretty good wheels under you.
Other Statements:
I can say that are a pretty good wheels, it's a excellent choice when you have a tight budget and when these wheels are almost so good as a Zipp or a Mavic carbon wheelset and for the price i made a very good deal, because they are like Zipp or Mavic, a top wheelset.
After 5000Km that i ride some bad roads like Sterrato, Pave, in the rain and training a lot of time with them they are very nice in every points like spoke tension, brake surface and hubs they feel like new.
And due to the lightweight they climb like hell, but on flat because they are 38mm it's not easy to get to high speed but when you get it, it became very easy.
Theres are some photos and my Strava profile is:´Miguel Vicente´.
Thanks for reading!
My purpose about this review it's just to share the riding experience with the Chinese wheelset, before the purchase I did a lot of research on Chinese sellers like Farsport, Light-bicycle, Yoeleo and Bladex Bicycle, finally I choose Bladex wheels mostly because of their ceramic bearings and their basalt brakes, as I heard a lot about the braking issue and I’m really interested in the ceramic bearings.
I hope this information can be useful to those who are in searching for a affordable carbon wheelset as I was.
I use this wheels both for training and racing, but i use training wheels too.
Wheelset Specs:
- Weight: Front 652g, Rear 811g; 1463g;
- Spokes: Pillar aero;
- Hubs: Ceramic Bearings;
- Rim: Basalt Breaking surface;
- Drilling: 20front, 24Rear.
Rider weight: 65Kg
Tyres: Continental GP4000 S
Brake pads: BBB Carbstop( so good as the original)
Build quality:
So far I'm fairly impressed with the build. Wheels were true out of the box and remain true despite sometimes Roubaix like road conditions. The brake surface remains like new and the stopping as well. After near 5000Km what impresses me is the wheels and the bearings looks like new.
Hubs:
The hubs do not have some brand but they are what impress me most, they are smooth as a feder and continue after all that Kilometers, i think the stiffness of the wheels came from those hubs too because when you sprint it feels amazingly stiff and smooth at the same time.
Braking:
After doing +/- 5000km i can say that is a long term review and i can say don's worry about braking if you use a good brake pads like Swissstop or bbb Carbstop it's almost like aluminum rim, and brake track doesn't seem to have any sign of wear. But attention if you come from aluminum you need to adapt first, the braking pads take long( like milliseconds more) to actuate but when it does it brake very well. So an emergency stop has to be trained or get used to this braking (basalt braking).
Braking in the wet:
Here i can say that all carbon rims are equal nut does not lost much for aluminum, but is a little bit weaker than aluminum, but for me was never a problem when i needed they brake.
Aero Qualities and Sidewinds:
In this point and beginning with sidewinds i can say that is no problem, and never experienced a problem, must be for these wheels are 38mm but they are very good in gusty winds as i experienced.
The aero qualities are enormous compared with non-aero rim and have a good feeling after you put the speed on.
Cornering and ride quality:
Theres only one way to say about cornering and is that they make feel safe and flying down descents and i think that i own it to them stiffness it's really a good sensation, like you can push your limits.
The ride quality is very nice, they are carbon wheels and are stiff so they are a little harsh but it's normal and feel good because you know that you have a pretty good wheels under you.
Other Statements:
I can say that are a pretty good wheels, it's a excellent choice when you have a tight budget and when these wheels are almost so good as a Zipp or a Mavic carbon wheelset and for the price i made a very good deal, because they are like Zipp or Mavic, a top wheelset.
After 5000Km that i ride some bad roads like Sterrato, Pave, in the rain and training a lot of time with them they are very nice in every points like spoke tension, brake surface and hubs they feel like new.
And due to the lightweight they climb like hell, but on flat because they are 38mm it's not easy to get to high speed but when you get it, it became very easy.
Theres are some photos and my Strava profile is:´Miguel Vicente´.
Thanks for reading!
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Comments
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vicente33 wrote:it's just to show how god can be a chinese wheelset.
They say God is omnipresent, so there's no reason why he couldn't be a Chinese wheelset...0 -
Who'd have thought that a review by a first time poster of an obscure Chinese product could turn out to be so positive?!Faster than a tent.......0
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Something tells me it might be related to this post on their Facebook page:Bladex Wheels
November 3 ·
LOOKING FOR REVIEW VOLUNTEER ON BIKING FORUM
What?
We will send a set of our wheels to one of the rider on biking forum, the test rider write a review including text, photos and videos and post it on this forum.
Why?
In order to directly receive feedback from our customers, and share the information with other riders, we decided to start a Test&Review program, the applicant can be only on the biking forums.
It seems no one has done this before, but we would like to have a try.
Who Can Apply?
Anyone on biking forum can apply, but we’d prefer the tester who already own a popular wheelest on the market, by that the review could be more valuable to readers.
Please apply in the following format:
Forum Url:
Username:
Riding Age:
Country:
What Wheeset You Are Having?
Test Conditions:
- The test bike need to be with a GPS, and upload the record to STRAVA
- Ride at least 1000km
The review should include the following terms:
- Build quality
- Hubs
- Braking
- Braking in the wet
- Aero quality, crosswind performance
- Cornering and Ride Quality
- Please reply the terms you want to add to the review
When the review is done, the tester has the right of lifetime usage of the test sample.0 -
0
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5000km or 500km? I'd be slightly more impressed with the former than the latter.argon 18 e116 2013 Vision Metron 80
Bianchi Oltre XR Sram Red E-tap, Fulcrum racing speed xlr
De Rosa SK pininfarina disc
S Works Tarmac e-tap 2017
Rose pro sl disc0 -
mmm, and so much to be gained from just 38mm rims:
"The aero qualities are enormous..."
5000km of mixed weather use and yet:
"The brake surface remains like new..."
Nope, nothing fishy here.0 -
Imposter wrote:vicente33 wrote:it's just to show how god can be a chinese wheelset.
They say God is omnipresent, so there's no reason why he couldn't be a Chinese wheelset...
So i just can say that i was supsrised with those wheels never thought i'll liked so much. And they are resitant and durable for sure.0 -
briantrumpet wrote:
In an excelent 38mm wheelset.0 -
Beatmaker wrote:Something tells me it might be related to this post on their Facebook page:Bladex Wheels
November 3 ·
LOOKING FOR REVIEW VOLUNTEER ON BIKING FORUM
What?
We will send a set of our wheels to one of the rider on biking forum, the test rider write a review including text, photos and videos and post it on this forum.
Why?
In order to directly receive feedback from our customers, and share the information with other riders, we decided to start a Test&Review program, the applicant can be only on the biking forums.
It seems no one has done this before, but we would like to have a try.
Who Can Apply?
Anyone on biking forum can apply, but we’d prefer the tester who already own a popular wheelest on the market, by that the review could be more valuable to readers.
Please apply in the following format:
Forum Url:
Username:
Riding Age:
Country:
What Wheeset You Are Having?
Test Conditions:
- The test bike need to be with a GPS, and upload the record to STRAVA
- Ride at least 1000km
The review should include the following terms:
- Build quality
- Hubs
- Braking
- Braking in the wet
- Aero quality, crosswind performance
- Cornering and Ride Quality
- Please reply the terms you want to add to the review
When the review is done, the tester has the right of lifetime usage of the test sample.
Yes i can say is related, and i only do this because i really like them, and what i wrote it's what they do and it's the truth. In the next months or trainings i dont know hoe they will perform but to the date i give thumbs up to these wheelset.0 -
londoncommuter wrote:
Not spamming, just reviewing so all people know that this chinese brand is one to trust.0 -
noodleman wrote:5000km or 500km? I'd be slightly more impressed with the former than the latter.
you can see my strava profile, and see all the two weeks that antecipate racing i use them so in the minimum 5000km that's for sure, and the tension of the spokes remains the same, and i trust that they will make me at least another season.0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:mmm, and so much to be gained from just 38mm rims:
"The aero qualities are enormous..."
5000km of mixed weather use and yet:
"The brake surface remains like new..."
Nope, nothing fishy here.
5000km of mixed weather and gusty winds, and so for thats nothing to point them they were reliable from the first day(about a here ago) until now.
Nothing fishy but the true, i'm really impressede by this beeing a chinese wheelset and so durable, i was not expecting that for sure.0 -
OK, at the risk of getting your post count into 3 figures on just this one thread, let's specifically take the 2 points I raised:
"The aero qualities are enormous..."
Can you quantify that statement in some way? What exactly are the "enormous" aero qualities in specific measurable terms?
"The brake surface remains like new..."
I have used a few sets of wheels in my time, when they got to 5,000km of mixed weather use, the brake surface on all of them looked nothing like new and I wouldn't expect it to. So, do you really mean that the brake surfaces are "like new" after 5,000km of mixed weather riding? Do you think that is at all credible?0 -
Yes i can say is related, and i only do this because i really like them, and what i wrote it's what they do and it's the truth. In the next months or trainings i dont know hoe they will perform but to the date i give thumbs up to these wheelset.
Thats fine Miguel, but in the interests of transparency its worth stating in future reviews that you received a free set of wheels in return for leaving reviews on forums. Its not quite the same as paying for a product and leaving a review (unless of course you are a journo). I'm not suggesting that the fact you received the wheels for free has had an influence on how positive your review is, but you are leaving yourself open to criticism by not being clear about this. It doesn't help that you registered on this forum solely to review your free wheels!0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:OK, at the risk of getting your post count into 3 figures on just this one thread, let's specifically take the 2 points I raised:
"The aero qualities are enormous..."
Can you quantify that statement in some way? What exactly are the "enormous" aero qualities in specific measurable terms?
"The brake surface remains like new..."
I have used a few sets of wheels in my time, when they got to 5,000km of mixed weather use, the brake surface on all of them looked nothing like new and I wouldn't expect it to. So, do you really mean that the brake surfaces are "like new" after 5,000km of mixed weather riding? Do you think that is at all credible?
Yes in measurable terms i can say that when compared with a low profile rim i can say that when you put the speed on you can keep it very easy ate high speeds.
I can't say that the rim doesnt have use but when i pass a finger or on looking it does not appear to have signs of are old.0 -
Beatmaker wrote:Yes i can say is related, and i only do this because i really like them, and what i wrote it's what they do and it's the truth. In the next months or trainings i dont know hoe they will perform but to the date i give thumbs up to these wheelset.
Thats fine Miguel, but in the interests of transparency its worth stating in future reviews that you received a free set of wheels in return for leaving reviews on forums. Its not quite the same as paying for a product and leaving a review (unless of course you are a journo). I'm not suggesting that the fact you received the wheels for free has had an influence on how positive your review is, but you are leaving yourself open to criticism by not being clear about this. It doesn't help that you registered on this forum solely to review your free wheels!
At many time i see your forum but i have never registered and by the contarary bout what you think i didn't reveived no wheelset for free, im beeing relly clear because i really like the quality of these wheels and judging by the price it's very nice.0 -
"Enormous aero qualities" of a 38mm rim? Oh please stop it now!argon 18 e116 2013 Vision Metron 80
Bianchi Oltre XR Sram Red E-tap, Fulcrum racing speed xlr
De Rosa SK pininfarina disc
S Works Tarmac e-tap 2017
Rose pro sl disc0 -
Theres some photos for you to see them working:
https://goo.gl/photos/oBwGE32yHs48j24x7
https://goo.gl/photos/wC55LJPhUbwy6C4F6
https://goo.gl/photos/12d74FpXg5pW6CSz9
https://goo.gl/photos/L9RZfj225ZpoSQui7
https://goo.gl/photos/trcza1CWFprCSJNv8
Strava link:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/109893800
