Experiences with value Chinese carbon wheels?
dannyjames1
Posts: 44
I'm after some new wheels for my bike with some deeper rims for general summer riding and to have a go at a few 10 mile TT s with. Was looking at some 34mm deep lightwright novatecs but just don't think they'll cut it in terms of aero advantage.
Now I'm looking at some on eBay, a UK account reselling from China. I can get 50mm, 60 rear carbon clinchers for £320. Plain, not made to imitate any other brand and built on novatec 271 hubs and I believe they have some degree of quality control. Given my good experience with Chinese frames specifically ones from Dengfu this is very tempting but I thought I'd see if anyone has any advice or experience with Chinese wheels?
Now I'm looking at some on eBay, a UK account reselling from China. I can get 50mm, 60 rear carbon clinchers for £320. Plain, not made to imitate any other brand and built on novatec 271 hubs and I believe they have some degree of quality control. Given my good experience with Chinese frames specifically ones from Dengfu this is very tempting but I thought I'd see if anyone has any advice or experience with Chinese wheels?
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The rest you are taking chances.
Can't fault them - worth every penny.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
Carbon zone, hongfu are 2 others. Also flyxii or something
I already have a new pair Zipp 808's, Dura Ace 9150 Di2 groupset, ready to go for the frame. BTW I ordered the frame at 40% off. Looking forward to building it this weekend!
Disc version only unfortunately or I'd go for that. Found some forza carbon clinchers at a reasonable price too but they are rather heavy at just shy of 2kg so I'll be avoiding.
farsports are looking like a viable option, possibly carbonzone. I'm just not sure about the shipping and how strict customs are on the import charges or wether it would just get through no problem. One time, I was send some candle things from America and Royal Mail wanted £10 for customs fees even though the bloody thing was labeled as a gift.
Option b could be some pre owned Cosmics or something but I'd prefer to buy new unless I found something with little miles on them.
If anything the 34mm ones you've seen are perfect to accompany them on hillier/windier days, unless I am missing something
Rim depth/winds are something I've been thinking about a fair bit especially being a fairly light rider (135-140lb). Once I'm in the hills it's alright but the first/last 10 or so miles of my rides can be fairly windy with living on the coast and going out through the mosses which are pretty flat for the most part. I think 50mm could be a good trade off but if I could get that with a 60 on the rear then great. Would I need valve stem extenders too or just inner tubes with long valves?
Is it true that carbon rims with carbon/basalt brake tracks are not really suited to long & winding descents involving a fair amount of braking?
https://www.baxcarbon.co.uk/product-pag ... -combo-set
or
http://www.zuus.co.uk/zuus-pro-carbon-s ... -save-200/
Little more expensive than ordering from China but I'd be backed by a UK warranty and no possible charges slapped on at the border.
I got them on the recommendation from a mate who has two pairs, one he races in CX and one he's used in Alps without issue. Total was about £390 after import charges.
So far they've been on a few rides and one crit and behaved as you'd expect a wheel to. Can't really tell the difference between them and my Zipps!
Do you know what hubs are on the Zuus? The Bax look like Novatechs
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
They definitely make a noticeably difference to speed compared to my shallow wheelsets, but this isn't earth shattering. I not only wanted to see for myself what differnce they made to speed, but also braking, stiffness, and of course the overall looks of deep section rims appealed.
They were both very slightly out of true so got them trued at my LBS. Back has done out of true very slightly since. I've hit some very large pot holes and they've been fine.
I think Chinese carbon rims are okay, but the build quality can be poor in terms of how they are put together (not the components really). This can be overcome easily however.
I think they are okay but if I was a 'serious' cyclist with competition in mind, I'd go for branded tubs every time.
Never agree with someone who cannot use the quote function
Carbon basalt are as good if not better than disk breaks
No, sorry, not full of it as you say. Just telling it how I find it.
I can't believe you find the brakes surface and those cork type brake pads acceptable.
If you disagree with my comments on the wheels catching the wind, read the reviews, they really
don't come out well.
The cork pads that Chinese wheels come with aren't great, swap them for Lifeline Blue - only a few quid and loads better.
As a heavier rider I don't get blown around in crosswinds like some people unless they are very strong.
I can't complain for £360.
Had to be retrued (just a mm or so)
I rode them through the winter and the spokes and nipples sort of seized
Rims were still in excellent condition.
Other than that, braking was excellent with the lifeline blue pads, cartridge hubs easy to replace, made the right wooshing sound and looked good on my bike. I think they were identical to Zuus, with the narrower internal rim width.
I now have a pair of Zipp 303s and while they are a bit stiffer, they are not noticeably faster, may be smoother due to wider rim width, but not 4x better (given £400 - £1600 price difference), but they came on a bike I bought.
I wouldn't hesistate to buy the chinese ones again.
As for performance in the wind: the wide, U-shaped profile is generally accepted to be far superior to narrow V shaped rims of old, and I don't think twice about using them unless there are gusts in excess of 40mph when I probably won't be going out on a bike at all. At 70kg I'm not in the heavyweight class either.
If I was going to criticise my Zuus wheels, it would be that the Novatec hubs were supplied with pretty crappy bearings that develop play and go rough pretty quickly, but I've replaced these with SKFs and they're silky smooth once more. The older version of the 50 I have are also a bit heavy compared to the new versions with straight pull hubs. But, after 10k miles, the rims still look great with hardly any signs of wear on the brake track, the spokes are spotless, and I've never had to put a spokey near them.
Based on my experience, I would have no hesitation in recommending Zuus wheels as they're decent value compared to importing direct from China, particularly as they're backed with a UK warranty, have a money back guarantee, crash replacement policy, and they'll give you decent support should you have any problems.
What wide carbon rims do you currently ride?
Possibly the cork pads causing the issue there. I've heard that they aren't very good at all and people tend to upgrade to lifeline or swiss pads
I brought them to build up my next bike - but now have have decided to go disc - £550 + postage if your interested.
Any updates on these wheels?
I did the Lakeland Loop yesterday on my 50mm carbon clinchers from Farsports paired with Wiggle Lifeline Blue pads. Made it down Hardknott and Wrynose Pass in one piece.
I did have issues mentioned above in the back of my mind so maybe didn't decend as quickly as I may have done on alloy rims.
Though I wouldn't expect myself to be much quicker with alloy rims.
I won't be doing the Fred Whitton on those rims next month although braking felt fine I just had comments as above in the back of my mind affecting my confidence all day. Also the wind up Hardknott blew me off the road near the top. Fortunately got my foot down ok, trying to get back going it just blew me over.