Good/ cheapish 29" carbon wheelset - such a thing yet?

agg25

Hi,
Has anyone tried the Chinese carbon 29" wheelsets going around on Alibaba or ebay? Are there any with a reasonable track record when it comes to build quality? I can't really justify the price of the Enve's or Reynolds etc sets but was wondering if there's a semi decent cheaper alternative. I'm about 86kg so no weight weenie myself but looking to get all the help I can get without breaking the bank...too much...
Cheers

lemonenema

I bought a rear road bike wheel from aliexpress, no problems at all and would do so again.
With a 29 wheel im guessing its a mtb disc wheel right?
Should be safer than a carbon rim brake wheel anyway
Ive bought a frame from this company and its had quite a lot of hard riding so would recommend them too, good customer service. Remember to choose the duty free shipping option, same goes for ali express etc.
http://www.flyxii.com/PRODUCTSDetial?pr ... =194&brd=1

agg25

Ok good to know, I'll check it out, cheers. Yeah would be MTB disc wheel, looking to mate up to a light FS XC bike.

agg25

Just seen spec, would like something lighter, 2190gm is a bit heavy and need it to suit a SRAM 12 speed cassette.

Full Carbon 29ER Mountain Bike Clincher Wheelset ( for Disc brake )

Material : Toray Carbon
Wheel Size : 29"
Wheel Rim Depth : 28mm
Width : 35mm
Finished : 3K Carbon Glossy , 3K Carbon Matt , UD Carbon Glossy , UD Carbon Matt Available
Holes : Front 32 , Rear 32
Nipple Hole Type: External
2190 +/-50g( One set)
For Shimano 10s

robertpb

Buy decent alloy wheels they will be lighter than those, they will come with a guarantee and ride better.

Unless you are willing to pay a lot of money forget carbon, most of these cheap Chinese wheels that I've seen tested have a harsh ride which means they roll slower off road.

Plus you will be helping the planet.

agg25

I thought carbon wheels were stiffer and stronger for the weight than ali and made for a better ride. I've never ridden any myself but that's what reviews have said. Is there that much difference between mega buck carbon rims and cheaper in terms of ride quality and strength?

lemonenema

hmm yes i didnt look at the weight, surely that cant be right, even for 29" wheels. im sure they could do it with a different hub if you ask. Ill messag them now.

But yeah there are plenty to choose from out there, I use Ali Express and make sure I read (using google translate) the reviews.

robertpb

agg25 wrote:

I thought carbon wheels were stiffer and stronger for the weight than ali and made for a better ride. I've never ridden any myself but that's what reviews have said. Is there that much difference between mega buck carbon rims and cheaper in terms of ride quality and strength?

Expensive carbon rims are compliant like alloy rims, without this they not worth looking at.

A set of Hunt Trailwide 29" alloy wheels for £349 and weigh only 1823 grams is better value.

whyamihere

Have a look at Light-Bicycle and Nextie. I have a couple of sets of Nextie rims and some Light-Bicycle wheels. They're good quality and good to deal with. They're not the cheapest options, but they're light and seem strong (I've not managed to do any damage yet).

cycleclinic

Be careful of specs. All the important stuff is missing.

Robust Alloy wheels around 1700g is standard fair. If you going with carbon then 1450g is the weight of my current set with sapim force spokes. The weenie version would be under 1200g.

Spending £400 on cheap carbon wheels is a waste of money when you can have better wheels with alloy rims. The rim that will keep you happy is made by kinlin and is the tl23.

lemonenema

I emailed FlyXII about the wheelset and they say yes that is the correct weight listed! Thats ridiculously heavy even for 29" wheels.

The Kinlin rims are good, Ive got the XR-31T, very nice.

Anyway, let us know what you decide on.

agg25

whyamihere wrote:

Have a look at Light-Bicycle and Nextie. I have a couple of sets of Nextie rims and some Light-Bicycle wheels. They're good quality and good to deal with. They're not the cheapest options, but they're light and seem strong (I've not managed to do any damage yet).

How much we talkin? I would go up to around £600-£800 for some light, strong carbon wheels

agg25

thecycleclinic wrote:

Be careful of specs. All the important stuff is missing.

Robust Alloy wheels around 1700g is standard fair. If you going with carbon then 1450g is the weight of my current set with sapim force spokes. The weenie version would be under 1200g.

Spending £400 on cheap carbon wheels is a waste of money when you can have better wheels with alloy rims. The rim that will keep you happy is made by kinlin and is the tl23.

1450 sounds about what I was thinking would be about right for me. How much did your setup cost and what are they? Kinlin?

whyamihere

agg25 wrote:

whyamihere wrote:

Have a look at Light-Bicycle and Nextie. I have a couple of sets of Nextie rims and some Light-Bicycle wheels. They're good quality and good to deal with. They're not the cheapest options, but they're light and seem strong (I've not managed to do any damage yet).

How much we talkin? I would go up to around £600-£800 for some light, strong carbon wheels

I paid £446.91 including postage for my last Nextie rims, plus import fees. They weren't the cheapest ones they do. The previous set, which were heavier and narrower, were £307.69 including postage, but that was 2 years ago so the prices may have gone up. I built both sets up myself, one set onto Hope Pro 4s, and the other onto DT 240s. The set with the cheaper rims and the Hope hubs I think cost me about £600 all in and weighed around 1550g. The newer set was probably something like £800 and weighs in the low 1300g range. I could have made both sets lighter, but there's no point of doing so if I'd be scared to take them through a rock garden or have to rebuild the hubs after a muddy ride.

Both companies also offer pre-built sets. I bought a pre-built set from Light-Bicycle (road wheels, but MTB would be similar) for around $700 shipped, which works out to about £550, with Novatec hubs. This is a good option if you haven't built wheels before, the build seems to be good, with the wheels being true and spoke tensions being even.

mattyfez

I bought some light bicycle rims about four years ago, absolutely bomb proof. No complaints at all but the only real difference I can tell for general riding is the acceleration and ease of recovering pace after slowing down.

They are more expensive than they used to be though, I think I paid about £650 all in, Inc. Import fees. for a prebuilt wheel set on pro2 evo hubs.

To thier credit they asked my weight and style of riding, as I was going to get a the lighter xc rims, but they were fairly insistent I went for the all mountain spec rims.

Can't fault them.

tom_howard

lemonenema wrote:

I emailed FlyXII about the wheelset and they say yes that is the correct weight listed! Thats ridiculously heavy even for 29" wheels.

Not if the 35mm width is internal (its fair even if its external, assuming 30mm internal). My 27.5 SC Reserve 30mm on King hubs are 1850g though they will be here, and working, with the cockroaches after a nuclear war...

The lightest MTB wheels DT Swiss make, the XMC 1200, are 1450g, so thats my benchmark for weight/strength.

Neither of those options are what you would call cheap though.

mattyfez

My Lbs are difficult to fit new tyres to though, unless the tyres been removed and refitted a few times so the bead is a bit more stretched, they are insanely tight.

agg25

Checked out Nextie and specc'd these ones -

[NXT29UL30] ULTRALIGHT 30mm Width 29" Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike Clincher Rim [Tubeless Compatible]
- Carbon Weave UD
- Finish Matte
- Spoke Holes Count 32
- Spoke Holes Diameter 4.5mm (standard)
- Decals of "NEXTIE" logo black x2 $480
Build Your Own Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike Complete Wheelset Front & Rear Build Your Own Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike Complete Wheelset Front & Rear
- Rims Please add 2pcs rims..
- Hubs Hope Pro 4 BOOST 15x..
- Disc Rotor Mount Type 6 Bolt
- Ratchet Teeth 44T (Hope)
- Spoke Holes 32holes Front / 32ho..
- Driver Sram XD 9-12s
- Spokes DT Competition Race ..
- Nipples Brass Black (1.0g/pc..$450

Works out to be about £740 with overall weight of 1495g all up so not too bad I reckon and should be pretty tough. Guess import duties would apply on top of this. I've sent them an email to ask if this would suit me best or if they had any other recommendations.

agg25

Got a reply already. Think I might still opt for brass nipples despite her recommending alloy, I've heard brass are worth it -

This is Alice Yang at Nextie here. Thanks for your inquiry.

Yes, you have the right choice for NXT29UL30 rims. Lately one of our customer win a race with same model of rims NXT29UL30.
Your weight and riding forms are good to ride NXT29UL30 rims.

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I calculated the weight of the NXT29UL30 wheelset you chose. See as below:

Front wheelset: 310g+188g+4.8gx32+1gx32=683.6g
Rear wheelset: 310g+311g+4.8gx32+1gx32=806.6g
Total weight: 1490.2g

You chose brass nipples for the wheelset, the weight is 64g for 64pcs nipples. While, we recommend alloy nipples as you ride XC cycling, which is lighter, around 44g lighter.
For the hubs, would you like lighter hubs, like DT240 or DT350? If DT350 hubs, then weight decreases 35g. If DT240 hubs, weight decreases 118g.
For spokes, DT Competition race is great. Unless you prefer lighter ones like Pillar PSR X-Tra 1420, but also more expensive.

Please feel free to let us know if there is any question.

Best Regards,
Alice Yang at Nextie

Website: www.nextie.net
Nextie Industry & Trading Co., Ltd.
Unit 2207, Xinglinwan Rd #474,
Jimei, Xiamen 361000, China
+86 592 6282051
+86 180 4628 6260

agg25

Could save $40 and 35g if going for DT350 hubs. What are thoughts on DT350 vs Hope Pro 4? I know the main difference will be the sound!

agg25

Don't worry found this thread - https://forums.mtbr.com/all-mountain/ho ... 23964.html

tom_howard

Yeah, don't go alloy nipples over brass.

agg25

Yeah the Nextie bird came back and said best to replace alloy nipples every 6 months. censored that. I'd rather sacrifice 40g. Think I'd go the DT350 having read a bit more, lighter and cheaper than the Hope.

mattyfez

Yeh go brass, no worries about galvanic corrosion as alloy can react with carbon. Worth the slight weight penalty to not have to worry about it.
I got mine with black DT spokes and black brass nipples so it looks pretty sleek. I guess they adonise the brass or something.

The Rookie

My old wheelset had alloy nipples, nearly 3 years old when I sold it, not a single failed nipple.

I can't see they've been mentioned, but lightbike carbon rims have been well reviewed.

mattyfez

The Rookie wrote:

My old wheelset had alloy nipples, nearly 3 years old when I sold it, not a single failed nipple.

I can't see they've been mentioned, but lightbike carbon rims have been well reviewed.

Do you mean light bicycle? Mentioned several times

Were your alloy nipples on alloy rims though, or carbon rims? Brass is preferable on carbon as it doesn't react with the carbon.

My front carbon rim is still on aluminium nipples, rear on brass as I had to get it respoked after a crash where the derailleur went into the wheel mangling a bunch of spokes.