Moriarty carbon wheelsets

k3vinjam3s

Looking at these relatively unknown rebranded chinese carbon wheelsets.

https://www.moriartybikes.com/m-series

Im looking for some 50mm wheels that will support my 95kg weight. Been looking at farsports and light-bicycle aswell but as the moriarty wheels are competitively priced and offer a bit of back up being uk based. If someone with a better understanding can tell me the difference between these and chinese wheelsets that would be great.

imposter2.0

k3vinjam3s wrote:

If someone with a better understanding can tell me the difference between these and chinese wheelsets that would be great.

They basically are chinese wheelsets, with some 'local' re-branding. Rim width looks a little on the narrow side, when compared to contemporary 19mm+ internal width options available elsewhere..

lakesluddite

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Looking at these relatively unknown rebranded chinese carbon wheelsets.

https://www.moriartybikes.com/m-series

Im looking for some 50mm wheels that will support my 95kg weight. Been looking at farsports and light-bicycle as well but as the moriarty wheels are competitively priced and offer a bit of back up being uk based. If someone with a better understanding can tell me the difference between these and chinese wheelsets that would be great.

I have replied to your post on another thread, but essentially - Google 'Zuus wheels' to see a warning from (very recent) history (especially https://road.cc/content/forum/257815-an ... heels-2019). I'm not saying Moriarty is the same, but a relatively small operation in the UK offering extremely good prices for carbon wheelsets is essentially the same MO as Zuus. A warranty is worth jack if the company goes belly up. Caveat emptor.

g00se

Have a look at Prime wheels. Warranty backing by Wiggle/ChainReaction.

k3vinjam3s

LakesLuddite wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Looking at these relatively unknown rebranded chinese carbon wheelsets.

https://www.moriartybikes.com/m-series

Im looking for some 50mm wheels that will support my 95kg weight. Been looking at farsports and light-bicycle as well but as the moriarty wheels are competitively priced and offer a bit of back up being uk based. If someone with a better understanding can tell me the difference between these and chinese wheelsets that would be great.

I have replied to your post on another thread, but essentially - Google 'Zuus wheels' to see a warning from (very recent) history (especially https://road.cc/content/forum/257815-an ... heels-2019). I'm not saying Moriarty is the same, but a relatively small operation in the UK offering extremely good prices for carbon wheelsets is essentially the same MO as Zuus. A warranty is worth jack if the company goes belly up. Caveat emptor.

Yes aware of the zuus happenings and it is a concern regarding warranty with small companies.

As for the narrow rim? Is the difference that different? Looking at the clearance on my frame the 23mm external may be better suited anyway. Also the price looks very good and just over £400 for the wheelset is very competitive.

Does anyone recognise the rims or hubs on the moriarty wheelsets?

k3vinjam3s

g00se wrote:

Have a look at Prime wheels. Warranty backing by Wiggle/ChainReaction.

Have looked and cant stand the decals. Can be removed but no doubt that will void warranty maybe?

imposter2.0

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Does anyone recognise the rims or hubs on the moriarty wheelsets?

Hubs look like Bitex, or maybe Novatec. Perfectly good. Prices do look decent overall...

g00se

k3vinjam3s wrote:

g00se wrote:

Have a look at Prime wheels. Warranty backing by Wiggle/ChainReaction.

Have looked and cant stand the decals. Can be removed but no doubt that will void warranty maybe?

Fair enough, but I think the 'dark' decals are less flamboyant.

ugo.santalucia

Rims look quite upmarket with the pattern visible (like Mavic). Doesn't mean they are.
Hubs are Bitex, which are OKish.
Construction appears unconventional, maybe just a light effect but seemingly the spokes cross without overlapping on the rear drive side, which is most unusual for J-drilled hubs

k3vinjam3s

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Rims look quite upmarket with the pattern visible (like Mavic). Doesn't mean they are.
Hubs are Bitex, which are OKish.
Construction appears unconventional, maybe just a light effect but seemingly the spokes cross without overlapping on the rear drive side, which is most unusual for J-drilled hubs

So good value? Or worth paying more from china or primes from wiggle?

ugo.santalucia

k3vinjam3s wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Rims look quite upmarket with the pattern visible (like Mavic). Doesn't mean they are.
Hubs are Bitex, which are OKish.
Construction appears unconventional, maybe just a light effect but seemingly the spokes cross without overlapping on the rear drive side, which is most unusual for J-drilled hubs

So good value? Or worth paying more from china or primes from wiggle?

People put to much value in warranty. The issues in buying from china are around delivery times/tax and whether you will get scammed (unlikely if you follow advice).
Most issues people moan about can be resolved without need for a warranty, typically for a bag of nuts.

I would have no problem in buying these Moriarty, if that's what you want. If they go bust in six months, you lose the warranty, not a big deal...
400 pounds seems exceedingly cheap

k3vinjam3s

ugo.santalucia wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Rims look quite upmarket with the pattern visible (like Mavic). Doesn't mean they are.
Hubs are Bitex, which are OKish.
Construction appears unconventional, maybe just a light effect but seemingly the spokes cross without overlapping on the rear drive side, which is most unusual for J-drilled hubs

So good value? Or worth paying more from china or primes from wiggle?

People put to much value in warranty. The issues in buying from china are around delivery times/tax and whether you will get scammed (unlikely if you follow advice).
Most issues people moan about can be resolved without need for a warranty, typically for a bag of nuts.

I would have no problem in buying these Moriarty, if that's what you want. If they go bust in six months, you lose the warranty, not a big deal...
400 pounds seems exceedingly cheap

Thanks for the advice.

As for their low price, are they too good to be true? The company is very new which is a worry concerning them honouring orders if things arent going well for them. I may give them a ring and see what options maybe available regarding deposit etc.

ugo.santalucia

Very little information about where they are based...

k3vinjam3s

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Very little information about where they are based...

Got their info off companies house. Very new. 1st year of trading i think.

mrb123

Why not email them and ask for more information, ie what hubs, spokes and rims are they using. No reason they shouldn't be open and honest about it.

k3vinjam3s

MrB123 wrote:

Why not email them and ask for more information, ie what hubs, spokes and rims are they using. No reason they shouldn't be open and honest about it.

Have emailed and got good detailed responses. Very good replies confirming wheels built abroad but go through QC here in uk. All well known hubs and spares readily available.

Only thing holding me back is the width of the rims. Is there much difference between the 23mm they offer and other rims that are wider. Reckon max i can get on my frame is 25mm.

ugo.santalucia

k3vinjam3s wrote:

MrB123 wrote:

Why not email them and ask for more information, ie what hubs, spokes and rims are they using. No reason they shouldn't be open and honest about it.

Have emailed and got good detailed responses. Very good replies confirming wheels built abroad but go through QC here in uk. All well known hubs and spares readily available.

Only thing holding me back is the width of the rims. Is there much difference between the 23mm they offer and other rims that are wider. Reckon max i can get on my frame is 25mm.

There is only difference if you convince yourself that there is any difference. Just tell people they are 26 and you'll be happy

matt_n-2

I actually really like the look of them and have emailed to ask if they can supply with a Campag freehub, I know it’s easily swapped but I want it to be supplied, just over £400 for the 50mm seems good VFM to me and more representative of the price versus getting them direct from source unlike some companies that rebrand and double the price!

k3vinjam3s

Matt_N wrote:

I actually really like the look of them and have emailed to ask if they can supply with a Campag freehub, I know it’s easily swapped but I want it to be supplied, just over £400 for the 50mm seems good VFM to me and more representative of the price versus getting them direct from source unlike some companies that rebrand and double the price!

I have had good communication from them and they more or less said they were brands on the market with the same builds charging double the price. I have ordered the 50mm wheelset from them on the back of their detailed coms. A 4 week aint great though but ill be patient.

daniel_b

They do appear to be very good value don't they, be interested to hear how you get on with them once they arrive.

Wheel weights, if accurate, seem to be very competitive.
Bit surprised the 50F\60R comes in at 1540g, the same as 30F\50R.

Can you spec them with no decals if you wanted do you know?

k3vinjam3s

Daniel B wrote:

They do appear to be very good value don't they, be interested to hear how you get on with them once they arrive.

Wheel weights, if accurate, seem to be very competitive.
Bit surprised the 50F\60R comes in at 1540g, the same as 30F\50R.

Can you spec them with no decals if you wanted do you know?

Not sure on the decals. They are quite understated so can live with that.

As for weights lets see what they weigh when they arrive.

daniel_b

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

They do appear to be very good value don't they, be interested to hear how you get on with them once they arrive.

Wheel weights, if accurate, seem to be very competitive.
Bit surprised the 50F\60R comes in at 1540g, the same as 30F\50R.

Can you spec them with no decals if you wanted do you know?

Not sure on the decals. They are quite understated so can live with that.

As for weights lets see what they weigh when they arrive.

Worst case they would come off with a hair dryer like my Mavics I expect.

So you went for the M5 set - allegedly they weigh 1580g.

matt_n-2

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Matt_N wrote:

I actually really like the look of them and have emailed to ask if they can supply with a Campag freehub, I know it’s easily swapped but I want it to be supplied, just over £400 for the 50mm seems good VFM to me and more representative of the price versus getting them direct from source unlike some companies that rebrand and double the price!

I have had good communication from them and they more or less said they were brands on the market with the same builds charging double the price. I have ordered the 50mm wheelset from them on the back of their detailed coms. A 4 week aint great though but ill be patient.

Farsports, CarbonSpeedCycle will be a similar wait too.

Presume you paid by credit card to give you some protection should they not materialise? Have they actually shipped any wheels and the next batch is due in 4 weeks or is this first batch?

k3vinjam3s

Considered the 60/50 but more likely to buy a set of 38s if these are decent so i can swap out the front wheel if silly windy. Dnt think i need a 60mm rear for riding i do.

Yes paid by credit card thru paypal.

matt_n-2

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Considered the 60/50 but more likely to buy a set of 38s if these are decent so i can swap out the front wheel if silly windy. Dnt think i need a 60mm rear for riding i do.

Yes paid by credit card thru paypal.

Cool.

Keep us posted on progress.

rider_x

As far as I can tell all that's happening here is Moriarty are placing the order with the Chinese supplier rather than you doing so directly. It's no coincidence that the majority of Chinese factories are holding regular sales on their "old" 23mm width rims, so lacing them to some Bitex hubs with Pillar spokes isn't going to cost the earth.

Now I've no opinion one way or the other as to the quality of the wheels themselves - many Chinese suppliers turn out a good product. But claiming that the wheels have been "developed by Moriarty Bikes" is a little rich. Perhaps the "developers" at Moriarty would like to chime in as to how a 38mm rim can have the same ERD measurement as a 50mm rim (both listed at 544mm) or how the 38mm rim has a 50mm brake track? Or maybe they didn't proof-read the rim profile graphics that were emailed to them?

Truthfully, you're probably far better off emailing your chosen Chinese supplier directly as odds are they'll actually have more than a passing knowledge of the product they're selling you. You'll avoid paying whatever mark-up these guys are charging and have exactly the same lead time on an order. Plus you can choose your own graphics.

k3vinjam3s

rider_x wrote:

As far as I can tell all that's happening here is Moriarty are placing the order with the Chinese supplier rather than you doing so directly. It's no coincidence that the majority of Chinese factories are holding regular sales on their "old" 23mm width rims, so lacing them to some Bitex hubs with Pillar spokes isn't going to cost the earth.

Now I've no opinion one way or the other as to the quality of the wheels themselves - many Chinese suppliers turn out a good product. But claiming that the wheels have been "developed by Moriarty Bikes" is a little rich. Perhaps the "developers" at Moriarty would like to chime in as to how a 38mm rim can have the same ERD measurement as a 50mm rim (both listed at 544mm) or how the 38mm rim has a 50mm brake track? Or maybe they didn't proof-read the rim profile graphics that were emailed to them?

Truthfully, you're probably far better off emailing your chosen Chinese supplier directly as odds are they'll actually have more than a passing knowledge of the product they're selling you. You'll avoid paying whatever mark-up these guys are charging and have exactly the same lead time on an order. Plus you can choose your own graphics.

Nice first post.

I havent ordered blind and moriarty even said they do the same what you have said above but then have them rebranded and quality checked here in uk.

Fair enough if im paying more than i should but as they seem fair value anyway im ok with that.

matt_n-2

On the price front I think I’m ok with £400, by the time you pay import on direct sale wheels you’ll not be far off that and at least with this company you do have some UK based support.

It’s the companies that rebrand and then charge £700+ for wheels that can be bought direct for ~£300 that stings a bit.

imposter2.0

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Nice first post.

To be fair, it struck me as being pretty knowledgeable...

k3vinjam3s

Imposter wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Nice first post.

To be fair, it struck me as being pretty knowledgeable...

Yes but cant help but see it as bitter to join specifically to coment on this thread.

imposter2.0

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Imposter wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

Nice first post.

To be fair, it struck me as being pretty knowledgeable...

Yes but cant help but see it as bitter to join specifically to coment on this thread.

I must have missed the 'bitterness'...