Mantel R50 TLR carbon wheels.

velo.2010

Hello
I've been looking at carbon clinchers recently and came across Mantel's own brand (presumably Chinese open mould with Novatech or other hubs). Anyway, I emailed Mantel asking for details on the hubs so I could compare with the similar spec and priced Prime wheels on Wiggles. I recieved the most absurd response from one of their agents...

Hi ****, thanks for your question.

Mantel R50 road bike wheelsets are built with hubs suitable for Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo 10 and 11 speed casettes. The bearings in the hubs are double sealed and there is a pre-chamber that keeps the dirt out of the bearings. That's as much as I can say - Mantel wheelsets are produced in collaboration with a well-known, local wheel builder whose Brand name, by agreement, I can't disclose.

Kind regards,
*********

What's this about? I only asked for confirmation on the hubs and its some sort of trade secret. Puts me right off doing business with them.

JFTR any idea what hubs they use in those wheels?
Cheers.

daniel_b

If you are based in the UK, they won't ship orders over £135 anyhow.

Due to the referendum result/outcome, and the big blonde child.

velo.2010

Nope, I'm from a country with plenty of food on the shelves.;)

Anyone bought the Mantel wheels or indeed the Prime wheels from Wiggle and what are their thoughts? Thanks.

MattFalle

i have Primes.

For the money, mega - light, roll well, well made, come with all that trendy shyte you never use (spare spokes, stupid bit of cardboard that someone squiggled on saying they made they), spare skewers and pads, look mega, make a mega noise, nice loud freewheels.

Can't be faulted tbh.

joe_totale-2

I kinda assume that all these good value brand wheels such as Prime, Mantel, Vel et al are all made in the same factory.

Not that this is a bad thing mind, it's undeniable that they're great value for money and any performance benefit between these wheels and some 2-3 times the price is fairly miniscule.

daniel_b

velo.2010 said:

Nope, I'm from a country with plenty of food on the shelves.;)

Anyone bought the Mantel wheels or indeed the Prime wheels from Wiggle and what are their thoughts? Thanks.

I'm envious!

Have you looked at Scribe or Cero?

MattFalle

joe_totale-2 said:

I kinda assume that all these good value brand wheels such as Prime, Mantel, Vel et al are all made in the same factory.

Not that this is a bad thing mind, it's undeniable that they're great value for money and any performance benefit between these wheels and some 2-3 times the price is fairly miniscule.

ah hell, yes.

Everything from Prime to Hunt to Merlin to Selcof to Planet X to Farsport to whatever are all the same rims, hubs, spokes, etc.

Generic Chinese, Novatec, Sapim.

Just pick the image you want to portray and the budget will shift accordingly, but the parts thereof and performance are all exactly the same.

bobones

A quick look on AliExpress will turn up lots of different options for carbon rims and fully assembled wheels, so it's not true that they're all exactly the same and all from the same factory: the choice is actually quite mind boggling. However, I suspect most rims from China these days are of very good quality and there are definitely bargains to be had if you're prepared to wait a few weeks for delivery.