Carbon wheels, again!

Hi, just ordered my first disc road bike a Scott Addict 20, my third Scott Addict!
I am now looking for some light wheels, what are your thoughts on these? My budget is about £800 as will also need to by disc rotors, cassette, and tires.

Scribe

https://scribecycling.com/collections/core-range/products/aero-wide-plus-42d-carbon-wheelset

Aero Wide+ 42-D Carbon Wheelset – Scribe Cycling

Zed

https://zedbikewheels.com/product/comp-disc-aero-wide-44/

COMPETITION DISC AERO WIDE 44 1433g - Zed Bike Wheels

Hunt

https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-40-carbon-aero-disc-wheelset

Hunt 40 Carbon Aero Disc Wheelset – Hunt Bike Wheels

I prefer the Scribe but like the price of the Zed.

Also, any suggest on light weight disc rotors 160mm.

Cheers

Comments

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,903
    edited October 2023
    Congrats on your purchase, I'm a Scott advocate too :-)

    I have an RC30 but all that remains from the original bike is the frame and forks :D

    I had some wheels built up by Mark at https://spokesmanwheels.co.uk/, we had a few mails back and forth discussing my requirements and budget etc, and I've had them on my bike now for approx 9 months.

    Really happy with them, VERY understated, and also extremely light.
    Had I not gone for Tune hubs they would have been under your budget.

    For another Scott bike I did look at Scribe wheels, and they are very competitive, but I would probably have gone with Cero wheels if looking at off the peg wheels.
    In the end a pair of nearly new Enve's at a price to good to turn down came up, and I went for them instead - equally as happy with them too.

    Rotor wise I wasn't very imaginative, just went for XTR.
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 16,829
    I have tried Scribe and Zed.

    Both fine, but Zed is one bloke and an assistant building wheels, and his wife running the business - potentially not as the day job.

    This is fine, and the wheels are well put together. However their size limits how responsive they can be. I popped a spoke on mine and it took me 4 months - albeit under exceptional and understandable circumstances - to get a few spares. So you are really buying from a solo wheel builder and you would have to accept this comes with a bit of a compromise.

    Scribe are a larger company.
  • hpaul
    hpaul Posts: 114
    edited October 2023
    I've had Zed about a year. I like them, seem well put together. But I wouldn't be to keen on customer service.

    I had a crash a few rides in, was a minor buckle on front wheel. I emailed a few times about getting repaired at LBS. If it would affect warranty and if they had a crash replacement. Its been 6 months and I'm still waiting on a response. LBS repaired for £18.
  • I've still got to finish setting up my bargain pair of Vel 50 RLs bought almost a year ago! :'(

    Didn't seem worth riding them while struggling to average 18mph+ on a flat hourish loop and now I doubt we'll get the weather to try them until next spring.
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 16,829
    hpaul said:

    I've had Zed about a year. I like them, seem well put together. But I wouldn't be to keen on customer service.

    I had a crash a few rides in, was a minor buckle on front wheel. I emailed a few times about getting repaired at LBS. If it would affect warranty and if they had a crash replacement. Its been 6 months and I'm still waiting on a response. LBS repaired for £18.

    There have been some health issues, just so you know.

    But then I think they also fail the old adage that your best new customers are your past customers - they had a standard email reply for a while saying they were prioritising new builds.

    Wrong way round, chaps.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Was going to suggest edco wheels but they are £400 more expensive than when I bought them 2 years ago so are now £1000
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,419
    I purchased a set of Parcours Rondes early in the summer and have been really pleased with them, but probably beyond your price bracket, but worth a look at their other wheels.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    Any comments on the quality of these? I've started watching the MapDec channel on YouTube, they have some good stuff on there done by a bike mechanic.

    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • i.bhamra
    i.bhamra Posts: 304
    edited October 2023
    If you are prepared to wait a bit weeks to get hold of your wheels then may be consider something from China. I ordered a pair from Airwolf through their Ebay shop.

    Lots of options for depth, width and hubs. I went for 30mm deep 24mm internal width tubeless compatible (plain matt black with no decals) rims with Novatec disc hubs and pillar spokes. Cost £280, arrived 6 weeks after placing order with no additional shipping or customs charges, actual weight was 1490g for the pair (quoted 1480g), they arrived true and have had no issues with them in use for the last 2 months.
  • I know the guys at Cycle Division quite well and have some cero alloy wheels. The build quality on their wheelsets in general is very good and as Oxoman says, you can pick up a set within budget.

    As has been discussed on many a wheel thread, the jury is out on the quality of Hunt wheels. Many people on here that have tried them (myself included) have had issues with the build quality. I am pretty sure that Mapdec as mentioned above by Secretsam has done a couple of videos where he has gone through some major issues with Hunt discs wheels and the hub/rim quality.
  • oxoman said:

    Cero are well worth a punt. Stuck a set of their's on my gravel bike and can't fault them.

    Great wheels but terrible customer service in my experience. I'd say Scribe are streets ahead in a similar price bracket.

  • @feelgoodlost what happened with Cycle Division/Cero? I am a bit biased as I know the guys there well enough to stop in and have a chat and have bought a fair few bits in the past. Not a loaded question at all, just interested to hear what went wrong for you?
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,797
    I've only had positive experiences with Light Bicycle and Farsports from China.
  • feelgoodlost
    feelgoodlost Posts: 330
    edited October 2023

    @feelgoodlost what happened with Cycle Division/Cero? I am a bit biased as I know the guys there well enough to stop in and have a chat and have bought a fair few bits in the past. Not a loaded question at all, just interested to hear what went wrong for you?

    Ordered a set of wheels that developed a fault pretty quickly, sent replacement bearings (paid for by me) one or two times to no avail. Issue persisted. CD eventually asked to send wheels back, which I did on 3 occasions and each time I had to pay £15+ for recorded delivery. Never reimbursed even though there was a clear fault with the wheel. Eventually they replaced the wheels but with no acknowledgment of inconvenience caused or the cost associated with having to pay for returning the wheels each time. They also explained that I wouldn't have the full warranty timeframe with the new wheelset, even though the issue had went on for about 6 months from the original purchase - in which time they would have my wheels for weeks on end and I'd have to chase them up about what was going on and then I'd get a shipping notification but no email or phone call to explain what they'd done to try and fix the issue... Even though I'd specifically asked to be contacted when they'd checked them over in the workshop.

    Contrast that with Scribe who have responded to email queries with a phone call within an hour, paid for a courier to collect and re-deliver a faulty wheel (not mine but a mate's) Offer a crash replacement service and their equivalent wheelset is about £200 cheaper....

    I've since had a different wheelset from Cero that have so far served me well, but then they've had pretty light use and I haven't had to go back to CD for any support.
  • oxoman said:

    @feelgoodlost what happened with Cycle Division/Cero? I am a bit biased as I know the guys there well enough to stop in and have a chat and have bought a fair few bits in the past. Not a loaded question at all, just interested to hear what went wrong for you?

    Ordered a set of wheels that developed a fault pretty quickly, sent replacement bearings (paid for by me) one or two times to no avail. Issue persisted. CD eventually asked to send wheels back, which I did on 3 occasions and each time I had to pay £15+ for recorded delivery. Never reimbursed even though there was a clear fault with the wheel. Eventually they replaced the wheels but with no acknowledgment of inconvenience caused or the cost associated with having to pay for returning the wheels each time. They also explained that I wouldn't have the full warranty timeframe with the new wheelset, even though the issue had went on for about 6 months from the original purchase - in which time they would have my wheels for weeks on end and I'd have to chase them up about what was going on and then I'd get a shipping notification but no email or phone call to explain what they'd done to try and fix the issue... Even though I'd specifically asked to be contacted when they'd checked them over in the workshop.

    Contrast that with Scribe who have responded to email queries with a phone call within an hour, paid for a courier to collect and re-deliver a faulty wheel (not mine but a mate's) Offer a crash replacement service and their equivalent wheelset is about £200 cheaper.... I wrote off

    I've since had a different wheelset from Cero that have so far served me well, but then they've had pretty light use and I haven't had to go back to CD for any support.
    You've surprised me TBH, never had an issue with them. To be fair if i did have an issue they're only 30 minutes drive away.
    Yeah, I can certainly imagine it's easier if you live nearby. Can only go off personal experience I guess.

    Looks like their equivalent wheelset is a similar price now. I don't think there's anything special in what they're offering compared to Hunt. I'd say that the Scribe hubs are a more solid build though. Pretty much a copy of DT Swiss freehub with the ratchet system.
  • hpaul
    hpaul Posts: 114
    I have a pair of prime 50s, I will absolutely buy again. Rim brake cost me £500 with tubes and Hutchinson 5 fusion tyres.

    Claimed weight of over 1600 grams Vs the Zed wheels at around 1400 grams. I've not done any testing but I think the prime are faster and 100% sound better(not relevant but they do sound great in comparison to Zeds)
  • Ordered a set of wheels that developed a fault pretty quickly, sent replacement bearings (paid for by me) one or two times to no avail. Issue persisted. CD eventually asked to send wheels back, which I did on 3 occasions and each time I had to pay £15+ for recorded delivery. Never reimbursed even though there was a clear fault with the wheel. Eventually they replaced the wheels but with no acknowledgment of inconvenience caused or the cost associated with having to pay for returning the wheels each time. They also explained that I wouldn't have the full warranty timeframe with the new wheelset, even though the issue had went on for about 6 months from the original purchase - in which time they would have my wheels for weeks on end and I'd have to chase them up about what was going on and then I'd get a shipping notification but no email or phone call to explain what they'd done to try and fix the issue... Even though I'd specifically asked to be contacted when they'd checked them over in the workshop.


    Really surprised to hear that, I guess two people can have completely contrasting experiences with the same shop. Like Oxoman, never had anything but good experiences with them but it's a shame to hear that yours wasn't the best.
  • super_davo
    super_davo Posts: 1,205
    hpaul said:

    I have a pair of prime 50s, I will absolutely buy again. Rim brake cost me £500 with tubes and Hutchinson 5 fusion tyres.

    Claimed weight of over 1600 grams Vs the Zed wheels at around 1400 grams. I've not done any testing but I think the prime are faster and 100% sound better(not relevant but they do sound great in comparison to Zeds)

    Prime would absolutely be my go to choice at the cheaper end of the carbon wheel market however Wiggle / CRC and their financial woes...
  • hpaul
    hpaul Posts: 114

    hpaul said:

    I have a pair of prime 50s, I will absolutely buy again. Rim brake cost me £500 with tubes and Hutchinson 5 fusion tyres.

    Claimed weight of over 1600 grams Vs the Zed wheels at around 1400 grams. I've not done any testing but I think the prime are faster and 100% sound better(not relevant but they do sound great in comparison to Zeds)

    Prime would absolutely be my go to choice at the cheaper end of the carbon wheel market however Wiggle / CRC and their financial woes...
    Just buy with a credit card if need. I'm sure be fine. I got an email today with 33% off, £399 for the newest 50 rim brake. I was tempted for the wife. But it's a little flash for a 17 giant liv alloy with 10sp tiagra I think.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    All the more reason.
  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,120
    I must confess, I've been tempted by the Prime wheels, and the current "everything must go" sale means the price is good.

    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • me-109
    me-109 Posts: 1,915
    Order despatch and delivery is first rate atm. Don't know if they've not had any layoffs in the warehousing side yet or if they've not got the order volumes, but the troubles aren't affecting orders for stuff in stock.