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Ebay and Chinese Direct Carbon Wheel Thread 3.0

216K views 208 replies 104 participants last post by  Roadiegull 
#1 ·
Time for a new thread. 2.0 will stay stickied below this for reference purposes.
 
#3 ·
i just got the same wheel set a few weeks ago. i have about about 300 miles on them. im heavier than you at 190 and my rims are 20 radial front and 24 2x rear. so far i havent had any problems. wheels seem stiff enough. only time will tell how durable
they will be
 
#7 ·
I purchased 10 sets of carbon wheels in 2011 in a business venture that never went ahead. Ive sold a few sets and all are still alive and running well.. 1 set died in a crash.

I run a set of 60mm clinchers on my personal bike, never had a problem with them and i do around 250k per week on some of the worst roads around, i race with them on weekends and i would not hesitate to buy another set.

If you purchase form one of the decent suppliers that just build carbon wheels and frames i think there is good quality control in place, i wouldn't buy off ebay.

I have dealt with yishun many times and only have good things to say about them.
They have not changed there name as some people have said before.

Thats my 2c any ways. To bad the AUS dollar has been shot to **** or i would have a set of there new 2015 wheels in my hands..

The company i have used is below.
Pro manufacturer of carbon rims, carbon wheels, carbon frames and carbon components for road cycling, track, triathlon, mtb
 
#9 ·
a heads up on the tubeless from farsport. the wheels i ordered were the ones with no spoke holes on the inside of the rim. the wheels they set me were tubeless compatible with spoke holes and the special rim tap to make them tubeless. thats not what i ordered and i wanted them to send me what i ordered. farsport wanted me to pay return shipping back to china $80 bucks even though they sent the wrong wheels. they said i didnt say which rim i wanted but even the invoice they sent me stated the rim didnt have spoke holes. none of that mattered even though it was their mistake. they are never going to make things right if it costs them money. if their wheels fail and you have warranty them they will make you pay shipping back to china. make sure they know what rim you want and cross your fingers.
 
#11 ·
that sucks on the "Tubeless" they sent you. I got quoted for $650 shipped including 4.5% paypal fee for the 50x25mm true tubeless 3k Matte, bitex hubs, 24h, 28h, swiss stop black brake inserts, no skewers. this was from far sports. I asked for washers on all spokes so I will make sure the invoice has every detail, including the spoke washers.
 
#15 ·
Anyone have experience with BaiXiang wheels? They sell on Amazon which is a good sign, and all the reviews I've read have been 5 stars other than one. I ordered their 50mm ultra-lite 25mm wide wheels for $455 shipped. They come with the SL novatecs, and they provide maximum spoke tension numbers unlike some of the other sellers. They have a 1 year warranty. Sounds like another top tier china option.
 
#19 ·
Something that isn't mentioned much in these threads, and can probably save you some issues is to be aware that there is a break-in period for these carbon wheels. Make sure you get the spoke tension readjusted after the first hundred miles or so. The wheels will almost definitely need to be trued after breaking-in.
 
#20 ·
Well, I got the wheels in. Very fast shipping. I'll post some pics later, but the packaging was not impressive. However, there's no physical damage that I can find while inspecting. They are perfectly true, spoke tension seems even. The quality seems nice, the only problem I can tell is that on the inside of the rim, a couple of the spoke holes have slight bulges. I don't know if this should worry me or not. I'll get my calipers out and measure for uniformity later.
 
#22 ·
So I'm a heavier rider (200+) and the brake pads didn't fit my brakes so I only used the front wheel today. I kept my mavic ksyrium sl rear wheel on. There's also some imperfections with the rear rim that I'm settling with baixiang about. The communication has been good. I'd be very happy with a replacement rim that matches the quality of the front. Anyways, I took the front wheel out for 10 miles today. I also did a 2 mile TT that I do weekly. Today I beat my PR by 1 mph average. I didn't have wind help, so I'm going to say a good part of that was due to the wheel. Performance aside, they are worth the money just for the comfort. The 25mm rim with 25mm tires felt like I was on a cloud. I bought the wheels for $450. So far I'm happy, even with one rim questionable. I'd recommend them as a budget carbon wheel. Just don't go into it expecting perfect craftsmanship. I'm still a little hesitant to do much braking with the carbon clinchers, so my rear wheel might not see much use anyways.
 
#26 ·
Thanks for the video. I'd imagine that the more quality chinese sellers put out lower maintenance wheels now than what you have experienced. In other news, I received my black prince pads and my baixiang wheels brake very nicely now. I'm gradually building confidence with these wheels. I've used sandpaper to gently remove any imperfections along the inside of the rim. I've put down some PRs with them. I've even broken into the top 5 on some strava sprint and TT segments. Impressive for cheap chinese wheels holding up ~245 lbs of total load @ 1000+ watts. I would definitely recommend getting a front chinese carbon wheel if you want some aero advantage. I'm not entirely sold on the rear wheel yet though.
 
#28 ·
About to order 24h/28h wheels from either Light-bicycle or farsports.
I can't make up my mind.

Farsports uses nipple washer and have 3 different 50mm profile.
23mm U shape (16mm internal width)
25mm toroidal (18mm internal width)
25mm U shape (18mm internal width)

Light-bicyle
45mm U shape (19mm internal width)

There's very little feedback on the "new 2015" 50mmx25mm U Shape Farsports rim
 
#33 ·
- I ordered a set of 38mm/23 width clinchers from carbonzone last gear. I believe they came in only 30g heavier than quoted (which is nothing). Brought them to the French Maritime Alps (La Madone, D' Ez) and the wheels held up fine. Some marks on the brake track. Sold them with a bike.

- Ordered a set this time from Yoeleo. Same rim/width size but with their "SL Pro hubs". I feel like I overpaid since I'm only set to save about 80g compared to the $450/1450g ish I paid on carbonzone. Let's see how this one goes. I hope it comes in under-weight at 1385g. Received my tracking last Tues and it's now Thurs midnight and still don't have any updates from EMS.

I'll post the wheels once I get them.
 
#35 ·
I bought a pair of Chinese carbon wheels a few months ago as I had a specific project in mind. I wanted to build an adventure bike in carbon that would use S&S couplers and disc brakes. The S&S couplers were for breaking the bike down and packing it in a case that met airline requirements for luggage so I would not have to pay additional fees. I wanted carbon for weight and durability. I wanted disc brakes because I wanted to switch between 700c wheels at home and 650B wheels when I traveled. Previous experience had shown me that 700c wheels needed to have the tires removed to fit them in the bag which is a pain. And my existing carbon wheels with rim brakes provided marginal braking in dry conditions and almost non existent braking in wet conditions.

Finding 700c wheels with disc brakes was expensive and a pain. It was just too much work and every quote for custom was overkill. So I ended up buying a pair of Chinese carbon wheels with Novatec hubs and spending USD$450 and so far I could not be happier. I can't tell the difference between them and my pair of domestic carbon wheels except they cost 75% less. <script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/6eeaeb67/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script>
 
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