I want a new carbon wheelset for the road bike for the summer. Thinking deep set, 50mm or thereabouts. There are sets on Ebay direct from Taiwan/China for between £250 and £350, brand new.
Don’t slate me, explain to me why these are a bad idea? Obviously no warranty… can’t see them being hugely heavier than the equivalent branded ones here for thrice the price.

Anyone bought some? Suppose it’s not hugely different to buying a carbon frame direct from manufacturer.

thanks

Comes up weekly at the moment. Nowt wrong with them. Thousands of posts on other forums about them. Go nuts.

Thinking on the 50mm versions for the summer too…..

I’m tempted by some 38mm tubs.

Just a slightly cheaper version than some of the really good chinese manufacturers who don’t sell on ebay I would recommrnd the non ebay wheels direct.
Ive started importing them for my team

I picked up some 38mm carbon clinchers on novatech hubs from carbonzone for about £380; use them as fair weather training wheels and have been going for about 18months with no fuss, including some hot weather euro trips. I tend to race on the c35 dura ace tubs, and they certainly don’t feel £900 worse.

I’d been thinking of getting some but really not sure there’s much, if any, advantage in deep section rims for your average rider other than the look?

Tubulars seem a lot of hassle for non racing situations and the carbon clinchers are generally heavier than aluminium alternatives. Does the aero gain really negate the extra weight?

The seem quite popular at some of the sportives I’ve done but generally sportives pack in a fair few hills so wouldn’t a lighter weight aluminium rim offer more benefit over the slight aero advantage of a 50mm carbon rim for those types of rides especially at the average sportive rider speeds?

Saying that I know someone who has a pair from ebay, they’ve not had a problem with them, so go for it if you want some.

I’d been thinking of getting some but really not sure there’s much, if any, advantage in deep section rims for your average rider other than the look?

I’ve got 50mm from Carbonzone direct. They’ve been fine but I agree that unless you are looking to save seconds in a TT then you are better off with a good set of alloys if only for the superior braking. Fortunately I wasn’t expecting a noticable improvement in speed from the deep section carbons and although they do look cool on the bike my alloy Fulcrum Racing 1 are a superior wheel especially for stiffness. You probably have to spend about twice as much on a carbon wheel to get something that approaches the same weight and stiffness of a good alloy wheel.

Thanks for the replies – sorry I don’t frequent this forum THAT often but haven’t seen a thread on them yet. Should have searched.

Maybe I will give them a chance then. But this discussion above is interesting – the marginal aero improvement is negligible I suppose, and yes would be better with ‘stiffer’ wheels (truly, is this noticeable??). The other option is the Shimano RS80/C24 set on planet-x for about £330 if I remember correctly. They look decent for the money, quite light, and quite stiff.

So fashionable carbon deep rims, or reliable unfashionable normal rims? That is the question….

Not speaking from experience, but I’ve heard from people that do use them that they’re “not bad”. For the price they’ll be nothing spectacular, but £250-£300 on some handbuilts (wheelsmith handbuilt wheels
)will at least get you something decent and serviceable with easily sourced replacement parts

The deeper section wheels can also be surprisingly heavy.

If it was me I’d get as a low-a-profile as possible, 24mm – 38mm

I was looking at some, they do a 30mm carbon clincher with an alloy braking surface. It was the weight which put me off though, 1,700+ grams for a pair, otherwise really tempted. Just got a pair of King R45 hubs from the classifieds instead and now on the hunt for Open Pros.

people who worry about the weight shouldn’t really. Mine weigh 1450g for 50mm clinchers. They make a (slight) difference once your upto speed and they look good. For the money why not

Weight, aero…………….

Face facts it’s all about looks, if you like deep section then go for it, if not get a nice set of alloy rid lie fulcrum racing 3 for similar money, or better still get Avicenna aksims for less money but 99.9% of the performance.

I get the look thing but what I was really getting at is are they actually worse performance wise for the average rider than a lighter non aero aluminium rim?

I’ve read that the rider counts for 80% of the aero drag and that deep section wheels only really become noticeable around 20-25mph so the aero gains must be pretty small?

I guess if you can afford some lightweight aero wheels like zipps then you get the aero and weight advantage but I couldn’t justify the cost of something like that and decided that I’d probably notice a bigger performance gain from lighter weight wheels and went for some C24’s in the end.

I looked at some of these aero carbon wheels on eBay but I was a little concerned about the fact you’ve no idea about the quality of the manufacture and it’s impossible to check out reviews as they’re not branded. Spent a bit of time checking out the offers and got a set of Pro Lite Bracciano for half price on CRC. Still more expensive than the eBay alternatives but with that level of discount the extra is worth it.
Personally I don’t expect to notice much aero advantage with a 50mm deep section but at 1300g and with reviews saying they are a stiff wheel, there’s not much weight penalty so worth a try and as others have said – they look great.

Over my previous setup (including tyres and tubes, not cassette) There was a pound in weight difference using the 50mm Carbonzone wheels. I’m quite happy with that to be fair. And they make awesome whizzy noises.

my 2p experience. set of clinchers on novatech hubs sapim spokes, 1250g the set.
generally for the price they are excellent
issues:
– the rear hub drags a little on free wheeling,
– i had to replace 1 spoke that after about 400K let go in dramatic fashion, since then its been fine and no probs.

– the front does have some deflection on hard out climbing.

considering what you can get new for that price from your lbs/uk online, i have not had any regrets.

ive got a set of planet x carbon clicnher with very little use i may be looking to get rid of drop me an email if interested it, address in profile

I guess if you can afford some lightweight aero wheels like zipps then you get the aero and weight advantage but I couldn’t justify the cost of something like that and decided that I’d probably notice a bigger performance gain from lighter weight wheels and went for some C24’s in the end.

Carbon clinchers aren’t light, even spending Zipp money you’re not going go get much lighter. I had some 50mm Bontragers a few years back, they were 1550g (IIRC), and did feel fantastic on the flat, really fast. However when climbing they just felt like a bit of a slog. Wouldn’t go for carbon wheels full stop unless I could get below the weight of decent alu ones myself. YMMV.

@jmckee – are the Pro-Lites you got tubulars or clinchers? If they’re clincher and come in at that weight I think they’d be an ideal choice for me.

I’m afraid they’re tubulars. I’d have preferred to stay with Clinchers as well but I concluded that I couldn’t get them at a weight and price I was prepared to pay.

I’ve read mixed reports about how much hassle tubs are. I don’t mind a bit of tinkering in the tool shed but how easily I can deal with them if I flat some day is a different matter. Time will tell – wheels just arrived this morning!

I’ve just ordered a pair of 38mm carbon clinchers. 300 quid.

expecting delivery this week.

I sold my 50mm Mavics as they were to flighty in cross winds, I had a couple of very scary moments., so gone a bit less aero, and lost a pound of rotating weight. can’t be bad.

oh yeah, most importantly, matte non branded carbon wheels look the business.

Do you have a link the the ones you bought Warton?

Thanks

I do, but I’m at work and ebay is blocked, I’ll do it tonight

lost a pound of rotating weight

Jeez, what weight were the old wheels compared to the new ones? Seems like a huge amount of weight to save.

only 450g, not a massive amount.

mavics were 1800, new ones are 1450, so not exactly a pound, but rounding it up, you know? 😀

I’m glad I’ve sparked an interesting discussion and people are as unsure as me! Had a look at the pro lites on CRC and they’re not really “much more” at more than double the price of the ebay specials are they!!

The ebay ones are quoted 1350g per pair, which seems light. They look the business and if they’re reliable and serviceable, then I say why not. I’m seriously considering ordering some. I appreciate your comments on the aero and cross wind and will probably go for 38mm rather than 50. It has honestly never crossed my mind what it must be like to ride with a full aero wheel at 40mph with it blowing a gale. That must be a truly scary experience!

Another point to be mentioned is that these chinese sellers are genuinely very helpful. If ever you email questions or have a problem, they do try very hard to help and the claimed 1 year warranty I think they would hold up to very well actually. 99.5% positive feedback is pretty damn good tbh, aren’t many UK shops that can attest to that!

I emailed one about some carbon road bars yesterday and a reply this morning in my email. £64 including carriage for a pair of bars, although my only scare is duty if I get stopped. Not sure what the risk is on something reasonably cheap compared to wheels.

i got mine from here linky

regarding customs, must will put a ‘fake’ invoice in the box, stating the items are samples, but its not always successful…

I wish I was as good as some of you guys who can tell the difference 100g makes on a wheel. What’s it like being so sensitive.

You must go like a train up the hills after a crap.

I wish I was as good as some of you guys who can tell the difference 100g makes on a wheel. What’s it like being so sensitive.

You must go like a train up the hills after a crap.

You should see me with light wheels and freshly empty bowels.

Although mine are <1300g so it’s not a fair comparison.

Lighter wheels do feel good, but I think there’s a lot to be said for tyre pressure and also tyre compound / tread / profile even on road tyres.

I bought these 38mm tub wheels, I had to pay £30 import and they took around 3 weeks to arrive. Came with QRs and cartridge pads which I’d not expected. Weights are 600 F 798 R without QRs. They aren’t as good quality as the Hope Pro3 50mm’s, but then they were also 1/3 the price, and the freewheel isn’t as draggy. They will be used for cross racing.

Great responses! £30 import is not bad at all tbh, that’s £300 for a 1350g carbon wheelset! Not too shabby.

Although mine are <1300g so it’s not a fair comparison.

I hope you wash your hands after weighing? Do you block the U bend?

I did notice the difference switching from Giant mid range wheels to Kyrium Elites. Some of this was weight (350g), but some will have been tyre choice and stiffness.

my only scare is duty if I get stopped.

I’ve bought bits from Hong Kong and Taiwan and they’ve got through fine, it’s stuff from the US I’ve been caught for VAT and duty on.
.
As for noticing the weight, yes you will! My light MTB race wheels are 1,200g (Tune Prince/Princess, DT Aerolights, Alex XCR-Pro) and they are noticably better on the climbs than my other 1,450g race wheels (Chris Kings, DT Revs, Stans Alpines). Huge difference in peformance. Unfortunately the seals on the Tune hubs are pi$$ poor and I daren’t take them out in the wet any more, 3 freewheels in two years! The Kings seem pretty much indestrucable.

Looks like I’ll buy some drop bars for the road bike over Easter time and report back on how I get on……….

I have been looking at some carbon tubs for a while now. and with the racing season getting under way I am really tempted by some of these Chinese carbon 50mm tubs.

They do really make a difference at speed, from around 19mph+ they are noticeably easier to ride at speed, and you find it takes much less effort to hold the higher speeds of races. I don’t think there is a pro team out there that doesnt use them.
I would never use them on open roads though, unless racing, as getting a ding in a pothole doesnt bare thinking about.

I really wouldnt get a set for general riding, unless you have stupid moneys and dont care about looking like a c*ck with all the gear and no idea. A good set of handbuilt wheels would be better.

Also some very interesting reading here

I really wouldnt get a set for general riding, unless you have stupid moneys and dont care about looking like a c*ck with all the gear and no idea.

Really? Or maybe you just like riding nice wheels all the time. Who actually cares if you ‘look like a c*ck’?

There is a noticeable difference between shallow section rims and 50mm+ carbon rims. The 50mm’s are stiffer and just generally feel faster. There are numerous discussions on what’s more important – weight or aero and apparently over 8mph aero becomes more important. Light/faster wheels will make a noticeable difference to any bike – I’d rather ride a £500 mtb with a £1000 set of wheels than than a stock £1500 bike