Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
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Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby mozza » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:19 pm
Does anyone know of any decent websites to buy any Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels or are they just not worth it?
- CXCommuter
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby CXCommuter » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:46 pm
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby Dragster1 » Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:22 am
These ones are the go Light Bicycle rims many posts in discussion here
- CXCommuter
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby CXCommuter » Fri Mar 06, 2015 9:17 am
A quick note that most discussion of Light Bicycle rims are for MTBs with disc brakes- the one consistent (not the only) issue with road bike cheaper carbon rims is brake shudder, mind you I am currently awaiting funds from the treasury department to purchase carbon rims for a budget aero set up and Light Bicycle has one of the better rims and reputationsDragster1 wrote:These ones are the go Light Bicycle rims many posts in discussion here
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby Rajdanto » Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:03 pm
I bought carbon wheels from a mob called Yoleo Wheel, a 38mm front and 50mm rear, they're on the bike all the time, done 7,660km so far without an issue. I'm sure they're not as good as Mavic etc. but for $540 I don't expect them to be. One thing, not sure if they meet 'spec', they are really difficult to change tyres/tubes, very tight, my mate who bought a different brand has had the same experience.
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby CXCommuter » Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:15 pm
The difficulty changing tyres could be due to many of these rims being tubeless ready which typically means changing tyres is a PITA. Ultegra 6800 wheelset is one example where I have had personal experiences with this.Rajdanto wrote:I bought carbon wheels from a mob called Yoleo Wheel, a 38mm front and 50mm rear, they're on the bike all the time, done 7,660km so far without an issue. I'm sure they're not as good as Mavic etc. but for $540 I don't expect them to be. One thing, not sure if they meet 'spec', they are really difficult to change tyres/tubes, very tight, my mate who bought a different brand has had the same experience.
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby Duck! » Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:34 am
http://www.carbonality.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I have a set of MTB rims that I will build up as funds allow for XTR hubs. Quality looks very decent; very smooth, consistent layup with no voids or sidewall ripples - obviously not that relevant for disc-braked wheels, but one would assume the finish would indicate similar quality in the road rims.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby Duck! » Tue Mar 01, 2016 11:19 pm
I finally got the rest of the bits (Shimano XTR hubs & DT Swiss Aerolite spokes) together & built the Carbonal rims up a couple of months ago. Typical of carbon rims, the inherent stiffness made for a very easy build as they just settle into place. Getting true reveals the quality of the tooling work; the rims run dead straight and very round with no moulded-in ripples that can be found in some rims as a result of less than perfect mould-making.
My one criticism is that the inner well is quite shallow, which makes fitting chunky-beaded tubeless tyres quite a chore, requiring very careful use of tyre levers to get the last bit on - it is not possible to fit tyres without levers, which is not ideal. The tightness of the rims also means rim tape selection is quite critical; too thick & the tyres are even harder to get on, too thin & you risk the tape blowing into the spoke holes & puncturing.
It took me a couple of goes, but I've got the rim tapes sorted so they're thin enough to make fitting tyres the least difficult it can be, while still offering enough strength to resist blowing into the holes & breaking the seal.
On the trail the wheels really shine; light, stiff and responsive. At a shade under 1400g for the pair without cassette, tyres, brake rotors or skewers these are quite respectably light by any measure. Then consider this is with 32 spokes per wheel and brass nipples for durability (aluminium nipples in carbon rims are A Really Bad Idea), the result is even more impressive. The rigidity is a two-edged sword. While tracking is a lot more direct, responsive and agile on smooth surfaces, the offset is reduced compliance over trail bumps, which at benchmark tyre pressure (i.e. what I used in my previous wheels) gives more bounce and correspondingly less grip. This is corrected by lowering tyre pressure slightly, but care needs to be taken not to go too low, otherwise bottoming out may occur, increasing the risk of rim damage. The reduced weight translates to much more agile handling, with improved response to steering input as well as snappier acceleration. These benefits far outweigh the small negative, which can be overcome anyway with a correction in tyre pressure.
I've also built a pair of road wheels using Carbonal rims; this set was for a friend not my own use, so I can't give much comment on how they ride. From a building point of view, the road rims matched the quality of the MTB models - straight, round and well laid-up, and equally easy to build. Some initial brake shudder was reported, although not serious. This may have just been movement within the pads themselves, and after a setup adjustment no further shudder has been reported. Although still tight, fitting tyres is easier, but that could well be due to the lighter non-tubeless beads of the tyres rather than the rims.
At around $160-200USD depending on model (website prices are USD, so exchange rates need to be allowed for) the rims are not necessarily the cheapest, but they're still very well priced and good quality. They do also offer complete wheels, but I haven't looked into the specs or seen the build quality so can't comment on that aspect. All up definitely worthy of consideration for an affordable and worthwhile performance upgrade.
My one criticism is that the inner well is quite shallow, which makes fitting chunky-beaded tubeless tyres quite a chore, requiring very careful use of tyre levers to get the last bit on - it is not possible to fit tyres without levers, which is not ideal. The tightness of the rims also means rim tape selection is quite critical; too thick & the tyres are even harder to get on, too thin & you risk the tape blowing into the spoke holes & puncturing.
It took me a couple of goes, but I've got the rim tapes sorted so they're thin enough to make fitting tyres the least difficult it can be, while still offering enough strength to resist blowing into the holes & breaking the seal.
On the trail the wheels really shine; light, stiff and responsive. At a shade under 1400g for the pair without cassette, tyres, brake rotors or skewers these are quite respectably light by any measure. Then consider this is with 32 spokes per wheel and brass nipples for durability (aluminium nipples in carbon rims are A Really Bad Idea), the result is even more impressive. The rigidity is a two-edged sword. While tracking is a lot more direct, responsive and agile on smooth surfaces, the offset is reduced compliance over trail bumps, which at benchmark tyre pressure (i.e. what I used in my previous wheels) gives more bounce and correspondingly less grip. This is corrected by lowering tyre pressure slightly, but care needs to be taken not to go too low, otherwise bottoming out may occur, increasing the risk of rim damage. The reduced weight translates to much more agile handling, with improved response to steering input as well as snappier acceleration. These benefits far outweigh the small negative, which can be overcome anyway with a correction in tyre pressure.
I've also built a pair of road wheels using Carbonal rims; this set was for a friend not my own use, so I can't give much comment on how they ride. From a building point of view, the road rims matched the quality of the MTB models - straight, round and well laid-up, and equally easy to build. Some initial brake shudder was reported, although not serious. This may have just been movement within the pads themselves, and after a setup adjustment no further shudder has been reported. Although still tight, fitting tyres is easier, but that could well be due to the lighter non-tubeless beads of the tyres rather than the rims.
At around $160-200USD depending on model (website prices are USD, so exchange rates need to be allowed for) the rims are not necessarily the cheapest, but they're still very well priced and good quality. They do also offer complete wheels, but I haven't looked into the specs or seen the build quality so can't comment on that aspect. All up definitely worthy of consideration for an affordable and worthwhile performance upgrade.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby Uncle Just » Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:39 pm
Thanks for the update, I wondered how they built up and ride. Nice piece of kit.
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Re: Chinese/Taiwanese carbon wheels?
Postby hugh stone » Fri Mar 04, 2016 8:03 am
I've noticed that light-bicycle also produce rims for other brands (i.e. an OEM).
Anyone know what brands they are producing for?
Anyone know what brands they are producing for?
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