Only 1490g , 23mm width 50mm Clincher carbon 50mm carbon clinchers 1435g! "carbonspeedcycle"

I did not receive any compensation to do this review. These are just my thoughts and findings on the wheels.
If I were to do it again, I would look for 50mm carbon clinchers with 23mm width rims as supposedly they are more aero, though just slightly more aerodynamic.
Purchased these wheels from Helin-Liu, an ebay seller in china.
user id: carbonspeedcycle
www.ebay.com/it...
I paid: $477 shipped. (was on sale) Current price is $433 + 75= $508 (if you search: Only 1390g ultra light 50mm clincher you should be able to find it.)
Advertised weight: 1390g =/- 30g
Actual weight: 1435g Front:640g Rear: 795g
Rims are 20.1mm wide
Skewers are 55g and 60g each (replaced with titanium skewers weighing 20g and 25g each)
Brake pads are Ashima cork pads.
Hubs: powerway hubs with 3 pawls. enduro bearings
Planning on using:
continental gp4000s tires
ultegra 11-28 10 speed cassette
veloplug velocity red plugs: www.ebay.com/sc...
Innertubes: YMMV These are heavier innertubes at 100g EACH!! However they seem to last much longer then the other innertubes that i've used in the past. Weight penalty vs less chance of pinch flats.
www.ebay.com/it...
If you want lighter rims, I would consider looking at farsports 50mm carbon rims which weigh at 1320g using sapim cx ray spokes and a lighter bitex hub.
Filmed with a Sony hx100v and a cowboy studio shoulder rig mount

[@rdero4]

Ordered some 50mm carbon tubulars from Helin Liu (carbonspeedcycle on ebay) 2 weeks ago and they got delivered today. Your review helped me in my decision. Thank you

[@arlieramirez6820]

I bought I pair of wheels form Helin Liu from ebay (carbonspeedcycle) I bought from them because they are one of the only sellers with literally 100% feedback.I purchased and 60mm front and 88mm rear for my Tri Bike. I put some Panaracer Type A tires from excel sports. Pretty tough to get on but very solid. For inner tubes I used tubes with long valves from performance bike. Over all I have the wheels for a year and have not had any problems. Very solid wheels and and I get lots of compliments. the Wheels ride amazing. I have used them for several triathlons this year including a Half and full Ironman. They do sound a bit loud due to the rear hub..but that does not affect performance.,,, the wheels are very smooth. They have stayed true and have had no problems with any spokes. the braking surface is good and is coated with basalt. I have used the cork pads that came with the wheels and they stop very well. I can definately feel a difference when I ride my regular rims and the carbon wheels. I would recommend putting some rim tape to avoid flats. I would buy from them again. Great bang for your buck.

[@c2thew]

I used veloplugs instead of rim tape to save a few grams on weight (not much). Your findings are pretty much the same with mine. would definitely buy from again.

[@littlemf]

i bought wheels from a different seller and the tires are also hard to put on

[@Saberdud]

3 years later, how's the wheels now

[@c2thew]

I'm 140lbs and I have to say that these wheels are definitely worth considering. You also have to remember that you have to add in the cost of the innertubes, wheel tape, tires, chain whip, park tool to change the cassette, and tire levers as an added cost to the wheelset.

[@c2thew]

it's a great set of wheels. No complaints other than that the brake surface is more sensitive to heat than aluminum rims. If you don't brake much when biking, then this would be a good wheelset to buy.

[@c2thew]

I'm still using the stock cork pads that came with the wheelset. Cork pads seem to be holding up fine. I try not to use my brakes that often which is probably why mine have lasted as long as they have. You can look into swissstop yellow pads.

[@asgeirkinn5783]

I friend of mine travelled with a group of riders to Italy, for some climbing. The group had 6 cyclists, and 5 of them had carbon wheels. Most of them had Zipp wheels, some had FF. All of them broke one set of wheels during the week. The message is: You cant use carbon wheels the same way you use your alu wheels. Think, and inspect your wheels after and before each ride. Thats important!! Branded carbon wheels does not cope with heat much better than other carbon. Most branded wheel makers use japanies Toray T700 to.

[@c2thew]

Internal rim width is 17.5mm and the external rim width is 20.5mm as listed on their auction site. I'm using 70x23mm continental grand prix 4000s tires which are a PAIN IN THE A## to mount. You'll spend at least 30 minute fighting to get one side of the tire on and then the other. Other sellers essentially carry the same wheel, but the most important thing to look at is the wheel weight. Some are listed as 1800grams and others go down to 1330grams (these are $670 by farsports).

[@c2thew]

To be honest, i had ordered veloplugs online but they have only just arrived recently so I couldn't test the wheels out yet. The veloplugs are simply lighter alternatives to rim tape so I couldn't install the tubes or tires until i had the veloplugs installed. I should have these wheels tested in a few days. Once the tires and tubes are installed, the wheels feel like normal wheels, just significantly lighter. I'll do a followup video soon.

[@christopherdavy2152]

Just put some thicker grease (like moly) where the hub contacts the pawls to quiet that freehub. This acts as a cushion between the pawls and the hub.

[@gottenwheel14]

glue the rims and you can just swap the hubs if there to loud. you can buy carbon wheels from planet x and they have aluminium braking surface.

[@c2thew]

it's still better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to changing a spoke on a carbon rim. Follow up video should be up next week or so.

[@echtogammut]

Your note about needing to de-tension your rim to change the spoke is incorrect. That photo is of a hyperlite carbon rim of an old design, which was not designed correctly. It is a good idea to de-tension the rim when changing the spoke because it will allow you to evenly bring all the spokes back up to tension, but if your rim breaks as in that picture, it is a manufacture defect. Some of the early Chinese carbon rims also had weak spoke beds and the spokes would pull through, so be careful.

[@aomana]

My advice by my experience and from other cyclists. If you are considering to buy this kind of carbon low price wheels only buy the full carbon rims if they are for tubulars, if you are looking for clinchers buy only those with aluminium breaking surface. Carbon clinchers fails because of the combination of heat and presure. Its a fact.

[@MaartensStory]

Looking forward to that follow up video :-))

[@bzzt_jgtc]

Mate, if you want to quieten that hub, just cram some more grease into it. not worth messing with your pawl spring tension, and risk them failing to engage properly.

[@blackspeedm3]

Loud is Good... cars with there windows open can hear you as you come up on them.

[@aldisrou6543]

Carbon fiber wheels are lighter and stiffer. Your carbon fiber wheel spokes should be high tension, which allows you to accelerate quicker and maintain speed better

[@9kevin]

because, this ebay seller, sells this carbon wheelset with novatec hubs, so I dont know if I need a specific hub for carbon clinchers, or I can ise ANY hubs on it. I sent an email to carbonspeedcycle about it, and he said I can use whatever hub i want

[@c2thew]

i haven't built a wheel so i can't comment about whether the novatec hub is better or not. Go with wheel weights as a better rule of thumb since that will be a bigger issue when climbing.

[@Warrantone1]

This is an excellent review of overheating of brake surfaces beginning about 16:30. If you do long descents DO NOT buy Chinese full carbon wheels without some type of brake surface treatment unless you want them to last only about 1000 miles. If you want to see more about what happens to an overheated carbon fiber surface check this out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aofYdGupZbGrsLc

[@9kevin]

hmm... there is a mavic ksyrium sl wheelset going on ebay for 108.00 (bid) . The rims are cracked, but the hubs and spokes work. I thought it would be a good idea to build the carbon rims, with this hubs, what you think.?

[@c2thew]

again... You want to build your own set vs a already built up wheelset. You obviously have experience in building your own wheelsets so just buy the rims and build it with sapim cx ray spokes which are the top end spokes for wheelsets. If you want to save money then go with the kysrium. You can use any hub you want with building a wheelset since it is now a 700c standard size.

[@archetypex65]

Dude, solid review but you're killing me with size of the hex wrench! :D Too much detail on non significant items...but thanks for the review.

[@OstrichDome]

Stop calling the seller Helen liu lmao. It's carbonspeedcycle she is an employee.

[@zecker100]

hi, i am about to buy these wheels but i am bit worried about the quality! how much do you weight and how is the wheelset? pros and cons thanks!

[@icewedgedude]

Hey I just got a set. Since you bought yours any problems and what pads are you using.

[@philyenovkian9293]

It doesn't matter how many miles you put on the wheels or how many feet you descend. What matters is the intensity of the descent, or the grade, which determines the intensity of your braking. What area do you ride in? If you do fast descents that require hard braking these wheels will not last and it only takes one experience to generate enough heat, warp the braking surface, and start deteriorating the braking surface. To see what this damage looks like see this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aofYdGupZbGrsLc

[@lesliekirk7036]

How do you take the front wheel end caps off

[@c2thew]

You need a hex wrench on each side of the wheel to open the front hubset

[@archetypex65]

BTW- what is your assessment so far of the wheels? Any issues?

[@886014]

So if removing a spoke breaks the wheel, what happens if you break a spoke on a ride? Did these wheels work out for you? Your video is a couple of years old and there's no update as to how it all worked out

[@c2thew]

+Pete F wheels are still rolling fine. the odds of breaking a spoke is very slim unless someone elses pedal goes into your wheel. if i were to do it all over again, i would get the wider wheels with the dimples (not available at that time)

[@886014]

+c2thew Ok cool, thanks. I take it the dimples you mention are the aero golfball type similar to Zipp's. I haven't seen these on a Chinese wheel as yet, as I've mainly been concentrating on the offerings from Yoeleo, in a 50 mm x 25 mm full carbon straight pull. I'm interested in who offers the dimpled finish, do you know? Thanks for the reply

[@c2thew156]

+Pete F if you look on aliexpress under dimple finish 25mm width you should see a few. they are slightly heavier but the wider wheels are faster than narrow wheels contrary to belief.

[@9kevin]

but you know how this people is, they tell what you want to hear in order to sell you something.

[@LolEYEHasFun]

do their 25mm rim width wheels fit 23c tires? i dont want to buy another set

[@BenHeron]

A word to the wise: Avoid these wheels, and carbonspeedcycle, if you value your safety. See my review here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5CrknqefdR_rJI

[@c2thew]

Thanks for providing feedback on your cracked wheels. I noticed that you too were using a very similar setup to mine. However, from your video, it looks like you were under heavy braking to cause your rims to fail catastrophically. Carbon rims WILL FAIL under heat and heavy braking. Furthermore, you didn't state the situation of HOW the wheels failed on you. All you stated was the price you paid, the duration, and the fact that the wheels failed on you. If you put into context the situation of how it failed, i think you'd have more persuasion. FYI: I'm over a year plus with my wheels and the brake area is still fine.

[@BenHeron]

Hi there, my video was done in haste, just after the ride, and does lack context, I agree. I was actually - and very luckily - just about at a complete standstill when the wheel failed. No heavy braking involved at all. I've added some context to the video and what happened here - goo.gl/2A2Pp9. I'm glad your happy with the wheels. I just think it's important to put all experiences out there and let people make up their own mind.

[@c2thew]

Ben Heron Agreed. I like to hear both sides of the argument: pros and cons before purchasing something. I read your blog in the link and it took me awhile to realize that it didn't seem to be caused by overly excessive braking (which is probably what trapped the heat in) but more along the lines of trapped heat within the wheel creating too much pressure for the carbon to hold.

[@skokartong]

Has anyone tried out CSC wheels with disc brakes?

[@OstrichDome]

U focus on the little things too much man

[@stevensegal5958]

Turn on the lights the next time you make a crappy video.