# My New Cheap Chinese Carbon Wheels



## philhul (30 Apr 2011)

Hi,
I know that a lot of people are interested in carbon products from China so I thought I'd post about my experience. There are loads of threads on loads of forums about the pros and cons of buying direct from China. That's not what this is about. This is for anyone who has already done the research on the products and are looking for real experiences before deciding whether to take plunge.

After doing my research I decided to buy from CarbonZone on ebay. There was plenty of good feedback on various forums and I liked the idea of ebay and paypal protection. I am looking for a new bike and had decided that I would build a chinese frame with chinese wheels and thought I would go for the frame first, and if that was successful, then the wheels. I had emailed echo at carbonzone through ebay asking various questions to which he always replied quickly and accurately.

I left it a couple of days to make I still wanted the frame then I bought and paid for a 52cm RB002 from ebay (fm028 with other manufacturers) only to receive an email from echo advising that they only had 52cm in 12k weave. I had bid on and won a 3k frame and personally don't like the 12k finish. I had transferred $500 and wasn't sure what to do. For some reason carbonzone only list tubular wheelsets on ebay but I had already established that for a direct payment outside of ebay I could have 60mm clinchers for $553 inc. postage. I therefore sent the extra $53 and advised that I wanted black hubs for shimano, and black nipples and spokes. The extra money was transferred on 19th April. I had read about similar problems on other forum posts so wasn't too upset as I always had it in mind that this could happen, and knew that the wheels were a back up.

Then I waited. I had asked echo to send me the tracking number as soon as they shipped so I could make sure someone was in to receive them. It got to the 27th April and I still hadn't heard anything at all and was getting a bit concerned that they hadn't even acknowledged my order. I sent echo an email only for him to reply with a tracking number. Turns out that they had been shipped on the 23rd April and were out for delivery in the UK on the 27th. Therefore there was no one in and they were returned to the parcel force office.
Obviously the lack of communication was frustrating but the wheels were shipped within 4 days and only took another 4 to arrive. Parcelforce screen shot below. They were shipped by EMS who also have a tracking website and the same tracking number was used on both.







It looks as if, like most other people, I have gotten away without paying import duties etc... I had heard that the chinese sellers used clever tactics to get them through but I didn't realise that they just lied! The wheels are noted on the customs sheet as being $80 value and as a sample set with no commercial value.

Anyway, picked the package up from parcelforce this morning:










Luckily I remembered to stop off at work on the way home to use the scales in the post room before adding the cassette, tyres etc. I don't have any claimed weights for the clinchers, only the tubulars, so not sure how these compare.


















The wheels themselves














Sorry about the quality of the pics, I only have an iphone.

The finish is great and I am very pleased with the wheels. There were a few niggles (not having the right frame in stock, not sending the tracking number) but I knew this from reading other people's experiences. If you go into the purchase with this in mind before hand you won't be disappointed and I wasn't.

I would definitely buy from China again and I will buy my frame from carbonzone. Echo has recently emailed me to advise that the 52cm frame is now back in stock. It was lucky that they were out of stock anyway as I have been double checking the geometry chart and now think I need a 54cm!!! I don't have any issues with sending the money direct and by cutting out ebay, he has earned my trust. If you do buy anything I would however email them first to make sure that they have what you want sitting ready to ship to avoid disappointment.

I will update once I have ridden on them. It is very windy in Newcastle today so can't use them. Tomorrow I'm on the lash all day and would imagine that riding a bike will be the last thing on my mind on Monday due to the hangover!!!


----------



## philhul (30 Apr 2011)

Will I need rim tape for these? Being 60mm deep the spokes are a long way from the inner tube?


----------



## amaferanga (30 Apr 2011)

Very nice looking wheels. Not uber-light even for 60mm clinchers, but great for the money. The clinchers I was looking at from Yishun are a bit lighter (about 100g), but also more expensive. I think I'd use rim tapes if it was me. I'd also run latex tubes and some nice tyres like Veloflex Corsa or Pro 3 Race. With the latex tubes and the Veloflex tyres they'd almost feel like tubs.


----------



## maurice (30 Apr 2011)

Very interesting post & report, looking forward to hearing how your road test goes.


----------



## zexel (1 May 2011)

Another one interested in your road test. 

What bike are you putting them on? 

What wheels did you have previously?


----------



## raindog (1 May 2011)

philhul said:


> Will I need rim tape for these? Being 60mm deep the spokes are a long way from the inner tube?


You'll still need tape or you'll be getting punctures where the tubes deform into the holes.
I'm another looking forward to the road test.


----------



## philhul (1 May 2011)

With the rim tape on I can't get the tyre on! I'm going to have to go to the lbs to get a tyre put on a rim. How embarrassing!

Unfortunately the ride report will take a while now. As I mentioned these wheels were for a new build but I thought I'd try them out on my 2010 Trek 1.5 in the mean time. I live in a block of flats with a 'secure' car park where it was chained with two kryptonite locks. When I went down yesterday to take the cassette off the current wheel I found that my bike was gone, along with the metal thing sunk into the wall that I chained them to. it was obviously easier for them to take everything instead of having a go at the locks and risk getting caught. Gutted.

However, my parents have taken pity on me and are giving me an interest free loan to get the new bike bought, built and on the road asap. So at least I can take my mind off it by looking on ebay/wiggle etc... at lots of shiny new bike bits to go with my chinese wheels and the frame I'm about to order. New bike will be stored in the flat.

Watch this space!


----------



## iAmiAdam (1 May 2011)

Christ alive, they took the railing?

As always, keep an eye on ebay/gumtree etc.

Maybe even get a local newspaper involved?


----------



## zexel (1 May 2011)

Gutted for ya. 

Regarding rim tape, you could try Veloplugs, I have some on my Mavic Cosmic Elite's, which were a bugger to get brand new tyres on. 

Let us know what you what bike you get, and post pics of course.


----------



## l4dva (1 May 2011)

thats shocking about your bike mate!!! bast*rds will take anything even if it is nailed down!! 

I can't see any spoke holes on ur rims.. if it dosen;t have any you wont need rim tape. my new wheels didn't need a rim tape because of this.


----------



## Chrisz (1 May 2011)

zexel said:


> Gutted for ya.
> 
> Regarding rim tape, you could try Veloplugs,



+1 - I fitted a set to my Carbone SLRs and find I can now fit/remove Shwalbe Ultremo ZXs without the use of tyre levers quite easily


----------



## philhul (2 May 2011)

Ooh, never seen those veloplugs before. I will try them, the rims do have spoke holes.


----------



## Alembicbassman (2 May 2011)

I've seen quite a few alloy wheelsets at 1.7kg 

Fulcrum 5 are about the same weight for £150

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+.../Fulcrum+Racing+5+Wheels+-+Pair+2009_1557.htm

I thought carbon was supposed to be lighter.


----------



## amaferanga (2 May 2011)

Alembicbassman said:


> I've seen quite a few alloy wheelsets at 1.7kg
> 
> Fulcrum 5 are about the same weight for £150
> 
> ...




These are deep section wheels - 60mm. A 60mm deep alloy wheel would weigh well over 2kg. If they were the same rim depth as the Fulcrum R5's then they would be quite a bit lighter.


----------



## kfinlay (2 May 2011)

I've sent Tony at Dengfu an email asking about their FM015 frame and a set of 50mm carbon clinchers - not sure if I can afford both as I've had to rethink things after I realised I can't afford the Canyon SLX 9.0 Pro that I lusted after.
As a sort of consolation I figured I could build a bike for around £1100 (trying to stretch a bit for the wheels too) that looks a bit different everything. else. Just waiting to see how much it will cost before making a final decision.
Here's the design I'm looking for (it's Baum inspired): 







a couple of others are (ignore the Cordus as I was playing with names too):






And


----------



## philhul (2 May 2011)

They look good. I can't make up my mind whether to design my own or just leave naked and go for a stealth build. Probably the latter as even if I decided I wanted it painted I don't think I could decide on a final design.


----------



## Cardiac (2 May 2011)

philhul said:


> It looks as if, like most other people, I have gotten away without paying import duties etc... I had heard that the chinese sellers used clever tactics to get them through but I didn't realise that they just lied! The wheels are noted on the customs sheet as being $80 value and as a sample set with no commercial value.



Chinese & Kong Kong exports vary a lot in my experiance. I buy model helicopter bits from HK - maybe £30 at a time - and they are often marked as "Toy" with value $5. Other times, the correct value gets marked (typically buying Asian CDs). Contrary to what some people experience, I have never had anything fail to turn up. It may take forever, but it gets here. Quality depends on the seller - those who want repeat business generally deliver good products.


----------



## kfinlay (3 May 2011)

Phil - Stealth build for you to consider below. There's lots of these that have been done with different specs, all look the same and all look good


----------



## iAmiAdam (3 May 2011)

Alembicbassman said:


> I've seen quite a few alloy wheelsets at 1.7kg
> 
> Fulcrum 5 are about the same weight for £150
> 
> ...





Rear carbon disc wheels are nearly 2kg on their own, but the advantage in aerodynamics outweighs the disadvantage in weight.


----------



## dodgy (3 May 2011)

kfinlay said:


> Phil - Stealth build for you to consider below. There's lots of these that have been done with different specs, all look the same and all look good




Crikey, those rear seat stays are thin aren't they!


----------



## philhul (3 May 2011)

I've seen quite a few but not that one I don't think - it looks really good. I just can't decide whether to go all black or add a bit of colour like that one. And if I do add colour, do I do it on bar tape, cables, pedals, saddle, decals - I don't want to do all and go over the top. Suppose it would just be trial and error.

My favourite of all the stealths I've seen is this BMC from Weight Weenies.






Shame I don't have a BMC, Di2 or Lightweights but I could achieve a similar effect, but then again would like to do something my own idea.


----------



## kfinlay (4 May 2011)

I like the sort of reverse stealth look - bright frame and black everything else like the orange and blue Baum Bikes. Still waiting on a reply from Dengfu.


----------



## philhul (4 May 2011)

I sent some emails to Deng Fu and they initially took an age to reply, before stopping replying altogether. That made my mind up on carbonzone.


----------



## philhul (5 May 2011)

Just ordered my frame and fork from echo at carbonzone - 54cm RB002 (non-ISP model) finished in matt clearcoat. $563 or £351, including shipping. I've also ordered a headset as those who don't buy one from the supplier seem to have problems sourcing one over here. Was advised before hand that there will be a 15-17 day wait until the clearcoat is applied, then the usual 4-5 days for shipping.

So hopefully within 3 weeks there will be a My New Cheap Chinese Frame thread! I've also bought a saddle so that's wheels, inner tubes, tyres, brake pads, frame, fork, headset and saddle bought. Group set next...


----------



## kfinlay (5 May 2011)

Got a quick reply from Carbonzone today: see below as it could help those interested in frames, wheels, seat posts and handlebars:


Hi,sir
Nice to meet you.
Yes,the NON-ISP framesets are available.Welcome to book.
But which frameset size do you need?
There are 49cm,51cm,53cm,55cm and 58cm sizes.

The painting fees are as below:
one color:$50.
two colors:$60
three colors:$70
And if you want to brand your logo,we will make it as stickers(decals),which are about $100-$160.The more complicated the logo,the more expensive we charge.

I have checked the painting designs,and there are three painting colors,red and white and black,so the painting fee is $70.
The letters will be made as decals,so the decals are $135.
It will take about 22-24 days to paint the frameset and brand the logo on the frameset.
Can you accept the time?

Yes,we can offer the 50mm clincher wheelsets.
A pair of 50mm clincher wheelsets are $490.

The carbon seatpost is $35.
The carbon road bike handlebar is $58.

Thank you very much.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards.
Echo
From carbon zone
MSN: echoyangyan@hotmail.com
Skype: beyongyangyan


*- carbonzone*









From: corrado_kev
To: carbonzone
Subject: ??: corrado_kev ? Brand New 12k full Carbon Road bike Frame&Fork????170622028082 ???????
Sent Date: 2011-05-05 03??50?25?




*carbonzone????*

Hi, I have heard lots of good things about your company and service from friends and on internet forums. I am very interested in an RB003 frameset but non-isp version. I would also like a custom paint design as can be seen in the image at http://www.starperformance.co.uk/kf/Forza_1.gif
Are you able to supply this, can you tell me how much it would be and how long it would take to deliver? 
Can you also tell me if you can supply 50mm carbon clincher wheelsets, carbon seat posts and handle bars? Sorry for all the questions but I am genuinely interested. Best regards.

*- corrado_kev*


----------



## kfinlay (6 May 2011)

Got a few things to sort out finances wise to see just what I can get really but very interested, will let you guys know when/if I pull the trigger


----------



## philhul (17 May 2011)

My frame wasn't supposed to be ready until Friday at the earliest but has now been shipped! Update by the end of the week hopefully!


----------



## barnesy (6 Jun 2011)

Any update on this? Im thinking along the lines of this myself


----------



## philhul (11 Jun 2011)

Built!!


----------



## stephec (11 Jun 2011)

philhul said:


> Built!!



Now that looks rather fast, gold chain as well?


----------



## philhul (11 Jun 2011)

> gold chain as well?



Of course


----------



## PaulSecteur (11 Jun 2011)

philhul said:


> Built!!





Looks stealthy! Does it show up on radar?


----------



## NormanD (11 Jun 2011)

If I see a black streak pass me on the roads of the toon, I'll know who's passed me, love the way it looks as it is Phil  ... I'll keep an eye out for your trek too


----------



## jethro10 (15 Jun 2011)

NormanD said:


> If I see a black streak pass me on the roads of the toon, I'll know who's passed me, love the way it looks as it is Phil  ... I'll keep an eye out for your trek too



Eerrr, if you don't see a black streak pass you, you will not know who passed you



just feel it!

Jeff


----------



## VVNcyclist (5 Jul 2012)

Hi I just started looking into doing something similar and was interested in wondering what you experience is in the long term since you've had a good bit of time to break in and really test your frame and wheels, etc.


----------



## rwrobson (30 Jun 2013)

I'm also interested in buying some carbon wheels from China... so have been trawling the forums.. found yours most informative .. then I came across this one from Seoul in Korea... looks like someones plagurised your posting!!! but changed the name of the supplier!!

http://www.topix.com/forum/world/morocco/THFD78STF2T0PSSGJ


----------



## moxey (4 Jul 2013)

How have you found the wheels then ?


----------



## Damaged Hero (12 Jul 2013)

Very interested to hear how you have got on with the Wheels too , I am tempted myself


----------



## conkurs (1 Oct 2013)

Also interested to see how this story ended....?

Ambulance ride?


----------



## Mr Haematocrit (1 Oct 2013)

rwrobson said:


> I'm also interested in buying some carbon wheels from China... so have been trawling the forums.. found yours most informative .. then I came across this one from Seoul in Korea... looks like someones plagurised your posting!!! but changed the name of the supplier!!
> 
> http://www.topix.com/forum/world/morocco/THFD78STF2T0PSSGJ



Are you truly surprised?
Unbranded products from the far east are questionable at best imho. The very fact that the supplier who shipped the wheels is prepared to lie and break laws to avoid paying custom charges, should make you question what you are getting.
If they are prepared to lie, deceive and break the law... It shows that they cut corners for maximum gain and are dishonest.
What makes you think they are not prepared to lie and deceive you?, What makes you think your getting the specification and materials you believe?, what makes you think they have been tested and corners have not been cut.

Reviews are regularly plagiarized to promote unbranded products from the far east, seen it loads of times.


----------

