As previously advised, I have bought a set of these, and will give a warts and all account and long term test.
They are obviously very light and if they live up to the promise of reasonably quality/durability, make for a very affordable set of high performance racing wheels.
http://wheelsfar.com/38mm-tubular-wheels1070g-30g-p-210.html
Farsports have been receiving a fair bit of attention over the last few years, as one of the more high quality and service oriented Chinese carbon component manufacturers, and I believe at least some of the Planet X rims are from this source. 1070 g is very light for a somewhat aero wheelset, and at just over £400 they look very intriguing. I was in the market for a tubular wheelset to complement my cyclocross armoury, due to unscheduled mid-season demise of the hubs on my Zepnat alloys, so I decided to get these, and throw them in at the deep end of the cyclocross season. If they die, they will have at least plugged my current gap. If they thrive, they will be a great discovery for future upgrades to road and hill climbing kit.
It took Farsports 4 working days to get the wheels to the UK from Xiamen from placing the order, it took a bit longer than that to clear customs and get them home. They sent me a tracking number, so I had a pretty good idea about what was happening. HMRC slapped on a customs charge of £24, so the total cost of these rose to £436 delivered.
They arrived beautifully packed in cardboard and bubblewrap, complete with brake pads (Yellow Kings that I paid a bit extra for - they normally ship with their own blue compound pads) and skewers (quite nice Ti ones - 43g per pair). Straight on the scales, and they weigh in a bit more than the claimed 1070 g, 1120g to be precise. This is for the EDHub build with CX Rays. On inspection, the build looks really good, and they run true, with even spoke tension and to the best of my ability to tell, they are centered radially.
They are quite old school in shape (V rather than U) and with a relatively narrow profile, and old school gluing surface with a middle channel. This works well for road tubs, but for wider CX tubs I filled the channel with folded over Jantex tape as part of the gluing process, to maximise the contact area and strength of the bond. I used the Belgian method, combining several layers of glue with tape, for a really strong bond. The kind that lasts a few seasons Inshallah.
Here is a few pics:
I had hoped to ride these at the National Trophy in Southampton, but due to the Carbon Rim Glue from Continental turning out to be spectacularly unsuitable to cyclocross purposes, I ended up regluing them in time for the Hempton Cross event of the Eastern Cyclocross League last weekend. As usual life gotin the way a bit, and only got them finished in time for a quick 10 mile shakedown on Saturday, before the race on Sunday. Luckily, I didn't have any major problems, apart from rather violent front brake judder, despite toeing in my front brake to the max, I could only use the front brake with care. This appears to be a characteristic of the basalt braking surface, and appears to be diminishing as the pads and wheel get bedded in.
I still had some brake judder during the race, but only in the rather violent braking at the end of the tarmac sections, where one wanted to go from 25mph to about 4mph in as short a distance as possible. It has gone from alarming to liveable with, I am hopeful it will improve further with use. Front brake judder is a cantilever brake issue, so those of you considering these for road use should never face this.
It is very early days, about 30 miles in, so no conclusions as yet, but first impressions are that the wheels are buttery smooth and spin up ever so easily...
Just kidding. First impressions are that they ride very stably, with great feedback on the amount of traction available. They are still true and riding well. Braking performance (aside from the judder) is good. They 'feel' fast. I rode a decent race, and got third place, my best of the season. This might be a coincidence. I will update with increasing miles.
As a matter of interest, my benchmark for this are Kinlin alloy tubs on Novatec hubs, and Gigantex carbon 50mm tubs, handbuilt by my local wheelbuilder also on Novatec.
They are obviously very light and if they live up to the promise of reasonably quality/durability, make for a very affordable set of high performance racing wheels.
http://wheelsfar.com/38mm-tubular-wheels1070g-30g-p-210.html
Farsports have been receiving a fair bit of attention over the last few years, as one of the more high quality and service oriented Chinese carbon component manufacturers, and I believe at least some of the Planet X rims are from this source. 1070 g is very light for a somewhat aero wheelset, and at just over £400 they look very intriguing. I was in the market for a tubular wheelset to complement my cyclocross armoury, due to unscheduled mid-season demise of the hubs on my Zepnat alloys, so I decided to get these, and throw them in at the deep end of the cyclocross season. If they die, they will have at least plugged my current gap. If they thrive, they will be a great discovery for future upgrades to road and hill climbing kit.
It took Farsports 4 working days to get the wheels to the UK from Xiamen from placing the order, it took a bit longer than that to clear customs and get them home. They sent me a tracking number, so I had a pretty good idea about what was happening. HMRC slapped on a customs charge of £24, so the total cost of these rose to £436 delivered.
They arrived beautifully packed in cardboard and bubblewrap, complete with brake pads (Yellow Kings that I paid a bit extra for - they normally ship with their own blue compound pads) and skewers (quite nice Ti ones - 43g per pair). Straight on the scales, and they weigh in a bit more than the claimed 1070 g, 1120g to be precise. This is for the EDHub build with CX Rays. On inspection, the build looks really good, and they run true, with even spoke tension and to the best of my ability to tell, they are centered radially.
They are quite old school in shape (V rather than U) and with a relatively narrow profile, and old school gluing surface with a middle channel. This works well for road tubs, but for wider CX tubs I filled the channel with folded over Jantex tape as part of the gluing process, to maximise the contact area and strength of the bond. I used the Belgian method, combining several layers of glue with tape, for a really strong bond. The kind that lasts a few seasons Inshallah.
Here is a few pics:
I had hoped to ride these at the National Trophy in Southampton, but due to the Carbon Rim Glue from Continental turning out to be spectacularly unsuitable to cyclocross purposes, I ended up regluing them in time for the Hempton Cross event of the Eastern Cyclocross League last weekend. As usual life gotin the way a bit, and only got them finished in time for a quick 10 mile shakedown on Saturday, before the race on Sunday. Luckily, I didn't have any major problems, apart from rather violent front brake judder, despite toeing in my front brake to the max, I could only use the front brake with care. This appears to be a characteristic of the basalt braking surface, and appears to be diminishing as the pads and wheel get bedded in.
I still had some brake judder during the race, but only in the rather violent braking at the end of the tarmac sections, where one wanted to go from 25mph to about 4mph in as short a distance as possible. It has gone from alarming to liveable with, I am hopeful it will improve further with use. Front brake judder is a cantilever brake issue, so those of you considering these for road use should never face this.
It is very early days, about 30 miles in, so no conclusions as yet, but first impressions are that the wheels are buttery smooth and spin up ever so easily...
Just kidding. First impressions are that they ride very stably, with great feedback on the amount of traction available. They are still true and riding well. Braking performance (aside from the judder) is good. They 'feel' fast. I rode a decent race, and got third place, my best of the season. This might be a coincidence. I will update with increasing miles.
As a matter of interest, my benchmark for this are Kinlin alloy tubs on Novatec hubs, and Gigantex carbon 50mm tubs, handbuilt by my local wheelbuilder also on Novatec.
