The only part of my new Cervelo R3 Disc bike that I was really disappointed with was the wheelset. They are sturdy and solid but a lot heavier than what I’ve been used to. Most of my roadbike wheelsets are 1350 to 1500 grams. The Mavic Aksium Disc Wheels that came on the bike are 1905 grams!! I could really tell a difference with the heavier weight on hills and accelerating. I gave them a good tryout of several hundred miles but the more I rode them the less I liked them.

I’ve bought a number of wheelsets directly from Chinese wheel makers. So far I’ve had good luck with them. I have one set that has over 25,000 miles on them. We The price of the wheelsets seem very reasonable for what you get. They’ve roughly been around $600 including shipping. I researched a couple of suppliers for the disc wheelset for the Cervelo. I wanted center lock brakes, something around a profile of 35 to 38 mm and a width of about 25 mm and 24 spokes per wheel. I found what I was looking for and placed the order.

I was hoping I’d have them before my Florida trip but Customs In NY held them for about 10 days!?!?! Wouldn’t you know they’d be delivered just a few hours after I’d left for my trip?? My wife picked them up while I was gone and they were waiting on me when I got home. I weighed them and mounted them today. They weighed in at only 1315 grams!!! The wheels are clincher and tubeless but I’m running tubes. It took a little encouraging to get the tire bead fully seated all around but I was successful.

I hope to to give them a try this weekend.




I like the visibility carbon weave! The shadow makes it look like double spokes.


Kind of hard to get a good photo in the dark.

All my Motobecane bikes are essential Chinese with Shimano Japanese parts made in China they have all been great bikes. Chinese carbon fiber forks on my road gravel bikes have never failed. Older people tell me how cheap Japanese stuff was back in th day so I guess cheap Chinese products are catching up in the quality department. Every hobby I have is dominated by China don’t get me started on fishing equipment.

Let us know how well you like the wheels as you put more miles on them. I’ve been enjoying my Fast Forward wheels on my Ridley Helium. Being a Clydesdale, I avoided carbon rims in the past, but the Dutch build an incredibly strong wheel and still are very light. I’m really impressed how much easier it is to accelerate and hold speed while maintaining a faster pace. Well worth the investment.