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affordable carbon wheel options?

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affordable carbon wheel options?

Old 10-04-20, 12:21 PM
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Theycallmegio
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affordable carbon wheel options?

hey all, i was looking to pick up some carbon wheels (rim brake) and was hoping to keep it under 1k


I'm aware of the Chinese wheels on amazon but I'm not sure how safe they would be.

I saw a couple of options from Hunt wheels that were within my price range and was hoping to get some more ideas or perhaps insight into hunt.

thank you
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Old 10-04-20, 12:25 PM
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Elvo
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https://www.lightbicycle.com/
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Old 10-04-20, 01:04 PM
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PoorInRichfield
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I second Light Bicycle. Absolute top-notch wheels for 1/2 the price of the big brands. The best part is that you can build your own wheel set to your own specs if you want using top-quality, top brand names like DT Swiss, I9, etc.
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Old 10-04-20, 01:34 PM
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Bosco13
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I just bought wheels from Light Bicycle. They were the best I found for the price and having solid recommendations from others.
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Old 10-04-20, 01:36 PM
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Sasquatch16
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Couldn’t agree more about Light Bicycle. Great wheels at a good price. They will build any spoke count with just about any hub you want. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy another set of wheels from them.
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Old 10-04-20, 02:54 PM
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zatopek
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I have purchased Fulcrum, FSE, Hong Fu, Spinergy, Mavic and Superteam carbon fiber wheels. For my money, Superteam 50 mm deep wheels, about $418.00 shipped, are the best bang for the buck CF wheels I have encountered. They provide a significant aero advantage, handle pretty well in gusty cross winds, are light enough for me, brake well in dry conditions and have proven remarkably robust.
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Old 10-04-20, 03:28 PM
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Originally Posted by zatopek
I have purchased Fulcrum, FSE, Hong Fu, Spinergy, Mavic and Superteam carbon fiber wheels. For my money, Superteam 50 mm deep wheels, about $418.00 shipped, are the best bang for the buck CF wheels I have encountered. They provide a significant aero advantage, handle pretty well in gusty cross winds, are light enough for me, brake well in dry conditions and have proven remarkably robust.
I just want to second this. I bought Superteam wheels off of Amazon after talking to a friend who had purchased them. I ordered at the end of July - when I got an expected arrival date of Mid-September, I started the cancellation process. I got an email from Superteam basically promising me they would be here much sooner and to please maintain the order. I decided to take a chance - they got here 7 days after I ordered (they beat the new cassette I ordered from Colorado Cyclist). They were true out of the box, and work well (though the rear hub is loud). I've got just over 1700 miles on them; I've ridden them on lots of rough pavement, a little gravel (running trail surface), and in some pretty heavy winds. yes, I notice them more in a cross wind than my old 28mm wheels, but they aren't bad. They are also way lighter than the wheels I had. I've been very happy with them.
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Old 10-04-20, 05:00 PM
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Another Light Bicycle recommendation here. They likely have whatever you're looking for, or can get whatever you need. What bike is this for?

This thread has many examples of wheelsets purchased by forum members.
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...le-wheels.html
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Old 10-06-20, 06:44 AM
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Def check out Light Bicycle, had a set, they were great. Farsports gets good reviews too. Be prepared to wait to get them, but if you're not in a rush, they're a great value.

Boyd wheels has a new series, the Prologue, $1050, but they currently have a 20% off trade in program, trade in ANY wheelset, regardless of condition, and you get 20% off. So you could get a set of carbon wheels with a lifetime warranty for $840.
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Old 10-06-20, 06:46 AM
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noodle soup
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Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
Def check out Light Bicycle, had a set, they were great.

Be prepared to wait to get them, but if you're not in a rush, they're a great value.
It was about 3 weeks including shipping from the North American distributor.
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Old 10-06-20, 09:06 AM
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I am extremely please with Yoleo wheels. I had mine for 6 years and around 30K km. I am 160lbs and ride various road types.
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Old 10-06-20, 09:23 AM
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How does Hunt stock up against Light Bicycle? I will probably in the market for carbon wheels soon too.
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Old 10-06-20, 09:27 AM
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Theycallmegio Other than "cheap", what other requirements do you have for your wheelset?

To me, a cheap wheelset that doesn't meet my needs is still a waste of money. For example, many low priced wheelset sets aren't light, aren't very aero, and often have horrific braking capabilities... making me wonder why one would buy them. (Note that even many expensive carbon wheelsets don't offer great rim-brake braking performance.)

If all your looking for is the "deep carbon rim look" and "good enough" wheels, then just about any wheelset will do. But if you actually have some requirements for what you want out of your wheelset, it's quite possible that a good-ol'-fashioned aluminum rimmed wheelset might actually be your best solution and you'll get a much better wheelset for less money that way (and better braking!)
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Old 10-06-20, 10:52 AM
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Boyd Prologue series.

https://boydcycling.com/collections/...rologue-series

Can get 20% off in the Trade Up Program if you do this during October.
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Old 10-06-20, 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by rower2cyclist
How does Hunt stock up against Light Bicycle? I will probably in the market for carbon wheels soon too.
Hunt uses inferior house brand hubs(probably Novatec based), and Light Bicycle will build them with whatever hubs you specify.

if the hubs you want aren’t a stock option, they can likely get them for you.
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Old 10-06-20, 11:34 AM
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LightBicycle +1. I ordered rims only, built my wheels myself, but they were easy to work with, and they manufactured the rims exactly to the spec I wanted.
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Old 10-06-20, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
Hunt uses inferior house brand hubs(probably Novatec based), and Light Bicycle will build them with whatever hubs you specify.

if the hubs you want aren’t a stock option, they can likely get them for you.
Thank you, this is good to know!
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Old 10-06-20, 10:18 PM
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Do you really want to ride on cheap carbon wheels with rim brakes? What do you see as the advantage compared to aluminum?

Last edited by Robert A; 10-06-20 at 10:43 PM.
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Old 10-06-20, 10:42 PM
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Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
(Note that even many expensive carbon wheelsets don't offer great rim-brake braking performance.)
Caden's braking is shockingly good. Not sure how much a set would cost shipped to the US, but they're relatively affordable; lower midrange I guess.

Ridden lots of wheels on short test rides as a mechanic, and these bad boys I scored a while back are right up there, as far as how much you notice on a quick fang through the city (on breezy days in the concrete canyons you sure can tell which wheels suck in crosswinds).

Last edited by Kimmo; 10-06-20 at 10:48 PM.
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Old 10-07-20, 06:05 AM
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For the same money as a cheap set of cf wheels, you can get a very good set of wheels with alloy rims.
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Old 10-07-20, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Koyote
For the same money as a cheap set of cf wheels, you can get a very good set of wheels with alloy rims.
I'm alliteratively not aware of any actually aero ally rims
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Old 10-07-20, 07:26 AM
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Light seem to be the most popular bang for the buck around here. Winspace has been starting to get lots of praise by several YouTubers. What is cheap to you? More specifically, what is your price range? FFWD makes awesome wheels, I have two sets and they have lots of wheels 15% off right now. They are in stock and ready to ship, I hate waiting for wheels.
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Old 10-07-20, 07:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
I'm alliteratively not aware of any actually aero ally rims
Anyone who’s fast enough to need those aerodynamic rims is probably getting them free from a sponsor.
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Old 10-07-20, 08:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Koyote
Anyone who’s fast enough to need those aerodynamic rims is probably getting them free from a sponsor.


How fast do I need to go, to need aero wheels?
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Old 10-07-20, 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by Koyote
Anyone who’s fast enough to need those aerodynamic rims is probably getting them free from a sponsor.



Slow people need aerodynamic rims more than fast people! Saves them more overall time.
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