Chinese carbon frame and wheels thread

[Roger9]

I'm expecting a set of FSC50CM to arrive next week. I spent ages researching and feel it was a good decision, but only after using them will I know for sure. You should have no problems with the 50s.

I currently ride FFwd 40/60 combo and while you do get moved a bit you simply ride to the conditions. You may want to consider the 38s, but 50 is a pretty good spot. You onky have to look and see how many Zipp 404 are out there compared to 303.

I have also had great service from Farsport and have been very impressed.

[scotto]

I bet they end up being more than race wheels. Mine did .

[Crawf]

It's a long shot but if anyone has a spare China seat post topper please let me know (any type), in particular I'm actually after the topper's bolt which I stripped so I can't get enough torque into it, so my seat angle is screwed - as I found out mid race!

[Arlberg]

My question is at what point does the extra weight of a more aero wheelset start outweighing the benefits of the aero of those wheels?

Eg. the Farsports 50mmm deep aero wheelset, http://www.farsports.cn/ViewProduct.aspx?id=685 , weighs about 130gm more than the Farsports 38mm aero wheelset. http://www.farsports.cn/ViewProduct.aspx?id=730 .

Should the potential buyer wanting an all round faster wheel buy the 50mm wheels and have more aero but also more weight, or the 38mm wheels and have less aero but also less weight? Would the extra 12mm of aero compensate adequately for the 130gm of extra weight?

[bosvit]

Good question arelberg I have been wondering the same thing.

Also with the Chinese carbon rims being the old wedge shape is there much aero difference between the 38 and 50 anyway.

[Magnum9]

And what speed do you need to be riding at for it to make a difference.

[Magnum9]

Just found this on HED website -

Q. Is aerodynamic performance more important than weight savings?
A. Let's look at a few figures. Assume a rider uses a conventional bike over a 25 mile flat course time trial. He weighs 150 lb, his bike is another 20 lb, and he is producing 185 watts of power. The aero drag with this scenario would be approximately 6.5 lb using aero bars into a 2 mph headwind of between 0 and 5 degrees. With his standard bike, our rider's time would be around 1 hour 7 minutes and 38 seconds. If we reduced the weight of his bike by three pounds, that time would come down by just 3 seconds. However, swap the wheels to an aero design and the drag could be reduced to 6 lb. Even with the additional quarter pound weight of the new wheels, his time saving over 25 miles jumps dramatically to over 1 minute 30 seconds. No contest.

[AndrewBurns]

Just found this on HED website -

Q. Is aerodynamic performance more important than weight savings?
A. Let's look at a few figures. Assume a rider uses a conventional bike over a 25 mile flat course time trial. He weighs 150 lb, his bike is another 20 lb, and he is producing 185 watts of power. The aero drag with this scenario would be approximately 6.5 lb using aero bars into a 2 mph headwind of between 0 and 5 degrees. With his standard bike, our rider's time would be around 1 hour 7 minutes and 38 seconds. If we reduced the weight of his bike by three pounds, that time would come down by just 3 seconds. However, swap the wheels to an aero design and the drag could be reduced to 6 lb. Even with the additional quarter pound weight of the new wheels, his time saving over 25 miles jumps dramatically to over 1 minute 30 seconds. No contest.

Of course they specify over a flat TT course, if you add in hills it gets a bit more complicated. From what I've heard (and I can't remember where from) aero still trumps weight even uphill, deeper wheels = more aero = better. Plus 130 grams is bugger-all really, a mouthfull of water from your bottle, and at 1380 grams for the 50mm wheels they're still seriously light compared to almost all of the 'super lightweight climber's' aluminium wheelsets.

[kirky92au]

Just found this on HED website

Of course HED going to show deep carbon wheels in a favorable manner.

As for speed I've seen quoted a few times that the aero effect really starts to make a noticeable difference at around the 30km/h mark.

[Magnum9]

Wonder how the Chinese carbon would cope with this abuse

http://youtu.be/7ZmJtYaUTa0

[ldrcycles]

Just had a look at the hongfu website (i'm looking at/dreaming of 50mm carbon rims laced to single speed hubs) and their 'hight quality 50mm clincher' has a shipping weight of 5000kg. They'd want to be pretty aero to offset that .

[kylefoo]

Did you get the Farsport N model at that price?. I'm looking at the M which is a bit lighter but more $s.

because M series are ultralight ones, while N series are economical ones, both are high performance.
kyle
Far Sports Wheels

[Roger9]

Just got back from my first ride. I've come from FFWD 40/60 Carbon/aluminium and was very surprised how good these wheels feel. I only did 60km but it was a mix of cycleways, some hills, 60kmh max and even some pave.

I rode these wheels as I ride normally. I'm 79.999999kg and like to hammer hard, so I give my wheels a workout. These Farsport wheelos really impressed. they are about 400+g lighter than the FFWDs and you feel it. Braking was really good, lots of modulation, plenty of power and no pulsating.

The wheels did make a bit of noise initially, but that was probablt spokes/nipples settling in. The front valve stem was a bit rattly but another layer of insulation tape fixed that.

In summary, I prefer these to my FFWD and given they cost about a third the price its a no- brainer. Time will tell how they hold up, but if one day I need to replace a hub, spoke or even rim I'll live with it knowing how much I have saved initially.

[Arlberg]

Braking was really good, lots of modulation, plenty of power and no pulsating.

Hi Roger9 thanks for the review. What brake pads are you using with your new wheels? Those supplied with the wheels from Farsports or other ones?

[kylefoo]

Just got back from my first ride. I've come from FFWD 40/60 Carbon/aluminium and was very surprised how good these wheels feel. I only did 60km but it was a mix of cycleways, some hills, 60kmh max and even some pave.
.

heheee, Roger9,
you said would get it next week, but arrive in advance?

glad to be here (forum), and happen to find a thread about our company.
i am kyle, sales2 of Far Sports.
enjoying your wheels......

[Roger9]

Braking was really good, lots of modulation, plenty of power and no pulsating.

Hi Roger9 thanks for the review. What brake pads are you using with your new wheels? Those supplied with the wheels from Farsports or other ones?

I'm using the standard blue pads supplied with the wheels. I was not expecting much but will definitely be leaving them on. I bought 4 extra pairs of pads as they are only $2.50 a pair. Glad I did.

I don't know how they will go wear wise but who cares.at that price when they work really well. I ran Sram Red with swissstop pads previously, and these blue pads feel better, but they are on new wheels and braking surface.

[steve-waters]

Just watch them in the wet - or should I say test them in the wet.

I was using some pads and they were useless in the wet ended up with yellow Swissstop

[AndrewBurns]

I'm looking for some carbon track wheels, between 50 and 60mm deep section, anybody know which manufacturers make them? I got some wheels from farsports a while ago that I've been very happy with but they don't list any on their website.

[bosvit]

I'm looking for some carbon track wheels, between 50 and 60mm deep section, anybody know which manufacturers make them? I got some wheels from farsports a while ago that I've been very happy with but they don't list any on their website.

Have you tried sending them an email, there is every chance they can do them

[AndrewBurns]

Yep I emailed farsports and they can make me some track wheels using Novatech track hubs, Sapim CX-ray spokes and FSC50-TM rims. Quoted $533 for a set not including shipping and paypal fee which seems pretty good.

[bosvit]

Barter with them.

It's the way they do business.

Make an offer and see what happens. Eg offer $550 delivered inc fees and see what happens, better still tell them you have been offered $550 from another retailer.

What do you have to loose?

Bartering for Aussies is a whole lot easier online than in person, overall we are way too nice to do well in one on one verbal bartering

[kylefoo]

guys who get query or question let me know. get improved when communicating with everybody here.
kyle
Far Sports Wheels.

[Magpie]

Hi
I've got a set of 50mm Farsport clinchers that I'm very happy with,but I don't use them if doing hills rides such as Cootha/Glorious due to a lingering concern with braking induced overheating.
For these rides I put the DA C24s back on
Am I being too cautious ,what do others do?
M

[Roger9]

You will have no problems at all provided you use some common sense. Don't ride the brakes - think about driving a car, same logic. And try to alternate a little between front and rear brake.

We do not have real mountains here in Oz. If you've riden in Europe or some parts of the States you would know what I mean.

[Arlberg]

guys who get query or question let me know. get improved when communicating with everybody here.
kyle
Far Sports Wheels.

Some questions for Kylefoo,

1. Your website is www.farsports.cn , but there is also a newer site, www.farsports.com . Is www.farsports.com a phishing site of the original site, or is it sanctioned by farsports.cn?

2. Farsports recently brought out the FSC38-CA Carbon/Alloy 38mm Wheelset, weighing 1420gm. Are there any plans to bring out a similar wheelset but 50mm deep, ie, a FSC50- CA? If there is, when will it be ready and what will it weigh?

3. On your website can people order extra brakepads or other extras when ordering and paying for wheels? Because it doesn't seem like it can be done. It goes straight to the checkout with the price of the wheels only with no option to add extras it seems.