Chinese carbon frame and wheels thread

[redcorpsjames]

I recently decided to purchase some carbon tubulars and have seen that a lot of people have either done the same or purchased another piece of carbon kit from china. This thread is somewhere that Australians can hear from other Australians about where to buy from, where not to buy from. What is good and what is not good.
Firstly I am very please with my recent purchase. They are xuhui 50mm carbon tubulars. The quality of make seem great for the $420 they cost me. here are some pics to see what they look like:










Stay tuned for first ride . . .

On these wheels I am putting continental giro tubulars and still not 100% sure on which break pads il be running.

[liamb]

Hi

Do you have a link to a website to purchase from? I am having trouble finding a web site that lists products for sale. I am after 50mm clinchers but want to look at everything they have. I am trying to build up a super 'light no name carbon Chinese frame to climb on and a TT bike Chinese no name to do Tri's on.

Bill

[Parrott]

Great thread, thanks
Looking forward to hearing how they go, I agree the quality looks fantastic paticularly when you look at the price compared to Zipp and the like.

[coffeeandwine]

Hi

Do you have a link to a website to purchase from? I am having trouble finding a web site that lists products for sale. I am after 50mm clinchers but want to look at everything they have. I am trying to build up a super 'light no name carbon Chinese frame to climb on and a TT bike Chinese no name to do Tri's on.

Bill

Hi Liamb, try SOUL. No personal experience with them but have come across the website

[redcorpsjames]

Here is a great link about Chinese wheels:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels ... 16501.html

here are some links to carbon dealers:
http://www.yishunbike.com/
Carbonzone on ebay
http://www.alibaba.com/

[Crowella]

Thanks for linking to these. I might give them a look in to. Seems a few Novocastrians ride on them and are happy with them.They look good for the price so I might get a set of 50/50 Clinchers a bit further on in the year.

Would like to hear from members of this forum how their experience is with Yishun and the like.

[MichaelB]

The forum topic below has a few more links to suppliers, and the RBR thread that has over 48 pages of discussion re Chinese carbon rim/wheel suppliers

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=50517&p=774382&hilit=wide+carbon+clincher#p774382

[Crawf]

I think i'm pretty qualified to comment on the China gear. My stable consists of...

4 x carbon frames; fm028, fm015 (GLF's), cx disc (commuter) & 29er
1 x ti custom road frame; my fav - love it (also had a custom ti belt frame now sold)
3 x carbon clincher wheel-sets; 38mm & 50mm

Suppliers i've used and would recommend: yishun, dengfu, hongfu, flyxii.

One wheel-set suffered delam under downhill braking, that's the one thing to watch out for for heavier riders.
All the frames are great, I don't come across many who give their bikes a testing like I do so I recommend them, not much else to say, feel free to ask any questions...

[JV911]

Suppliers i've used and would recommend: yishun, dengfu, hongfu, flyxii.

i've heard good things re yishun and hongfu esp wheels

[toppity]

I had a set of Yishun 60mm tubulars. They were o.k. for the money (not too stiff though) however the two issues I had were -

1) getting them. It took around 12 weeks and I kept getting stories to keep me going (however I was offered a full refund that I refused because I wanted the wheels).
2) The braking surface seemed to wear quickly and unevenly.

I sold them and paid the extra for a second hand set of Zipps.

[jaseyjase]

seems a new frame is coming soon, all internal cabling, i like it. Both by dengfu and hongfu

i think the 56s are ready to ship, they are still making moulds for other sizes. a few months away it seems

[teak81]

My new fm015

[ldrcycles]

What are the thoughts of Hongfu/Dengfu owners re handling? I'm curious as to how the 15 and 28 handle, i've heard that one is quicker than the other but i'm wondering if it's like the difference between a TCR and Defy for example.

[steve-waters]

teak81 - how does it ride compared to the Oppy? What was a rough final costing in the beast?

[teak81]

It certainly handles a lot quicker than the oppy, very noticeable through corners. And it soaks up the bumps a lot better than an aluminium oppy. I bought this bike second hand off bike exchange all up it has cost me $1400 with postage and a major service.

[steve-waters]

you bought the oppy or the carbon?

[teak81]

I bought both, oppy from lbs in January and the carbon in April this year.

[PawPaw]

A savvy mate has bought two carbon frames and carbon tubular wheelset from www.farsports.cn
and he's happy with their stuff.

I'm half way through ordering these 50mm 1400 gram carbon clinchers.
http://www.farsports.cn/ViewProduct.aspx?id=685
Price is USD 593+60 freight + 26 paypal.

Anyone else dealt with them? Apparently they also sell via www.wheelslee.com

Any opinions about BITEX or HUBSMITH hubs?

[Crawf]

PawPaw, I have my doubts with the weight? I know mine are around 1600g but they're a couple of years old, has the design/construction changed to drop 200g? CXrays would save a little but not 200g.
Ordered some 38mm rims from farsports this week actually, but again don't believe they're weight claims - I hope i'm wrong though.

Oh and Bitex are just like many of the Asian hubs, have built up a few wheels with them of late, decent value for money and easily replaceable bearings, not the greatest spacing though.

[PawPaw]

Thanks Crawf. There's a thread that seems to support the weights.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels-tires/ebay-chinese-direct-carbon-wheel-thread-2-0-a-241788-56.html
and my mate who bought tubulars said they came in close enough to the designated 1320g.

Though I agree 1300g sounds light compared to quality brand names.

[AndrewBurns]

FM-039 frame from Hongfu. Can't fault the frame, I've ridden it through a few centuries, raced it plenty of times, crashed it once and it's still going just as well as the day it was made. Shipping was about one or two weeks after payment and everything was as I ordered it so I was very happy with their service.

[PawPaw]

Nice looker Andrew. You ever going to cut that steerer tube?

[nickobec]

pawpaw just bought FSC38-CM 38mm clincher carbon wheelset from Farsports, claimed weight 1250gms

Same as you lots of research on RoadBikeReview.com enough there for me to trust Farsports claims including the weight.

Timeline, asked questions Tuesday, ordered & paid Wednesday (the day the AUD nosedived so a tad over $600 delivered), shipped Thursday, currently somewhere between China and AU right now, (hopefully EMS tracking a little vague).

So with a bit of luck, report and photos posted here early next week

[AndrewBurns]

Pawpaw, yeah that's an old photo just after I got it fitted up, steerer tube is now cut and the cable housings have been trimmed so it's nicer looking now.

I considered the Chinese carbon wheels before going with the cosmic carbones, I was worried about overheating/delamination with the carbon clinchers (which mind you is a problem with brand-name wheels as well as Chinese ones). Still considering some ultra-lightweight 'climbing wheels' but then again when you climb you must also descend and that means that a robust brake track is even more important...

[Crawf]

The Basalt coated braking surface may go some way to help preventing delam. Some suppliers offer it, some don't.