# What are the best carbon wheels on a budget?



## geebo81

Hi Guys / Girls,

I am currently building a road bike and I am currently thinking about purchasing a set of carbon fibre wheels off eBay (Details of description and seller are below). 

3k-Glossy-Carbon-Fiber-Road-Bike-56mm-Tubular-Wheels from a seller called Carbon-Goods for $410 / £260.

What are your thoughts on these and what tyres and inner tubes do you recommend. I am on a budget of no more than $800 USD / £500 GBP and thats for the wheels, tyres and inner tubes.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Zen Cyclery

link?


----------



## Newnan3

Ive got boyds and I like them so far. I find myself constantly having to brake on group rides because my wheels roll so much better than others....


----------



## jpaschal01

You should probably do some sifting through this thread to see who has experience with those wheels / seller: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wh...-direct-carbon-wheel-thread-2-0-a-241788.html


----------



## nhluhr

Of all the things to buy on a budget, carbon wheels are not it.


----------



## cxwrench

geebo81 said:


> Hi Guys / Girls,
> 
> I am currently building a road bike and I am currently thinking about purchasing a set of carbon fibre wheels off eBay (Details of description and seller are below).
> 
> 3k-Glossy-Carbon-Fiber-Road-Bike-56mm-Tubular-Wheels from a seller called Carbon-Goods for $410 / £260.
> 
> What are your thoughts on these and what tyres and inner tubes do you recommend. I am on a budget of no more than $800 USD / £500 GBP and thats for the wheels, tyres and inner tubes.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


stay away from cheap, chinese, carbon wheels. it's not worth the risk. 



Newnan3 said:


> Ive got boyds and I like them so far. I find myself constantly having to brake on group rides because my wheels roll so much better than others....


yeah...it's the wheels, sure.



nhluhr said:


> Of all the things to buy on a budget, carbon wheels are not it.


again, this is the advice you're looking for. if you can't afford high quality wheels from a reputable brand like Zipp, Enve, or Mavic, buy some good alloy wheels and save your money.


----------



## veloci1

I have to agree with all the comments above. Carbon clinchers are just not worth the risk right now. maybe once disc brakes become the norm, then, i believe the carbon clincher will have an advantage over the alloy wheels.

i have a set of the Boyd Vitesse alloy clincher and i have not ridden my carbon clinchers for over 8 months.
the Vitesse alloy clincher are as fast as my 58 mm carbon clinchers and they brake much, much better, not to mention that they were 1/2 the price of the carbon wheels.

just my 2 cents.


----------



## loona

do you like the carbon wheels that have aluminum sidewalls for braking ?


----------



## nhluhr

loona said:


> do you like the carbon wheels that have aluminum sidewalls for braking ?


Those are typically safe, but the carbon may or may not be structurally or aerodynamically useful.

For instance with the old Zipp clinchers with aluminum braking surfaces, the carbon is both structural and aerodynamic.


----------



## veloci1

also, keep in mind that with wheels like the Boyd Vitesse alloy clincher , you get 80% of the aero advantage of the taller 50 or 58 mm wheels, less weight and no concerns of failure.

some people like the looks of the deep dish (with alloy rimes) and are willing to sacrify weight and reliability for looks and that is fine, nothing wrong with that. 

it is all about what you rally want out of the wheels.

again, just my 2 cents.


----------



## eekase

nhluhr said:


> Of all the things to buy on a budget, carbon wheels are not it.


I know this is a serious subject, put this ^^^^ made me bust a gut! It is very true.


----------



## loona

i was looking a week ago, and found a_baygoods had a set for 390.00 shipped
with choice of red or white or black novatec hubs.
60 mm shiny carbon finish 

i think good lower heat producing carbon specific brake pads 
are the main factor in why carbon rims are not bought as often 

maybe someone has found a felt pad for exercise bikes 
or some place else.. which can prevent heat from building on carbon rims
-----------------

reason why i didn't buy..
i want plain silver hubs spokes and nipples.


----------



## Mike T.

nhluhr said:


> Of all the things to buy on a budget, carbon wheels are not it.


I nominate this for Post of the Month.


----------



## looigi

The new Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLE is hybrid aluminum-carbon 52mm clincher wheelset. No brake track fear at a reasonable 1620 gm . $1700 might be considered "budget" compared to Zipp or Enve.


----------



## castofone

The OP was looking at tubbies not clinchers. They don't have over heating problems.

There seems to be a lot of negativity about cheap carbon hoops but no justification.


----------



## greg12666

I ride with cyclists with all of the top carbon wheels. Zipps, Hed, Enve etc. I will put my Boyd Vitesse up against any of them. I weigh less than most of them and can out coast all of them. It's crazy. It drives them crazy. Have over 2000 miles on mine and they feel brand new.


----------



## nhluhr

castofone said:


> The OP was looking at tubbies not clinchers. They don't have over heating problems.
> 
> There seems to be a lot of negativity about cheap carbon hoops but no justification.


Given that he also asked about "tyres and inner tubes", I don't think he knows he is looking at tubulars.


----------



## veloci1

I could not agree more with greg12666.

everyone is asking about my wheels on my weekend rides. every time we coast downhill, i just go by them. it is just crazy.


----------



## cxwrench

greg12666 said:


> I ride with cyclists with all of the top carbon wheels. Zipps, Hed, Enve etc. I will put my Boyd Vitesse up against any of them. I weigh less than most of them and can out coast all of them. It's crazy. It drives them crazy. Have over 2000 miles on mine and they feel brand new.





veloci1 said:


> I could not agree more with greg12666.
> 
> everyone is asking about my wheels on my weekend rides. every time we coast downhill, i just go by them. it is just crazy.


yep, 'cuz ^ this ^ is what makes a good wheel good.


----------



## Mike T.

cxwrench said:


> yep, 'cuz ^ this ^ is what makes a good wheel good.


The proof of the puddin' is in the eatin' ain't it?


----------



## Jay Strongbow

greg12666 said:


> I ride with cyclists with all of the top carbon wheels. Zipps, Hed, Enve etc. I will put my Boyd Vitesse up against any of them. I weigh less than most of them and can out coast all of them. It's crazy. It drives them crazy. Have over 2000 miles on mine and they feel brand new.


Good lord. And I out coast most heavier guys I ride with on my shallow aluminum clinchers. They are good wheels but that's not the reason.....it's because I'm shorter than them and extemely flexible so the total package going down is more aero not the wheels. The wheels are a small part of the total package when it come to being aerodynamic. If you and your riding buddies all switched around your wheels I doubt that would change the order in which you coasted.


----------



## simonaway427

The OP doesn't know what's he's talking about.

But to answer the question - I have Boyd 38mm tubulars and love em - use them for cross.


----------



## scottzj

Well I have numerous brands of carbon wheels and so far they have all performed as they should with very little issues.........EXCEPT....EASTON! Do no get easton (of course they arent cheap anyway). But I have Zipps, Reynolds, Plant X, Real Design and Boyds and they are work great. I have not had issues out of any of them and I am a big 6'3 185 power house haha.
However, I do agree with most posts, you do not want to go cheap on wheels, as one issue could land you in the ER with broken bones. Carbon wheels are like buying electronics, you get what you pay for........good luck.


----------



## jmitro

what's wrong with easton?


----------



## scottzj

Well if you go to the easton thread on this forum, you can read about major spoke breaking issues numerous of us have had. I had the 90 series and broke quite a few spokes even after the wheels were sent back to Easton for repair.....so I sent them back asking for full refund. They gave it to me and never looked back.


----------



## jmitro

Eh, I wouldn't worry about that. Same has been said for Reynolds, but I haven't had a problem with either of those brands of carbon wheels, and I weigh 175. 
Internet FTW


----------



## bikerjones

@scottzj Which Real Designs do you have? Im looking at either a set of 50mm or 30mm, but mainly just interested to hear how yours have held up and what you think about them.


----------



## mrwirey

*Fwiw*

I have a set of 60mm/80mm Chinese carbon wheels I bought to see how they were in comparison to my higher end carbon wheels (Spinergy Full Carbon Clinchers and Zipp 303s and 808s...both Firecrest carbon clinchers. I like to try things out for myself. Bottom line: The Spinergys and Zipps both ride pretty much like aluminum rimmed wheels. The braking surfaces are even and smooth. Both of those wheels came true and have remained so. The Chinese wheels have uneven braking surfaces, which cause me to brake like an amateur and boy do they squeal. Additionally, the Chinese wheels were not tensioned properly from new and required tensioning/truing immediately. All that said, I do not use or recommend carbon clinchers as an everday wheel. They are blingy and definitely give you every possible advantage (probably mostly in my mind) in a race or on a fast group ride; however, I prefer my Zipp 101s, Boyd Vitesse, Campy Shamals, or Mavic ES, SSCs, or SLRs as everyday drivers. 

I paid $1k for the 101s, half that for the Boyds, and between $750 - $1300 for the Mavics (depending on the model). The Chinese wheels were around $500, the Spinergys around $1k, and the Shamals around $1,100. The Zipps were $2,400 (303) and $2k (808).


----------



## scottzj

bikerjones said:


> @scottzj Which Real Designs do you have? Im looking at either a set of 50mm or 30mm, but mainly just interested to hear how yours have held up and what you think about them.


Well I got the 60mm clinchers and extremely happy with them. However, I kinda wish I got the 50 mm as I can really feel the cross winds on them and my teammates love the 50's. Other than that Phil builds some very strong wheels. I am 6'3 and 185 with powerful legs and they stay true. For the price I don't think you can go wrong.


----------

