# Yoeleo wheel set review



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

full review










"If I were to pin-point the single most often asked question that people have about my bikes, it would be questions about the wheels? What wheels are those? Do you like them? How much were they? Usually, when I respond that they are Yoeleo carbon clinchers from China, the immediate reaction is shock. “Oh no, Chinese Carbon! Won’t they explode?” “OH! How could you ride those dangerous wheels?”Admittedly, this reaction is not totally off-base. If you spend 5 minutes online and google “chinese carbon bike wheels”, you’ll find no shortage of horror stories about people that had wheels fail on them and when I was initially shopping for carbon wheels, it was these stories that gave me cause to really investigate and be aware of what I was purchasing. It is this reason, combined with the fact that I’ve just taken delivery of some new wheels from Yoeleo that I’ve decided to do a full review and accounting of my experience and hopefully I can dispel some rumors.
*Decision to Buy
*I first heard about Yoeleo in May of 2014. I was researching carbon wheels and scouring chinese carbon review threads on RoadBikeReview.com. I saw Yoeleo mentioned over and over again from posters that had legitimate profiles and all of them were happy with the wheels. In late May, I was at the Tour of Somerville in Somerville, NJ and I met someone that was there cheering on his girlfriend in the women’s pro race. I noticed that he had some non-branded carbon wheels on his bike and when I asked him about them, he said they were Yoeleo’s and he had just come home from a trip to Italy where they had performed perfectly. The biggest question at the time for most Chinese rims was the brake track and with this guy’s account of his trip from Italy, it seemed that the Yoeleo’s were ok. Additionally, this wasn’t a huge concern of mine because I was buying disc brake carbon wheels for a disc brake road bike. I was also somewhat comforted by the fact that Yoeleo was very transparent about all of the parts they were using. Some of the no-name Chinese carbon wheels had unspecified hubs and spokes, but Yoeleo was very clear about the brand of spokes and hubs. It was clear what you were paying for and replacement parts could be easily sourced as opposed to most of the Chinese carbon wheels you find on Ebay and Alibaba that often leave that stuff as somewhat of a mystery. I also liked the fact that they had their own website and were establishing themselves on Facebook and other social media outlets. They seemed interested in actually establishing themselves as a brand, not just some company that could sell a few wheels on eBay and then disappear.
*My First Three Wheelsets*
When I took delivery of the wheels in June of 2014, my concerns disappeared. I was very impressed with the quality. After I had put a few hundred miles on them, some of my friends decided to take the jump and order rim brake wheels. They too were impressed. Ultimately, I put 4000+ miles on those wheels. They were hard miles on NJ roads with quite a few pot-holes, bumps, etc. I did not take it easy on them. They never went out of true and I had no issues with them. None of my friends with rim brake models had issues either (I think it was 3 or 4 of my direct riding buddies that ordered them). Below is a picture of my Tricross with that first set of wheels. I sold that bike in February of 2015 with the wheels and the current owner is still using them and they’re going strong."


Check out the full review here.


----------



## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

Wow!! These wheels are amazing!! Chinese Quality is number #1!!! LOL!! 

I would rather ride the craptastic Mavic/Enve wheels before these POS wheels. 

Good luck.


----------



## BigPoser (Jan 11, 2013)

Keoki said:


> Wow!! These wheels are amazing!! Chinese Quality is number #1!!! LOL!!
> 
> I would rather ride the craptastic Mavic/Enve wheels before these POS wheels.
> 
> Good luck.


Whoa! Don't hold anything back man!


----------



## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

I have a friend that has used these wheels with good success.

Thousands of miles later and no issues. He recently got a second set for his TT bike.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

Keoki said:


> Wow!! These wheels are amazing!! Chinese Quality is number #1!!! LOL!!
> 
> I would rather ride the craptastic Mavic/Enve wheels before these POS wheels.
> 
> Good luck.


No where in my review did I state that all Chinese wheels were equal. Quality is entirely dependent on the company producing the products and in this case, based on my experience, the quality of Yoeleo's wheels is fine.



arai_speed said:


> I have a friend that has used these wheels with good success.
> 
> Thousands of miles later and no issues. He recently got a second set for his TT bike.


Looking at my Strava profile, my Allez has 9,875 miles and my Venge has 5,571 miles. My Allez is my trainer bike, and while I don't break out my trainer miles (I do now, but I only just started doing that about 2 months ago), I'd guess that about 1/2 of those 9,875 miles are actual road miles.... that still puts both wheel sets above 5,000 miles or close to it.


----------



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

The "higher end" Chinese wheels are fine for most anyone who doesn't live in the mountains from what I hear.

Today I descended several thousand feet at high speed, that's very common for me. I brake late and I brake hard. No, I don't need or want disc brakes. But I also don't want to die going 50mph down a mountain. 

Therefore I just can't get behind these or any other Chinese wheels, just too much at stake. I've seen far too many almost kill people with my own eyes.


----------



## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

MMsRepBike said:


> The "higher end" Chinese wheels are fine for most anyone who doesn't live in the mountains from what I hear.
> 
> Today I descended several thousand feet at high speed, that's very common for me. I brake late and I brake hard. No, I don't need or want disc brakes. But I also don't want to die going 50mph down a mountain.
> 
> Therefore I just can't get behind these or any other Chinese wheels, just too much at stake. I've seen far too many almost kill people with my own eyes.


I also climb a lot and it's the main reason why I avoid carbon wheels, regardless of manufacturer.

I must admit the price point for Yoeleo are very tempting, 38mm with ceramic bearings for $600 shipped is hard to beat.


----------



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

arai_speed said:


> I also climb a lot and it's the main reason why I avoid carbon wheels, regardless of manufacturer.
> 
> I must admit the price point for Yoeleo are very tempting, 38mm with ceramic bearings for $600 shipped is hard to beat.


Sure is, I don't have a single wheel that's that cheap. I'm no rich guy, I would love to only spend $600 on a set of wheels, just can't do it though. Multiply that by 4 and you're in the ballpark of the "trusted" carbon wheel brands. Come to think of it, the hubs and spokes on my wheel sets cost more than that.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

MMsRepBike said:


> The "higher end" Chinese wheels are fine for most anyone who doesn't live in the mountains from what I hear.
> 
> Today I descended several thousand feet at high speed, that's very common for me. I brake late and I brake hard. No, I don't need or want disc brakes. But I also don't want to die going 50mph down a mountain.
> 
> Therefore I just can't get behind these or any other Chinese wheels, just too much at stake. I've seen far too many almost kill people with my own eyes.


Had them out in Colorado earlier this year... climbed and descended Left Hand Canyon and Lee Hill with no problems or concerns. LH Canyon is 17 miles of descending but doesn't have any super-tight turns, except for a few in the beginning. The next day, I climbed and descended Flagstaff Road, chasing Alison Powers, again with no issues. Flagstaff is 5 miles, 1400' with lots of hairpins. I've also had them up and down Bear Mountain in NY a bunch, which is another 5 mile climb/descent.



arai_speed said:


> I also climb a lot and it's the main reason why I avoid carbon wheels, regardless of manufacturer.
> 
> I must admit the price point for Yoeleo are very tempting, 38mm with ceramic bearings for $600 shipped is hard to beat.


I think $600 is a little low for the ceramic bearing option.. that might be with standard hubs. I think the hubs with ceramic bearings would put you in the $850-900 range, but I haven't priced out 38's so I can't say for sure.


----------



## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

TricrossRich said:


> I think $600 is a little low for the ceramic bearing option.. that might be with standard hubs. I think the hubs with ceramic bearings would put you in the $850-900 range, but I haven't priced out 38's so I can't say for sure.


They say that seeing is believing.

View attachment 315483


----------



## ghettocop (Apr 19, 2014)

Are you going to be a brand ambassador for them now? I get the feeling that is coming. This should have been posted in the Chinese carbon sticky, to avoid the hundreds of posts that are to follow. My 2 cents......as a wheelbuilder who has built and ridden Enve's, Zipp's, Aeolus, and a couple of different chinese "brands". Chinese carbon wheels are problematic.


----------



## FasterStronger (Jun 6, 2014)

As tempting as it is to get a set of carbon wheels at a low price I just cannot wrap my head around putting my safety at risk for the money saved - it isn't worth it to me. No guaranties that any particular wheel won't fail but I would rather do what I can to stack the odds in my favor and spend more even if it isn't absolutely necessary. I am the same way with tires - if they look questionable in any way - due to use or a flat it is time to move on.


----------



## arai_speed (Aug 19, 2003)

ghettocop said:


> Are you going to be a brand ambassador for them now? I get the feeling that is coming. This should have been posted in the Chinese carbon sticky, to avoid the hundreds of posts that are to follow. My 2 cents......as a wheelbuilder who has built and ridden Enve's, Zipp's, Aeolus, and a couple of different chinese "brands". Chinese carbon wheels are problematic.


I think the review is not for all Chinese carbon wheels, just this one manufacturer. Do you have first hand experience with this particular "brand"?


----------



## ghettocop (Apr 19, 2014)

arai_speed said:


> I think the review is not for all Chinese carbon wheels, just this one manufacturer. Do you have first hand experience with this particular "brand"?


With Yeoleo specifically?..........No. Can you describe the manufacturing differences between Yeoleo and Fyxii, Farsports, Deng Fu, Hong Fu, Carbonal, or others? Is it possible that the vast majority of these wheels are the same with different branding? You can even throw Derby, Nox, etc almost into the same boat. Chinese manufactured with QC done by the respected brands once they arrive stateside. Some design and spec elements may be proprietary as they claim, but this is doubtful, as these wheels can be found in other places with the same specs. Enve before it was sold had a lot of QC issues to be sure, and I am not a fan. They did put a lot of effort into design however. Zipp higher end, and Aeolus wheels are 100% U.S. made and the quality of the carbon and manufacturing is immediately evident upon inspection. Holding a Zipp/Aeolus in one hand and a Chinese wheel in the other and examining them side by side would put an end to a lot of these threads. Build issues and failures is something else entirely. and yes, I realize Rich was reviewing Yeoleo. Which is why I asked if he would soon be a brand ambassador. Thats how these things work.


----------



## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Keoki said:


> Wow!! These wheels are amazing!! Chinese Quality is number #1!!! LOL!!
> 
> I would rather ride the craptastic Mavic/Enve wheels before these POS wheels.
> 
> Good luck.


People thought the same of Japanese cars in the 60's and 70's.


----------



## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

ghettocop said:


> With Yeoleo specifically?..........No. Can you describe the manufacturing differences between Yeoleo and Fyxii, Farsports, Deng Fu, Hong Fu, Carbonal, or others? Is it possible that the vast majority of these wheels are the same with different branding? You can even throw Derby, Nox, etc almost into the same boat. Chinese manufactured with QC done by the respected brands once they arrive stateside. Some design and spec elements may be proprietary as they claim, but this is doubtful, as these wheels can be found in other places with the same specs. Enve before it was sold had a lot of QC issues to be sure, and I am not a fan. They did put a lot of effort into design however. Zipp higher end, and Aeolus wheels are 100% U.S. made and the quality of the carbon and manufacturing is immediately evident upon inspection. Holding a Zipp/Aeolus in one hand and a Chinese wheel in the other and examining them side by side would put an end to a lot of these threads. Build issues and failures is something else entirely. and yes, I realize Rich was reviewing Yeoleo. Which is why I asked if he would soon be a brand ambassador. Thats how these things work.


First, I don't own carbon wheels, so I have not dog in this fight. So Rich posts a positive review of the wheels from actually having used them for thousands of miles, now he is assumed to become a "brand ambassador". If by brand ambassador you mean a guy that says "hey, I like these wheels because they have performed well, been reliable and were a good value" when people ask about his wheels, then perhaps. I tell people I like my HED Ardennes + very much based on my experience with them. I could not tell you how HED manufactures the wheels, but they ride well and have been durable. If the result of the manufacturing process is a durable wheelset that performs, the process becomes moot.


----------



## ghettocop (Apr 19, 2014)

Never mind. Answered my own question. This is in the full review link. So interesting how these things happen.

*Disclosure* After purchasing the first 3 sets of Yoeleo’s and promoting them on various social media outlets, Yoeleo offered me an athlete sponsorship and sent me the 88’s in this article to use in my time trial events. They have not dictated or censored any of my review or comments.


----------



## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

ghettocop said:


> Never mind. Answered my own question. This is in the full review link. So interesting how these things happen.
> 
> *Disclosure* After purchasing the first 3 sets of Yoeleo’s and promoting them on various social media outlets, Yoeleo offered me an athlete sponsorship and sent me the 88’s in this article to use in my time trial events. They have not dictated or censored any of my review or comments.


If the ordeal with Pactimo is a litmus test, the company doesn't need to dictate anything. The bullshit just flows naturally. Natural salesman we have on our hands here.

It might be time for Mr. Salesman to either start paying this forum or to bring his advertisements somewhere else. I for two have been sick of it for a while. People don't come to this discussion forum to be advertised to in a back door fashion. GTFO.


----------



## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

ghettocop said:


> Are you going to be a brand ambassador for them now? I get the feeling that is coming. This should have been posted in the Chinese carbon sticky, to avoid the hundreds of posts that are to follow. My 2 cents......as a wheelbuilder who has built and ridden Enve's, Zipp's, Aeolus, and a couple of different chinese "brands". Chinese carbon wheels are problematic.


I don't believe that Yoeleo has a "Brand Ambassador" program. They did sponsor me and give me this set of wheels, after I had previously purchased 3 other sets of wheels for them. That's all outlined in the blog post and review. I'm not trying to hide the fact that they gave me this set of wheels and they didn't ask me to write a review or ask me to say anything. Katrina, the girl who does the videos saw some of my posts on Facebook and instagram and saw that I was racing and was getting results. She asked about the racing and asked why I was not using a full disc wheel for TT. I explained to her the rules of my class, Non-TT, and that I could not use a full-disc. She said that they do athlete sponsorships and thought it would be interesting to see how much difference it would make if I switched from my 60's up to 88's. She sent me paperwork that i had to fill out-lining the racing I do, what, where, how long, etc. I had to outline my past results. That had to be approved and after a few weeks it was and I was able to select the wheels.



arai_speed said:


> I think the review is not for all Chinese carbon wheels, just this one manufacturer. Do you have first hand experience with this particular "brand"?


Correct. I have no experience with other Chinese brand wheels other than the research I did here prior to buying the Yoeleo's. I first learned of the Yoeleo's here and ended up buying them because there wasn't a single person that actually owned them, that had anything bad to say about them. Other brands and sources seemed to be a mixed bag.



ghettocop said:


> With Yeoleo specifically?..........No. Can you describe the manufacturing differences between Yeoleo and Fyxii, Farsports, Deng Fu, Hong Fu, Carbonal, or others? Is it possible that the vast majority of these wheels are the same with different branding? You can even throw Derby, Nox, etc almost into the same boat. Chinese manufactured with QC done by the respected brands once they arrive stateside. Some design and spec elements may be proprietary as they claim, but this is doubtful, as these wheels can be found in other places with the same specs. Enve before it was sold had a lot of QC issues to be sure, and I am not a fan. They did put a lot of effort into design however. Zipp higher end, and Aeolus wheels are 100% U.S. made and the quality of the carbon and manufacturing is immediately evident upon inspection. Holding a Zipp/Aeolus in one hand and a Chinese wheel in the other and examining them side by side would put an end to a lot of these threads. Build issues and failures is something else entirely. and yes, I realize Rich was reviewing Yeoleo. Which is why I asked if he would soon be a brand ambassador. Thats how these things work.


I can't compare the Yoeleo construction to other Chinese brands because I have no experience with those other brands. In terms of name brand stuff, I have friends that have wheels from Enve, Zipp, Roval, Reynolds, Boyd, Easton, Mavic, Flo and Lightweight. I have not ridden those brands for thousands of miles like I have the Yoeleo's, but I haven ridden them for several miles at a time while swapping bikes with friends. Obviously, Lightweights are on a whole other level, not even the same conversation. In my opinion, the best I've seen. I'd put Enve behind them, particularly the newer wheels with the new brake track. Then I'd put Roval and Zipp in their somewhere, pretty evenly. I liked the braking on the Rovals a lot, but I hate the way the hubs sound... I know that's silly. I think Zipp makes pretty good wheels, but they always seem to have hub problems. I had a look at the new 404 NSW's at a show, but haven't had a chance to ride them or know anyone personally that has them yet. Mavic and the newer Easton's seem to be petty comparable, but I hear there are some new Mavics out. IMO, they were so-so. The Reynolds (mid level, I think they were attacks) and Flo wheels were pretty standard.. so where the Boyds. and I'd say the Yoeleo's compare pretty similarly to them, but the Yoeleo's are a little bit cheaper than those brands mentioned. 



Blue CheeseHead said:


> First, I don't own carbon wheels, so I have not dog in this fight. So Rich posts a positive review of the wheels from actually having used them for thousands of miles, now he is assumed to become a "brand ambassador". If by brand ambassador you mean a guy that says "hey, I like these wheels because they have performed well, been reliable and were a good value" when people ask about his wheels, then perhaps. I tell people I like my HED Ardennes + very much based on my experience with them. I could not tell you how HED manufactures the wheels, but they ride well and have been durable. If the result of the manufacturing process is a durable wheelset that performs, the process becomes moot.


Yup.. pretty much.



ghettocop said:


> Never mind. Answered my own question. This is in the full review link. So interesting how these things happen.
> 
> *Disclosure* After purchasing the first 3 sets of Yoeleo’s and promoting them on various social media outlets, Yoeleo offered me an athlete sponsorship and sent me the 88’s in this article to use in my time trial events. They have not dictated or censored any of my review or comments.


Yup, I addressed this above. Not sure what "these things" are that are happening.



MMsRepBike said:


> If the ordeal with Pactimo is a litmus test, the company doesn't need to dictate anything. The bullshit just flows naturally. Natural salesman we have on our hands here.
> 
> It might be time for Mr. Salesman to either start paying this forum or to bring his advertisements somewhere else. I for two have been sick of it for a while. People don't come to this discussion forum to be advertised to in a back door fashion. GTFO.


Pactimo ordeal? come on dude, get real. There was no Pactimo ordeal. I was chosen as a Brand Ambassador by Pactimo, I asked people to vote for my video. I said that I thought the bibs were great, particularly the top of the line models. here's a link to the thread if anyone else wants to see it. The only ordeal was that you called out a pro rider, claiming he was your friend, saying that he told you they sucked. I spoke with that rider and he disputed what you said and had some choice words. I'm guessing he spoke with you because you edited your comments. The ordeal, if there was one, was on your end. 

There's no advertising going on here and you're not a moderator so don't pretend to be one. I simply posted a review that I did for the wheels I own. Wheels that have been mentioned here hundreds if not thousands of times. I posted it here because this is where I found out about them and there's no shortage of people who have thoughts about them, that don't own them. Its no different than any other post where someone talks about what they own and whether or not its good. If I'm guilty of that, than you are as well with your constant cooling over your Assos bibs.


----------



## ghettocop (Apr 19, 2014)

You need to get real, Rich. Your methods are so formulaic it's laughable. You want exposure. You want some sort of "cycling" exposure through your racing. You want exposure for your website. You want exposure for your photography company. You have designs on becoming like the Radavist, or Cycling Maven, or maybe even Bike Snob NYC. You want hits to your Crank Addicts site so you can drive interest and maybe sell some T-shirts, but mostly what you want is the kind of exposure that will enable you to e-mail component and clothing companies.....show them how active you are on social media and how popular your website is, and then ask them for free product to "review". These "reviews" will no doubt put the product in a positive light, and you grow the Rich Levigne brand. Seriously man, you need to get real. I'm in the industry. There are many on these boards in the industry. Your methods are used incessantly by countless others to gain some "fame" or recognition in the industry. Can you imagine how excited these brand managers will be when they hear how popular crank addicts is, the kind of race results you are getting, and oh my goodness...........you are a professional photographer to boot? The reviews will be simply stunning.


Edit to add...........I feel hella stupid and taken advantage of to have voted for you to become the Pactimo ambassador, and get you a free trip. How many votes did you get from members of this forum?


----------



## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

ghettocop said:


> Never mind. Answered my own question. This is in the full review link. So interesting how these things happen.
> 
> *Disclosure* After purchasing the first 3 sets of Yoeleo’s and promoting them on various social media outlets, Yoeleo offered me an athlete sponsorship and sent me the 88’s in this article to use in my time trial events. They have not dictated or censored any of my review or comments.


Sorry, did not read the full article myself to realize the Rich is a pro shill.


----------



## Keoki (Feb 13, 2012)

Blue CheeseHead said:


> People thought the same of Japanese cars in the 60's and 70's.


People still do with American, British and Korean cars. What's your point?


----------

