It attracts some of the strongest riders from around Australia. And with the upgraded hub the fast engagement is also excellent, making me look past the 200g+ weight difference. Another cool thing about Onyx is that their aluminum freehub bodies have replaceable U-shaped steel inserts that keep the cassette from notching the freehub. The great warranty, crash replacement, and personalized customer service should give you the peace of mind you need to go ahead and take the plunge. Compromise on… Price – The bleeding edge of geometry could bleed your wallet dry. They are also still spinning perfectly smoothly and have not needed any kind of service or bearing adjustment at all. As far as ride quality goes, I’m not the one to ask. Unfortunately, being on super clearance, they were a bit narrower than really suited my long travel high speed descending style. Copyright © 2021 XCM Management. I thoroughly recommend looking at some of the options if you’re curious. It was less than two weeks until the wheels were built and delivered to my door, along with tubeless tape and valves. #crack #mtb #carbon #isthatcarbon, A post shared by Mike Blewitt (@mike.blewitt) on Nov 19, 2016 at 11:46am PST. The advantage of the sprag clutch is that it has instant engagement, is completely silent, and is far stronger than a traditional freehub system. I could easily flex them an inch or more just pedaling around the neighborhood. LightCarbon was the professional supplier for high quality The asymmetric profile may or may not help with the longevity of the wheels. One of the nice things about Light Bicycle having a North American warehouse is that you can call and talk to someone about your order and they’re more than happy to help guide you through the ordering process or make recommendations. The Noah frame in this bicycle is built a bit heavier. In fact, their new 280g rim looks pretty exciting! Read More. On stage 2 I’d found my rhythm and was riding with Paul van der Ploeg, who was having a ‘laughing day’, until we hit the next descent. The Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 2 is equipped with 29" wheels as well as a carbon frame. Read honest and unbiased product reviews … They were also 29” but with a 24mm internal rim with a cosmetic weave layer, gloss finish and built up with DT Swiss 240 hubs. Was this because I was doing a review? I have hit these SO hard and not even marked the rim. But the 23mm internal (which is greater than the internal width of the Valor rims) let’s tyres inflate to a good shape. I really like the 30mm Nextie wheels I have, they just aren’t as light. As was I. The advantage of the sprag clutch is that it has instant engagement, is completely silent, and is far stronger than a traditional freehub system. Ride1Up are relatively new entrants in the world of eBikes. This wheel set have become my standard wheels I use. Both wheels are still perfectly true and tensioned which I find astounding. As I mentioned in my first post on the wheels last year, I’m lucky enough to own some 30mm Nextie wheels and NoTubes Valor carbon wheels. My rims were standard 32hole matte finish but you can special order different spoke counts, finishes, or weaves if you want to. You pay a premium but there is no doubt that with their latest models you get a premium product. This is something Mark H posted as a comment on the first post: “I have had a few of sets of Enve wheels that are 4 years old now. In my head it makes sense, helping to keep the spoke tension more even between each side of the wheel. I sent images, the serial number and invoice across to Light Bicycle. The RM29C19 rim used in this set is billed as an all-around trail rim capable of anything from XC to all-mountain. As I stated in that first piece, I wanted to test a complete wheel and not just a rim from Light Bicycle. LBs North American Website (us.lightbicycle.com) has a complete listing of all the rims they offer (road, mtb in 26, 27.5, 29, and fat bike) and they offer custom wheel builds with Industry 9 or Onyx hubs. The hubs are available in a dizzying array of colors and they can even custom engrave them for you. Considering the only work with a spoke wrench the wheels have seen is a rebuild of the rear, there is evidence that it makes a difference. So it is hard to have a definitive answer. We had a few emails to and fro asking about riding style, tyre pressures, my weight, conditions where the wheel broke. Also, the Enve warranty policy is outstanding. I went with the Onyx Racing hubs on my build and have been very impressed with them. The set weighs about 1485g, the spoke tension was high and even, and the wheels were completely straight and round. But it did a good job holding together for 2.5 stages! Get in touch with Mike via Twitter. At the same time, a few readers commented on my first post about similar incidents cracking rims (in rocky areas) with the super light rims like the XC923. Otherwise, this set at 1485 is only really beat by Valors, some Roval, DT Swiss and Bontrager models for the ‘big name’ wheels. I think one reason I like to ride these wheels more than the Valors is the stiffness thanks to 28 spokes on the front, not 24. They're LIGHT BICYCLE's Falcon Pro AR45 Disc Road/CX/Gravel set. But an alloy rimmed wheel would have been more out of shape, and would have progressively got worse. Bought my first mountain bike from the Bike Stop, and I continue to support this store even though I live about … Join hundreds of people receiving a weekly digest of endurance mountain biking content. You can certainly get this wheel set a little cheaper by using DT 350 hubs, or the Novatec 771/772 options, both which I would highly recommend. Giant FastRoad Advanced 1 Hybrid Bike. This was also the case last year, when I had used the Light Bicycle XC923 wheels for a few months and was about to post a final review, but took them to Cape to Cape, one of the largest stage races in the world, first. And then the next two stages. I run my Maxxis Ardent 2.4s at 33psi in the rear and 25psi or so in the front. Trek Procaliber 9.7. I've been going to the Bike Stop since 1993. In short, the 30mm live on my hardtail, the Valor’s live in wheel bags awaiting a new axle and bearings, and the XC923 sit on my Norco Revolver 29 FS. The allure of cheap carbon parts is undeniable. The only real disadvantage is that the sprag clutch system is relatively heavy; 380-450g for a rear depending on freehub material. Light Bicycle 38mm wide rims with Hope Evo Pro2 and Specialized Ground Control Grid 2.3 This review is of their 38mm (31.6 mm internal) wide 29er rim, which I’ve been on for the whole … If you’re hunting some good value race wheels, then a model like this truly is hard to beat for the price. Spoke tension is still even, and the wheel feels solid. Originally aimed at the endurance (read sportive) market, bringing the top tube up to meet the stem and merging them together does a good job at disguising the surprisingly high front end. Brilliant! Of course, there is Enve as well. Light Bicycle is a Chinese company that has become kind of the ‘name brand’ of cheap carbon wheelsets. Light-bicycle Industry Co., Ltd. is a professional Chinese manufacturer in carbon fiber bicycle parts, our main products are carbon mountain bike & carbon road bike parts, including carbon bicycle frame, carbon rim, carbon wheel and so on. Buying a bike online is a world apart from the experience of choosing a bike from your local bike … I also decided that I was not going to pay $2500+ for that wheelset. Or the Stan’s NoTubes Arch wheels, if you want some more strength and alloy. Our main products are carbon bicycle framesets,carbon bicycle wheelsets,carbon mountain bike frames,carbon bicycle … With the Onyx hubs and an alloy freehub body upgrade, my all-mountain wheelset came in at a reasonable weight of around 1800g and an incredibly reasonable price of $1357.00. Light Bicycle have a newer 56mm deep rim> It's 30mm wide for better aero, almost as wide as the 64mm deep 32mm wide … I even upgraded the DT star ratchet to the 54t model for faster engagement, as I was happy to be investing in the wheels. Mike loves all things bike, but marathons definitely hold a special place in his heart. As I mentioned previously, I can’t tell the difference between carbon wheels (or frames) and aluminum ones. On my build I opted for the heavier duty ‘Enduro’ version of the rim on the rear wheel for an additional $11.00. I have put thousands of miles on DT hubs and never had a failure. I haven’t had any issues with burping or rim strikes and both sets mounted up tubeless very easily. That just happens with light weight parts if you smack them into immovable objects. Something like Shimano’s XTR wheel set is really strong for an XC wheel. The 360g rim breaks too easily. The hubs are some of the lowest maintenance around, the wheels don’t need constant truing like many light alloy wheels, and the ride is laterally stiff, unlike an alloy wheel, which is great on a dual-suspension bike. The use of carbon has allowed the weight of the complete bike to tip the scales at a low 5.8kg (13lb). There’s nothing missing from this bike. No comparison in the toughness between LB rims and Enve. But if you’re a heavier rider, or someone who does have trouble with wheels, it’s not what I would look at. Not for their ‘feel’; I can’t feel any difference between them and aluminum. This was also the case last year, when I had used the Light Bicycle XC923 wheels for a few months and was about to post a final review, but took them to Cape to Cape, one of the largest stage races in the world, first. The wheels are hand built in-house at the warehouse in Minnesota. Light Bicycle are continuing to develop their range of rims, but given the build quality of the wheels I bought, I’d have no qualms in buying rims or wheels from them again in the future. They are very fast, stiff, and responsive, making them ideal for most riding – racing, climbing, descending, and more. Xiamen Lightcarbon Composite Technology Co.,Ltd has been specialized in manufacturing of carbon fiber bicycle frame and fork since founded in 2012. View. I decided I wanted to take the plunge and buy a good carbon wheelset. If you are over 80kg and like bombing stuff, then forget it, these are not the wheels for you. I flatted and cracked the rim on the descent. A switch … I don’t believe I would have been able to finish the race on a similar light weight alloy rim. But you pay for it. @capetocapemtb stage two report is now online. When you roll up to a break spot and assess the … At last a portable e-bike CARBO is one of the lightest e-bike on the market without compromising performance and power. In the 8 months or so I had them on the bike I had a broken freehub that was warrantied, had to tension them several times, true them quite a bit, and the rear ended up with so many dents that I was worried about it not being able to hold air or just plain cracking. Instead, I’ve been more than happy with the performance of the Light Bicycle XC923 wheel set. I have the same Maxxis Ardent tires on the 24mm rims and they have a nice profile and round out to their claimed 2.4” width. Bontrager Ion Pro RT: £100 / $125 / €119.99 / AU$189.99 Gemini Titan 4000: £300 / $350 / €370 / AU$450 Guee SOL 700 … He's the co-founder of MarathonMTB.com. Therefore it is light, rugged, and durable. This is a moot point as riding hard I found those pressures a bit squirmy anyway on either wheel. At 1,450g weight, they are very light… Finally looking at the damage from Cape to Cape. Brilliant! There are some other companies starting to make carbon wheels in the same price range but I haven’t seen any that are hand built and customizable with high end hubs such as Industry 9 or Onyx. A s the banter increases around 29-inch wheels in downhill, we've decided to throw it back to 26-inch days and offer up a very long-term review of Light Bicycle's Heavy Duty Carbon rims designed for downhill … Online bike business VeloBuild offers carbon frames for sale online from as little as $339 (£226). Welcome to light-bicycle online bike … And I’m really glad I bought a set to try out, as they do exactly what I want them to do. But I have found the Light Bicycle XC923 rims are more likely to burp a little earlier than the Valor rims. ‘Closer’ might be 28mm, we will see. The spokes included on the standard build are Sapim D-Light double butted (2/1.65/2mm) laced 2 cross with Sapim Secure Lock alloy nipples. Since breaking an axle in my Valor in the final stage of The Pioneer, I’m yet to chase up a replacement. At times I do think I’d like to use a 30mm wide asymmetric rim at ‘XC’ weight. I did change the tubeless tape to yellow tape as the tape Light Bicycle offer to sell with their wheels is a bit narrow, in my opinion. I had become kind of addicted to carbon rims by buying a couple on super-clearance. If you don’t want too much hub hassle… DT are a top choice. The Onyx hubs have been flawless and I’m now addicted to the silent operation and instant engagement of the sprag system. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for ThinkTop 2 Pack Ultra-Light Full Carbon Fiber Bicycle Bike Drink Water Bottle Cage Holder for Road Bike MTB at Amazon.com. A flat spot and it is certainly cracked. Best front lights for bikes in 2021 as rated by our expert testers. If you’re a keen wheel builder, order some rims and lace some up, see how they go. I believe these were a demo set but were very lightly used. Available in two frame sizes, sold through dealers as well as online, ships … Niner’s RDO carbon process results in very light frames that don’t carry … I have a few more on order now. Reno Toffoli gives us a local rider's prospective of how inexpensive, Chinese carbon fiber, wheels perform and whether or not they are good options. I thought a lot about carbon vs alloy rims on those days, and since. In the 8 months since then I’ve ridden these wheels the most with no further issue or concern. And they all have their own issues with rims breaking if hit too hard. I was quite disappointed when they felt like an overcooked spaghetti noodle that was attached to my stem. 3 were here. I don’t tend to go below 22psi, whereas I used to go to about 21 in the Valor wheels – sometimes. We deliver the latest information from the world of endurance mountain biking. Ride1Up Roadster V2. The 390g model is the better choice. These were a clearance set that they had in the warehouse. All Onyx hubs are built in the U.S. and feature hybrid ceramic bearings, easy serviceability, great customer service, and a 5-year warranty. Light Electric Bike Reviews One of the most affordable road style electric bikes with drop bars and a decent 18-speed drivetrain. If you’re looking for a ‘cheap’ set of carbon wheels, I would highly recommend Light Bicycle. I was a paying customer, and they knew I was doing a review of the wheels. Admittedly, they do have a nicer profile on the 28mm rims and fill out to nearly 2.5”. Orro Venturi STC Ultegra Di2 2021 — £4,399.99. Sometimes you just need to look around and enjoy the ride! The Light Bicycle wheelset on the same bike with the same rider on the same trails is still perfect save for a few rock scratches here and there. SHOP NOW. It’s stealthy and stiff, light and springy, all that good stuff. Having said all that, I would still recommend them if you are the kind of rider who “rides light”. We check over 130 million products every day for the best prices. Even factoring in a replacement once every couple of years they still stack up.”. #mtb #marathonmtb #bike #capetocape #zonyk #gopro #selfie #mountainbike, A post shared by MarathonMTB (@marathonmtb) on Oct 20, 2016 at 11:49pm PDT. Today I inspect Scott's new Chinese Carbon wheels. Direct Sales vs. Local Bike Shop. They are also expensive at around $650 for a set (the rear alone is $455). As this rim did. While I’ve had the rear wheel rebuilt, the front hasn’t been touched. They set up tubeless with my usual Maxxis Ikon and Ardent Race EXO/TR/EXC combination. Onyx is also based in Minnesota and first started making hubs for BMX racers. Their line now includes hubs for road, mtb, bmx, and fat bikes in pretty much every standard. If you’re not familiar with Onyx hubs, they are worth checking out (onyxrp.com). June 17, 2017 By Mike Blewitt Leave a Comment. Cheap Carbon review: Light Bicycle carbon wheelset from Light Bicycle North America. I’ve had both wheelsets for around a year now and they each have 1000+ miles on them. We also pride ourself in exceptional customer service … It has grown considerably in the past 13 years. All rights reserved. Cost: $USD1036 for the wheels, tape and valves, Filed Under: Tech Tagged With: Carbon, carbon mtb wheels, chinese carbon, light bicycle, MarathonMTB, mountain bike wheels, reviewed, tested, XC923, XCM, XCO. The AM928 set with the Onyx hubs on my Niner WFO has seen only the hardest use and is still in perfect condition. I do run a little higher pressure in these wheels than I did in the Valor wheels. Even with these pressures, I’ve still had rim strikes here and there with no issues. Giant’s fastest hybrid bike is a full carbon bike, like the Trek, with both the frame and fork. In a word, they were perfect. Procaliber 9.7. procaliber trekbikes.com. Since their launch … And if you don’t have it, you know about it. The Racing Zero Carbon DB has 30mm deep carbon rims, and they can be fitted with either clincher or tubeless tires. I used their online wheel builder and chose the XC923 asymmetric rims, 28 DT spokes per wheel, and the always reliable DT240 hubs. After doing a bunch of online research, I came across Light Bicycle. Your Group Ride takes no responsibility for these activities. $200. But I am not using their lightest model XC rim anymore. I’m not sure. He's raced extensively throughout Europe, North America and Australia and has represented Australia twice at the UCI Marathon World Championships. As I said in the first post, what you don’t necessarily get is the devoted warranty service by your local bike shop. Stiff strong and light. Onyx is also based in Minnesota and first started making hubs for BMX racers. The fact remains, since I had that rim replaced, the wheels haven’t skipped a beat. I have two sets of wheels with Nextie Bike rims that have been built by local wheel builders, so I really wanted to see what the build quality would be like for someone ordering a whole wheel set from China. I like them because they stay true better than aluminum and they don’t dent on those occasions when I bottom a tire out. $2,100. Light Bicycle offers a 15 month warranty and 15 to 30 month crash replacement on all rims depending on which model you have. I also have a set of the 36mm LB wheels. Cape to Cape … >>> Shimano Ultegra groupset review This construction does mean that prospective owners need to be very sure of their sizin… The Enduro rim adds an extra layer of carbon for increased strength and stiffness. See all prices. If the Alma is the budget race hardtail, the Air 9 RDO 4-star build is the ultimate competitor. It also features disc brakes and a Shimano 2 x 11 speed drivetrain … I avoid the faceless cheap carbon on places like eBay like the plague; I learned my lesson with the aforementioned handlebar debacle. If cheap carbon is the siren’s song, it seems to take a lot of willpower to resist following it and wrecking your ship (or bike) on the rocks. So maybe that rim did have a fault? I once took the plunge and bought a ‘too good to be true’ set of no-name carbon bars from an undisclosed source. If you are reading this it is because you’re curious. Photo: Robert Conroy. While these are a nice set of wheels at less than half the price of the LB set, they didn’t hold up even close to as well. And this is exactly how I feel. The thing that attracted me to them was that they had good reviews from reputable sources, had products that appeared to be well engineered, and they had a North American website with warehouses in the U.S. and Canada. It cracked through to a spoke hole. They are also expensive at around $650 for a set (the rear alone is $455). Light Bicycle is a Chinese company that has become kind of the ‘name brand’ of cheap carbon wheelsets. Fortunately I had experience with good carbon bars and knew this wasn’t how they should be so I didn’t end up risking my life by actually riding them on a trail. If you’re not familiar with Onyx hubs, they are worth checking out (onyxrp.com). Speed – These bikes are not made for gravel-grinding, long-distance races. I stole this set for right around $800 (regular price would have been in the $1200 range). That’s the question, isn’t it? The thing that attracted me to them was that they had good reviews from reputable … My take on cheap carbon parts is that if they have an actual company with a website, a phone number, and a physical address (preferably on this continent) backing them up, they’re probably reasonably ok. This rim features an asymmetric profile for more equalized spoke tension as well as a hookless bead and 28mm deep profile. 6000km in, very happy. That’s included about 9 race days since then, plus all other mountain biking on my Revolver FS. Weight – Light carbon construction. I went with the Onyx Racing hubs on my build and have been very impressed with them. Light Bicycle 38mm 29er Rims Words by Nic “U-Turn” Hall // Photos by Drew Rohde Few things indicate your legitimacy in the bike world as much as carbon wheels. This build, from a few years ago now, used Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2 shifting. Their line now includes hubs for road, mtb, bmx, and fat bikes in pretty much every standard. Asa comparison, the last set of aluminum wheels that I had on the WFO were Stan’s Flow Mk3s. If I had hit and damaged an alloy rim at the same speed and with the same impact – it would need replacing. This road bicycle is considered to be one of the best bicycles. In the end, it was deemed a warranty and I paid for the postage, and the rebuild at my local shop, Ashgrove Cycles, who did a great job. Again, I haven’t had to true or tension the wheels at all and they just keep on trucking. Almost one year ago I placed an order for a carbon mountain bike wheel set from Light Bicycle. As an extra bonus, if you already have hubs and/or like to build your own wheels, you can buy bare rims from LB as well. I do feel XC rims might end up settling closer to 30mm though. I admittedly like carbon rims. Competitive Cyclist. Last year, I put up a first look of the XC923 wheel set. You would have to go through lots of LB rims before you got up to the cost of just one Enve. The only real disadvantage is that the sprag clutch system is relatively heavy; 380-450g for a rear depending on freehub material. The rims have some cosmetic scratches in them but are still structurally sound. The RM29C19 wheelset went on my previous generation Niner RIP9 RDO. Another cool thing about Onyx is that their aluminum freehub bodies have replaceable U-shaped steel inserts that keep the cassette from notching the freehub. I run lower pressures on the 24mm rims, typically around 28 psi in the rear and 23psi in the front. All Onyx hubs are built in the U.S. and feature hybrid ceramic bearings, easy serviceability, great customer service, and a 5-year warranty. This wheelset only sees the rowdiest trails that the Fort Collins area has to offer and in the past year has set many a Strava top 10 (or KOM) on the descents.