FarSports 50mm x 24mm U-Shape Carbon Clinchers Review

[Nismo4x4]

Hi all,

I'm following Prendrefeu's lead http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=113&t=108774
and listing information pertaining to my experience with FarSports.

Weight: 1443g (650g front and 793g rear)
Rims: "Cyclocross" 50mm x 24mm wide U-Shape with new High Temperature braking surface from FarSports
Spokes: Sapim CX-Ray
Hubs: ED Hubs, ceramic bearings
Drilling: 20h front, 24h rear
Finish: UD matte

Rider Weight at time of review: 190 lb / 86kg
Tires: Veloflex Corsa 23
Tubes: Continental Race Light 80mm
Brakes: Shimano Ultegra 6700
Pads: Blue pads provided by FarSports
Skewers: 43g/pair provided by FarSports
PSI: 105 psi front / 110 psi rear

Build Quality and Packaging
Build quality looks great. The only two concerns were that the rear hub had some metal shavings inside which were easily cleaned out with compressed air and did not degrade the performance at all. Secondly, there were very fine bits and pieces of carbon on the rim bed which were easily cleaned with a damp paper towel. Aside from that, the wheels were packed extremely well as shown in the photo below.



Hubs
The ED ceramic hubs spin well and are actually very quiet compared to my Shamal Ultras. Do the ceramic bearing make a big difference when riding? I don't know but they spin up well and hold speed with minimal effort.

Braking
The wheels came with FarSports's new and improved (According to Kyle) brake surface and came with their usual blue brake pads which look similar to the Reynolds Cryo pads. Coming from an aluminum rim, I was expecting poor brake performance but was pleasantly surprised that modulation was smooth with no toe in adjustments needed. There is no perceived noise when braking and dry weather performance is more than acceptable. I have yet to take these wheels to anything over 1000ft elevation but with proper braking technique, I would expect these wheels to hold up well in the mountains.


Aero Qualities & Sidewinds
It has been windy here lately so these wheels have performed very well so far. Cross winds that normally moved me from side-to-side with my Shamals do not affect me nearly as much with these wheels and perceived exertion in a headwind seems much lower, as well. I know that a lot of this may be due to placebo but by no means are these wheels harder to handle than my shallow aluminum wheels.


Ride Quality
I've always known my Shamals to be very rough and unforgiving, even when using Veloflex tires and latex tubes. I'm pleased to say that ride quality is extremely compliant with these new wheels and many imperfections in the road that would normally leave my teeth chattering were easily handled.

I know this review is brief, but I'll be happy to add more information to it should there be any requests from the community. Though I was not able to get these wheels built without spoke holes (due to mold problems), I am happy with the service that Kyle at FarSports provided me. Shipping took 6 days from Xiamen to California and were easily tracked when they arrived in customs by the USPS using the tracking number that was provided to me. Please feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Thanks!

[mattah]

I have the same exact wheels just arrived. All mounted up just waiting to stick them on the bike, will report back into this thread with my findings also.

[Wingnut]

I'm considering a pair of these as I wanted a lower profile rim...looking forward to more feedback as time goes on...

[tharmor]

@nismo4x4 - is it just the lighting in the pictures (from the flash maybe) or is the brake track glossy?

[Nismo4x4]

Hi Tharmor,

there does appear to be an ever-so-slight gloss on the brake track, noticeable from certain angles only. This is possibly due to the new braking surface used.

[upside]

What tires did you mount up on the wider rims and how did they go on. Nice bike

[mattah]

What tires did you mount up on the wider rims and how did they go on. Nice bike

OP mounted up 23mm Veloflex Corsa based on his post.

I put on some brand new Schwalbe UltremoZX 23mm. Went on very easily. I'm a bit worried actually about how easily they went on..

[SteveFromNY]

is this better than the basalt brake surface that they use in their super light clinchers?

[tharmor]

Kyle should chime in on that. From what he told me it sounded like it's a personal preference between the Basalt and the new high temp brake tracks. I couldn't figure it out since it appeared as if Kyle actually prefered the Basalt.

[Nismo4x4]

The bassalt brake surface has a 180 degree Celcius temperature limit while the new surface is rated at up to 220 degrees, according to the post by Kyle. I'm not having any problem with the new brake surface so far; the braking is strong and controlled with the included pads.

[tharmor]

Yes, I was wrong to not include the actual numbers he gave me. Nevertheless, he was still speaking like it was up to the customers preference. My point is, if the new treatment is better by 40°, why would they even still offer the Basalt treatment?

[carlislegeorge]

..... My point is, if the new treatment is better by 40°, why would they even still offer the Basalt treatment?

I suggest keeping in mind these guys aren't the manufacturers, therefore they sell what they can get... based on what they have in stock, what they can get, and what customers want. If I never need to brake on steep downhills, balsat treated brake tracks may suffice.

[eric]

basalt was the previous tech.

I've used basalt Farsport rims on some pretty steep descents with a lot of braking (race support car got in our way and tried to out run us rather than pulling over). It did ok.

[refthimos]

Thanks for the review - any chance you could share a photo showing the shape of the rim at the leading edge?

[Zigmeister]

^^this and a drawing of the profile from the maker showing dimentions of the cutout?