MCFK 25/35 mm aero performance

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
User avatar
Ivan
Posts: 375
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2003 7:11 pm
Contact:

by Ivan

Hi all,

Got myself a new road bike with disc brakes (canyon ultimate CF SLC). The stock wheels on this bike are 65 mm DT swiss and while they roll very good, a light rider (72 kg) with a light bike and 65 mm wheels means I get tossed around quite a lot on windy days, even up to the point that it becomes dangerous for me. So I was looking for new wheels. Something shallow but still relatively aero. Besides the obvious choices (roval CLX32, ENVE SES 3.4 and shimano C40) I also came across MCFK with their 25 mm or 35 mm rims. On paper, they seem very good, a reputable manufacturer, tubelss compatible, reasonable weight. The only reason not to go for their rims would be the aero performance. Is there proof out there that MCFK rims have a worse aero profile compared to the big names ? Will the difference be enough to be noticed ?

Thanks
He ride a bike instead of a car I wanna be his friend
Golden Earring - Going to the run

moyboy
Posts: 492
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:19 am

by moyboy

There is a test of the various wheels from tour magazine in Germany.

I think one test had the test of the MCFK 55 against other disc based wheelsets. They fared well. I own a set of 35s and they are great.

http://www.tour-magazin.de/raeder/rennr ... 08638.html

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
Ivan
Posts: 375
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2003 7:11 pm
Contact:

by Ivan

Thanks for your reply. Not much to find about MCFK wheels/rims on the internet, care to share your review ?
He ride a bike instead of a car I wanna be his friend
Golden Earring - Going to the run

User avatar
Beaver
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:06 pm

by Beaver

In general: the torodial rims have the lowest drag but are affected most by crosswinds. The teardrop shape used by Reynolds has slightly more drag, but is not affected by crosswinds that much. The round V-shapes are in between. Would you notice the difference of rims the same height? Yes, but don't expect too much, the differences are marginal. What also helps, is a tire that is not wider than the rim and a fork with legs that are wide spread (Stork Fascenario.3).

Those MCFK rims should be fine, the company has a good reputation.

User avatar
Ivan
Posts: 375
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2003 7:11 pm
Contact:

by Ivan

I would like to give my honest (as honest as possible) review here. I bought the following set:
Rims: MCFK 25 mm
Spokes: 24 front and rear 2X, super CX
Nipples: Sapim polyax
Hub: DT swiss 240S straight pull centerlock front and rear

Disclaimer: I like riding shallow wheelsets, I don't know why, it started years back when I found my open pro/ultegra set much nicer then my (twice as expensive) cosmic pro set.
Disclaimer 2: I can only compare this set to the 65mm TD wheels that came stock on the bike.

Weight: I only got to weigh one rim and it came in at a disappointing 351 gr (347 with stickers removed), while MCFK list them as 325 gram. Total wheelset came in at 580/674 grams (all stickers removed, no rim tape/rotor/cassette)
The good thing, the ride. I have about 1500 km on the wheels now on varying terrain, some training here in Belgium and also on vacation in France (Montpellier) and also a granfondo in France (bouticycle Aigoual). There is only one type of riding where my 65 mm wheels are faster and that is on flat terrain with almost no corners. When there is even a bit of uphill/downhill in the course or some acceleration after corners, I am always faster on the MCFK set. Fast downhills are a real pleasure compared to the 65 mm wheels, stable and corner like on rails.
Most of my riding was with GP 4000 SII tires and a bit with Schwalbe one. Recently gone tubeless on these wheels. Fitted Stans 21 mm yellow tape and Schwalbe one microskin, fitting by hand was difficult but not impossible. Could pump them up with a normal track pump and at 6 bar the complete tire was seated. Without sealant, the tire went from 6 bar to completely flat in about 2h. With sealant (Stans) it was less than 1 bar in 24h.
All in all: one of the best wheels I’ve ridden thus far, disc brake compatible, seems durable, ride very well, tubeless and all in a sub 1300 gram package.

Cheers
He ride a bike instead of a car I wanna be his friend
Golden Earring - Going to the run

Marin
Posts: 4035
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Low profile wheels are basically the same as tall ones as long as there's no side wind. At 0° yaw, it's mostly spoke count and width that create drag.

hannawald
Posts: 1706
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2016 7:28 pm
Location: Czech Republic

by hannawald

Ivan: if you are really counting grams, you may try Schwalbe high pressure tubeless tape, which can be taped in one layer.. around 5g per wheel.

justonwo
Posts: 430
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 9:16 pm

by justonwo

Bumping this thread back to the top. I'm also very curious about their wheels, as their wheelsets seem quite light to me. The 35 mm tubeless disc wheelset with DT180 hubs is 1,250 grams. The 45 mm tubeless disc wheelset is approximately 1,300 grams. Seems like either would be worth considering.
2020 Pinarello Dogma F12 AXS Red (Enve SES 3.4 Disc, Zipp 353)
2021 S-Works Aethos Di2 9200 (Alpinist CLX II)
2006 Cervelo Soloist
2021 S-Works Epic

Retired: 2014 S-Works Roubaix
2020 S-Works Roubaix
2020 Canyon Ultimate
2018 S-Works Camber

User avatar
tnkn
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2014 10:21 am
Location: Hampshire, UK
Contact:

by tnkn

Not much of a review but I have the 35s with cx-ray spokes and centerlock Newmen hubs. They come in under 1300g for the wheelset.

Very nice wheels and feel a lot snappier than my Lightbicycle 56 deep wheels. The LBs weigh 1420g and are noticeably slower off the mark.

That said I've kept the LB wheels on for the extra aero benefit.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply