FarSports 38mm Carbon Clincher Review Thread, The

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loco2546
Posts: 64
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:27 pm

by loco2546

I read the review and its good to hear that these wheels are holding up pretty damn well !
Can anybody tell me how to contact this company via Email (farsports) am trying to buy a set 38mm clincher as well with the same characteristics. :beerchug: :mrgreen:

stevec1975 wrote:I just got my wheels through, with an identical spec to yours prendrefeu (except 3K rather than UD rims) however my weights have come out as 33g's more! i.e 1260 without veloplugs.

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Also going to mount GP4000S on these, not looking forward to it..

Full ride report to follow once the bike rebuild is complete.

kleinetako
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 6:23 pm

by kleinetako

loco2546 wrote:I read the review and its good to hear that these wheels are holding up pretty damn well !
Can anybody tell me how to contact this company via Email (farsports) am trying to buy a set 38mm clincher as well with the same characteristics. :beerchug: :mrgreen:


You can email Kylefoo who posts in this thread quite often. He works for Farsports and helped me with my purchase. His email is in his signature.

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MisterNoChain
Posts: 275
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:29 pm

by MisterNoChain

I'm also interested in these wheels. The weight is almost the same as my dura ace c24 so if i could switch to clinchers and keep the same weight its a win-win.
You cant use latex tubes on carbon clinchers, but light tubes as conti supersonic and bontrager xxx lite arent a problem???

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

So far, no problem with the Supersonic tubes.

That being said, I'll be switching over to my Alpha 340 build (alloy rims) over the weekend for winter riding as I may be doing more wet weather riding and braking on full carbon is already different than alloy in the dry... in the wet it is there, but not as "there" as I want it to be when it's wet. If another build I'm working on comes together the 38's will head over there for the long term.

So far, quite happy with them, even on some steep descents that have short, double-digit gradients and necessary control issues (again, I don't brake that much!), haven't yet tested them on ridiculous steep descents where the gradient is nearing 20% for extended periods of distance.
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MisterNoChain
Posts: 275
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by MisterNoChain

From November untill March i always ride my alloy wheels. Dirt, rainy conditions, salt, ... i keep them for good conditions.

I already have experience with carbon in wet conditions, first time in a group i drove into the back of a rider :P . He stopped and i was still trying to. The braking power is sufficient on steep decents, at least when it's dry. When its wet its not really something i'd recommend. Slowing down is a better description then braking at that moment :)

Boomer
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Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 3:16 am

by Boomer

I was just window shopping at wheelsfar.com and noticed that they now have a 38mm carbon/Al wheelset @ 1400g! Very tempting.

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

Those are different wheels entirely, and wheelsfar.com is not FarSports at all.
Besides, they're heavy. :wink:

If you do buy them, feel free to start a thread on them. This one is for the FarSports 38mm Carbon Clincher wheels that people order from FarSports. :thumbup:
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incredibleting
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by incredibleting

Isn't wheelsfar.com basically FarSports? The farsports.cn site links to wheelsfar.com.

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

You are correct! :oops:
(oops)

The about us doesn't speak about farsports, but the contact us has e-mail addresses that are farsports
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xjbaylor
Posts: 142
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 4:37 pm

by xjbaylor

Weight: 1250g
Rims: N-type from FarSports
Spokes: Sapim CX-Ray
Hubs: ED Hubs, ceramic bearings
Drilling: 20h front, 24h rear
Finish: Matte 3k finish

Rider Weight at time of review: ~150lbs/70kg
Tires: Michelin Pro3, 23mm
Tubes: Forte lightweight
Brakes: Planet-X CNC
Pads: Reynolds Blue
Skewers: 44g Ti
PSI: 95F/105R

I figured I would share my experiences with the 38mm FarSports clinchers. I received mine probably 3 months ago, but I have limited mileage on them as I devoted this season to marathon running. I ordered them in 3k matte with external nipples laced to the Bitex EdHub.

The wheels arrived at the post office in a box that looked like it had been sitting out in the rain for a week. However I am pretty sure that happened while in the hands of the USPS so I can't blame FS. In fact, the wheels were not damaged during shipping due to the solid packaging.

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The wheels weighed in at exactly 1250g before tape. The build looked pretty nice...until I took a really close look at the braking surface. There was a noticeable chip in the braking surface. To FarSports credit a couple of emails later and a new rim was headed my way.

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I decided to ride the wheelset while waiting for the new rim to arrive. I taped with Velox because I had it laying around, and used a slightly used set of Michelin Pro3's. Mounting the tires was no problem, though I did have to use a lever.

My initial impression was that the wheels felt like my Reynolds DV46 as far as handling and acceleration. However, I felt the ride was slightly more jarring. Definitely worse than my Zipp FC's and aluminum clinchers, and just slightly worse than the Reynolds. Braking power is very impressive for carbon wheels, surpassing the Reynolds and Zipps. In wet weather the braking is underwhelming as with most/all carbon clinchers. However, the fly in the ointment... There is a significant pulse under braking in the front wheel, and the low area can be felt by hand. Luckily, as I mentioned earlier, FS sent a new front rim, so hopefully that will fix the pulsation issue.

At this point I have mixed feelings regarding the wheels. On the plus side you get a lot for your money. In my case I purchased through a group buy so the value was even better. I am also happy that FS appears to stand behind their product, purchasing direct from China can be a bit of a gamble, but I think FS is as safe as you can get in that regard.

On the downside my rims had two pretty significant flaws right off the bat, so that kind of taints my view of the whole ordeal. The last negative is the ride, though I think running 25c tires would make that a non-issue.

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incredibleting
Posts: 58
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by incredibleting

Damn, I'm thinking about getting that configuration sometime in January. Now your review is making me a little iffy on it. These are around $600 shipped, but dealing with them takes longer, and local builders like Boyd are $1000, but the service is much faster. Seems like saving $400 is still worth the hassle of shipping to/from China in case problems arise.

Boomer
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by Boomer

prendrefeu wrote:Besides, they're heavy. :wink:

Maybe, maybe not :D Most of us would agree that having a carbon instead of an aluminum braking surface introduces a bit of stress, no matter how little. Stress can cause you to eat more. So depending on who you are, the net weight of the all carbon version could end up being higher :wink:

If you do buy them, feel free to start a thread on them. This one is for the FarSports 38mm Carbon Clincher wheels that people order from FarSports. :thumbup:

I posted the info here because useful reviews involve comparisons, maybe to something like Stan's Alpha 340 :D Even untested, I think that it's useful for people to know that there's now a wheel of the same depth made by the same company.

xjbaylor
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Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 4:37 pm

by xjbaylor

incredibleting wrote:Damn, I'm thinking about getting that configuration sometime in January. Now your review is making me a little iffy on it. These are around $600 shipped, but dealing with them takes longer, and local builders like Boyd are $1000, but the service is much faster. Seems like saving $400 is still worth the hassle of shipping to/from China in case problems arise.


The downside to all of the other "cheap" carbon clinchers is weight. If you don't mind spending $1000 I think Boyd is the way to go. 1384g quoted and a stateside warranty department, along with a crash replacement deal. Though at that price you are awfully close to a used set of Zipps, Reynolds, etc., or even a new set of Reynolds R2's (though they are obviously heavier wheels.)

r300
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Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 2:49 pm

by r300

I am thinking about ordering a pair of these wheels. I have read through the forum to try to find some information regarding hub quality but to no avail. I have also e-mailed the suppliers regarding the hub options and their reliability but didn't really get a clear response.
The novatec hubs seem to have a pretty good reputation and are used by UK builders such as Wheelsmith, but I am obviously tempted by the lightweight EDhubs. Does anyone have an opinion about the two types of hub and how they match up against each other in terms of quality of build and reliability?

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bura
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by bura

xjbaylor wrote:
incredibleting wrote:Damn, I'm thinking about getting that configuration sometime in January. Now your review is making me a little iffy on it. These are around $600 shipped, but dealing with them takes longer, and local builders like Boyd are $1000, but the service is much faster. Seems like saving $400 is still worth the hassle of shipping to/from China in case problems arise.


The downside to all of the other "cheap" carbon clinchers is weight. If you don't mind spending $1000 I think Boyd is the way to go. 1384g quoted and a stateside warranty department, along with a crash replacement deal. Though at that price you are awfully close to a used set of Zipps, Reynolds, etc., or even a new set of Reynolds R2's (though they are obviously heavier wheels.)


I do not understand this. Farsports has a listed weight of 1250gr for the 38mm clinchers whereas Boyd has 1384gr as you say.
So chaep and light for farsports.
Did I miss a point?
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