20mm deep carbon tubular rims - lightest options?

[joejack951]

Is there anything that offers better value than the Farsports FSL20-TM-23: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Farspor ... 99462.html

240 grams for ~$150/rim. I'm willing to go narrower to cut even more weight if something like that exists. Every 20x20 rim I find weighs 260+ grams, though. I'm willing to spend more, too, say up to ~$300/rim, but it seems like the market is either for $150 open mold rims or $900 'branded' rims.

[alcatraz]

I'd be careful with 150$ 240gr rims. Make sure they are made with modern materials and production methods. Use washers under the nipples. Be a light rider.

/a

[joejack951]

I'd be careful with 150$ 240gr rims. Make sure they are made with modern materials and production methods. Use washers under the nipples. Be a light rider.

/a

Farsports is one of the better known open mold product vendors out there, so I do trust their stuff. Unfortunately, they have discontinued that rim and now only offer a 25mm deep x 23mm wide U-shaped rim at 250 grams. Still light and likely what I will buy. I'm sub-66kg nekked and looking to get down to ~62 by spring for what it's worth.

[alcatraz]

Sounds reasonable then. Go for it..


Should probably use a tension meter when you lace the wheel to make sure you got it dialed in just right. Margin of error is most likely smaller.

I live in China and I've been checking out lightweight noname rims for a while. These are most likely the Xiamen rims that here domestically are around 100usd. I've seen them as low as 228gr pictured. I'm not sure if they were the 23s or the 20s though (width). Probably the new 23s as the old 20s are not made anymore.

/a

[Multebear]

Is there anything that offers better value than the Farsports?

No, there's not. No matter which of their rims you choose, they offer excellent value for money. They are very reasonably priced, and you wont feel the difference to Zipp, Enve etc.

[joejack951]

No, there's not. No matter which of their rims you choose, they offer excellent value for money. They are very reasonably priced, and you wont feel the difference to Zipp, Enve etc.

Thanks for chiming in. I'm going to order their new FSL25-TM-23 (25mm deep, 23mm wide) tubular rims which should build into a ~1100 gram centerlock disc wheelset for ~$630 (Bitex hubs, 24 spokes F/R, Sapim CX-Ray w/ aluminum nipples). Now to decide on tires...

[alcatraz]

Thats usually where the tubular headache begins. Tufo S33 Pro are the tires that don't rape your wallet. Similar with gatorskins they don't roll very efficiently.

Mid range tubular is a bit pricey. Still for training seems s33 pro is the most reasonable.

Vittoria Rubino Pro III exist as tubular I think. In clincher version this tire got the lowest rolling resistance among medium priced tires. (Not all tires were tested.)

/a

[joejack951]

I currently have 25mm Vittoria Corsa G+ on my other wheelset. Part of me wants to try the 23mm 'Speed' version for this wheelset but then I keep reminding myself to be practical rather than chasing light weight. I'm not so concerned with cost for the tires. If I was, I'd be riding clinchers! And my wheelset is coming in far cheaper than I initially budgeted so I can spend a little extra on tires.

I'm building this wheelset with the hopes of doing some hillclimb races so perhaps focusing on weight isn't a bad thing. I have the other wheelset for most of my training miles. Or will I really regret attempting to ride lightweight tubular tires on public roads?

[Wookski]

The AX lightness 25T rim is much nicer and only 195g. I have these built into a pair of 780g wheels.

[joejack951]

The AX lightness 25T rim is much nicer and only 195g. I have these built into a pair of 780g wheels.

I only saw full wheesets built with those rims, all of which were outside of my budget. Were you able to buy rims only and what did you pay per rim?

Last night I ordered the Farsports FSL25-TM-23 for $450 including 50 Sapim CX-Rays, nipples, and shipping. FYI for anyone else planning to order these for a disc wheelset, on my invoice they initially stated that the rims would be 280 grams each as they needed to reinforce them for use with disc brakes. After some back and forth they agreed to give me the standard 250 gram layup which I'm certain will be fine, assuming it doesn't self destruct with rim brakes either!

[Wookski]

The AX lightness 25T rim is much nicer and only 195g. I have these built into a pair of 780g wheels.

I only saw full wheesets built with those rims, all of which were outside of my budget. Were you able to buy rims only and what did you pay per rim?

Last night I ordered the Farsports FSL25-TM-23 for $450 including 50 Sapim CX-Rays, nipples, and shipping. FYI for anyone else planning to order these for a disc wheelset, on my invoice they initially stated that the rims would be 280 grams each as they needed to reinforce them for use with disc brakes. After some back and forth they agreed to give me the standard 250 gram layup which I'm certain will be fine, assuming it doesn't self destruct with rim brakes either!

I can’t remember the specific price- it was over $1K per rim. They are excellent rims- the braking performance is exceptional and quite strong considering the number of potholes I have struck.

[joejack951]

I can’t remember the specific price- it was over $1K per rim. They are excellent rims- the braking performance is exceptional and quite strong considering the number of potholes I have struck.

Ok, so the price is as expected, way out of budget for this wheel build. Great to hear that they perform well. They are no doubt a fascinating product. Maybe in a few more years I'll be able to pay $350/pair for <200 gram rims. Until then, I'll be happy with my 250 gram Farsports.

[joejack951]

I received my shipping confirmation last night along with weights for my two rims: 253 and 254 grams. Much better than anticipated if true! I believe I have everything I need now, save for rotors and a cassette, to build up these wheels including some 23mm Vittoria Corsa Speed tires (need to weigh those still but wow, they are light).

[joejack951]

An update: rims, spokes, and nipples arrived. Rim weights were as quoted (!) and spokes are, well, CX-Ray spokes. The nipples, on the other hand, stink. They must have anodized them too long or something because of the four I tried, none would fully thread onto a spoke by hand. I'll see how Farsports wants to handle that.

I did weigh the tires (Vittoria Corsa Speed 23mm tubulars) finally and was pleasantly surprised: 188, 193, and 199 grams as shipped but with no valve cap. I won't need valve extenders for these so the only added weight will be glue and potentially sealant.

[NovemberDave]

If you got Secure Lock (or SILS) nipples, they will be quite hard to thread on by hand, and quite a bit easier to thread with a spoke wrench.