FARSPORTS DISC CARBON WHEELSET Test & Review

[openwheelracing]

BB does indeed spin very smooth. However the drag in the DT350 is indeed much more than my other wheelsets. Therefore the other wheelsets will spin properly without dragging the crank forward.

So far everyone says it is normal and I should just ride it (including DT Swiss Rep). Hopefully it loosens up eventually.

[yourrealdad]

Got another ride in on the 55 feder hookless R230 build. I had more cross winds and some more out of the saddle efforts. Definitely getting some rotor rub out of the saddle. They also are affected by cross winds, but still not terrible, but more so than I previously thought. Hard to gauge the wind speed.

This is after I brought the tension up on the rear wheel and made it evenish on the DS. On NDS they were already even. Dish is on point and wheels are true.

I don't know why, but for as light as they are they feel slower to spin up and hold speed than the AR 58/62.

I am also dealing with a feeling of slipping wheels (flat and DH) and a lack of DH stability. Can't tell what the cause is yet.

[PoorCyclist]

Got another ride in on the 55 feder hookless R230 build. I had more cross winds and some more out of the saddle efforts. Definitely getting some rotor rub out of the saddle. They also are affected by cross winds, but still not terrible, but more so than I previously thought. Hard to gauge the wind speed.

This is after I brought the tension up on the rear wheel and made it evenish on the DS. On NDS they were already even. Dish is on point and wheels are true.

I don't know why, but for as light as they are they feel slower to spin up and hold speed than the AR 58/62.

I am also dealing with a feeling of slipping wheels (flat and DH) and a lack of DH stability. Can't tell what the cause is yet.

I believe rotor rub is due to the wheel being stiff and the frame less so, or vice versa, hard to say if there is synergy required here when choosing wheels to be compatible with the frame.

I have a fairly stiff 28h rear wheel and I think I can hear a little sometimes. I am using on a gravel bike frame which isn't known for out of saddle stiffness.

[javabra]

Unfortunately my Kaze rear wheel is showing serious delamination. I'm seeing the same issue with some other posters here as well.
It started as a minor thing (see first picures), but now the delamination is getting worse, probably under the pressure of the tire. Obviously I'm not able to use it anymore... I didn't suffer any flats from a serious pothole or something.

First signs of delamination...


After some extra kilomters...



I've sent the same pictures to Farsport, wonder how they will handle this.

[tiz92]

Unfortunately my Kaze rear wheel is showing serious delamination. I'm seeing the same issue with some other posters here as well.
It started as a minor thing (see first picures), but now the delamination is getting worse, probably under the pressure of the tire. Obviously I'm not able to use it anymore... I didn't suffer any flats from a serious pothole or something.

First signs of delamination...


After some extra kilomters...



I've sent the same pictures to Farsport, wonder how they will handle this.

Im curious to. Please keep us updated. I had a small issue with a freehub on a farsports wheelset and they handled it great. As I ordered a second wheelset they included a new freehub in the parcel for free (wheel was still under warranty btw).

[stevec1975]

In the first pic of the delamination, there is a clear impact mark on the rim wall edge, that appears to have caused it, which worsens over time in the second pic, did you whack into something hard/pothole or was it just riding along?

[javabra]

In the first pic of the delamination, there is a clear impact mark on the rim wall edge, that appears to have caused it, which worsens over time in the second pic, did you whack into something hard/pothole or was it just riding along?

Well, not aware of any pothole when the first crack appeared, I only noticed it when I was at home. Their is about 2 weeks/1000km between the two pictures, it definitely got worse under normal tyre pressure.

[Butcher]

I'm no engineer but I would bet that is impact damage.

[johanalexander]

BB does indeed spin very smooth. However the drag in the DT350 is indeed much more than my other wheelsets. Therefore the other wheelsets will spin properly without dragging the crank forward.

So far everyone says it is normal and I should just ride it (including DT Swiss Rep). Hopefully it loosens up eventually.

Mine does that too slightly. Just a sign of a very efficient drivetrain, and slight freehub drag.

[jayjay]

Well, not aware of any pothole when the first crack appeared, I only noticed it when I was at home. Their is about 2 weeks/1000km between the two pictures, it definitely got worse under normal tyre pressure.

Why would you ride another 1000km after you discovered the first crack?

[javabra]

Well, not aware of any pothole when the first crack appeared, I only noticed it when I was at home. Their is about 2 weeks/1000km between the two pictures, it definitely got worse under normal tyre pressure.

Why would you ride another 1000km after you discovered the first crack?

Because it didn't think the damage was that structural and didn't think it would get worse like this. Lesson learned.

[gruppetto]

I had a very similar issue with my Feeder rimset. I noticed a crack after a ride with some rough pavement but no serious potholes. Farsports replaced the rim. Unfortanately it took several weeks and I had to lace the wheelset again.

Overall I was happy with the replacement but I still have to say that I never experienced anything similar with different other carbon rims (and I put some serious mileage into most of my wheels).

[yourrealdad]

Got another ride in on the 55 feder hookless R230 build. I had more cross winds and some more out of the saddle efforts. Definitely getting some rotor rub out of the saddle. They also are affected by cross winds, but still not terrible, but more so than I previously thought. Hard to gauge the wind speed.

This is after I brought the tension up on the rear wheel and made it evenish on the DS. On NDS they were already even. Dish is on point and wheels are true.

I don't know why, but for as light as they are they feel slower to spin up and hold speed than the AR 58/62.

I am also dealing with a feeling of slipping wheels (flat and DH) and a lack of DH stability. Can't tell what the cause is yet.

I believe rotor rub is due to the wheel being stiff and the frame less so, or vice versa, hard to say if there is synergy required here when choosing wheels to be compatible with the frame.

I have a fairly stiff 28h rear wheel and I think I can hear a little sometimes. I am using on a gravel bike frame which isn't known for out of saddle stiffness.

Yeah, I am not saying they are noodles, but I just get an overall sense of less stiffness, responsiveness. This makes sense that they are 400+ grams and 3 spokes less than the AR wheels. I have lots and lots of farsports wheels and stiffness and durability has never been an issue.

[skinnybex]

I received my Feder 45's with RD230 hubs last week. I've yet to ride them since my Cervelo R5 with XDR freehub was destroyed when I was hit by a truck bet I weighed the wheels. 571 grams front and 652 grams rear with aluminum nipples and standars CX rays spokes. If I had a shimano freehub body I'd mount them on my Pinarello F12 but I need to wait for insurance to replace my damaged bike.

[PoorCyclist]

Ordered an off menu wheelset (Feder 45mm/28mm hooked with Bitex 312 hubs, 24H, CX-Ray) on Apr 28 and got them today in NYC (14-days). Price was $799USD. Was told the wheelset weight would be 1340, mine came in at 1343. I did ask for them to pick the lightest rims available. Also asked for hubs with no logo, originally told this was not available but I got no logos which is what I wanted.

Build looks solid but I checked wheel dish and spoke tension and it needs some touching up. Front wheel dish is perfect but the tension on a handful of spokes are too high/low ranging from 110kgf+ to 50kgf. Rear wheel dish needs to be pulled 1mm to the drive side and only a few spokes that are too high/low. Would I ride the wheels as is? Yes, but I'll spend the 30 minutes to get them as perfect as I can cause I have the tools.

I thought about the RD230 wheelset but at 80kg+, I dont feel comfortable on 21 spokes (I've broken enough spokes and hit enough potholes at 20+mph to err on the side of caution). RD230 and Cx-super spokes bump the price up to $1200/1210grams while cx-ray are $969/1250grams. I'm happy paying $800 for a 1340gram wheelset with 24H at 45mm deep. Bitex hubs roll really nice, are easy to work on and are not super loud. The set I have on my FSE wheels feel like there is less drag than my DT240 and I9 Torch wheels.

Thanks for the tip I started to true my wheel. I have the same high / low like you described, although nothing too high, about 2 to 3 spokes on each side was a lot lower, so low it barely register on a gauge. The nipple turned easy on those ones.

One spoke on the disc side I have to leave a little lower than others to make it true.

I don't understand why I had to do this on a set of wheels that are supposed to be well built, they come with the variation in tension although it is somewhat true to begin with, that does not last long. I had never needed to adjust a set of built wheels so soon, until it's been used for years. Usually only the cheap wheelset that comes with the bike exhibit this kind of spoke tension issues. It's like they didn't stress relief it enough (that job was left to me riding on gravel for a bit). They left the low tension spokes too low, those spokes go even more slack once we ride on it.