FARSPORTS DISC CARBON WHEELSET Test & Review

[Mr.Gib]

Is there a big difference in handling and cornering between carbon and steel spokes? (S Series vs C Series wheels) anyone has a comparison ?

The spoke material itself will be much less of a factor than overall wheel stiffness. IMO stiffer is better in all regards except comfort. Better precision in holding the intended line, particularely on surfaces that are rippled or undulating. Also better under braking, power transfer etc. Overall better sense of control. Just hold a chainstay and push the rim back and forth - lots of movement there. Imagine what happens with full body weight in high g-force situations. Are well designed and well made steel spoked wheels good enough? Hell yeah. As for comfort, best achieved through choice of tire and pressure.

[razorree]

IMO stiffer is better in all regards except comfort. Better precision in holding the intended line, particularely on surfaces that are rippled or undulating. Also better under braking, power transfer etc

well.... can't exactly agree on that. on a perfect smooth surface/velodrome probably yes. Stiffest road biking frames were made 10-15 years ago, not now, designers understood that stiffer doesn't mean always better.
not sure how exactly it affects road biking, but in MTB absolute stiffness reduces grip (less compliance), of course wheels and frames cannot be too flimsy as well

when I changed my Tarmac SL4 to SL6, I was able to ride faster and felt more confident on descents, because there was less vibrations, more grip and bike felt less stiff (both tested/ridden with the same wheelset and tires)

[jlok]

Is there a big difference in handling and cornering between carbon and steel spokes? (S Series vs C Series wheels) anyone has a comparison ?

It is tough to say. I have the Hypers 58mm with DT 180s and Carbon spokes. They corner great they handle great. I had only ridden steel before that. IMO handling and cornering comes down to the tire, the pressure and the rim profile. The best tire for cornering is the Pirelli P Zero Race imo. Conti 5000 is the best overall tire to me.
I love those wheels though. I love the DT 180 sound and the weight is incredible. The weight totally changed the feeling of the bike. That‘s the most significant change to me. Stiffness compared to sapim spokes… I couldn’t tell a difference when riding. I only have a max power of just above 1300W for 10 seconds so it might be different when putting out more watts.


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Cornering relates to overall wheel stiffness (esp. the lateral stiffness). Narrower tires and more pointed tire profile will sharpen the response.

[hobe]

Interesting discussion on carbon vs steel spokes and top of mind for me as I try to work through a few options. Any thoughts on these options?

I'm 88kg and looking for a stiff wheelset to run with 28 or 30mm tires. I was looking at the Farsports Evo line but can't get over the graphics The ones I was considereing are these:

RD270 with 20/20 carbon spokes on Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1250g/set/+-30g
or
NonPlus 24/24 with Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1290g +/-30g

I was looking at the NonPlus to get close to the same weight as the carbon spoked RD270. Which would be stiffer? The NonPlus set, while more expensive would be easier to find replacements for in the (hopefully) off chance something broke.

[tiz92]

Is there a big difference in handling and cornering between carbon and steel spokes? (S Series vs C Series wheels) anyone has a comparison ?

difficult to say but for myself no. I am descending better with 55mm deep carbon spoke wheels than with 45mm cx ray spokes. It comes down more to the combi tire/rim/pressure I would say.

[Agent041]

Interesting discussion on carbon vs steel spokes and top of mind for me as I try to work through a few options. Any thoughts on these options?

I'm 88kg and looking for a stiff wheelset to run with 28 or 30mm tires. I was looking at the Farsports Evo line but can't get over the graphics The ones I was considereing are these:

RD270 with 20/20 carbon spokes on Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1250g/set/+-30g
or
NonPlus 24/24 with Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1290g +/-30g

I was looking at the NonPlus to get close to the same weight as the carbon spoked RD270. Which would be stiffer? The NonPlus set, while more expensive would be easier to find replacements for in the (hopefully) off chance something broke.

As for spokes. When I first tried carbon spokes, it was a blast. So much better control and cornering on steep short technical descents. But at the same time, those internal rims were also wider. Recently I received (crash replacement program) new Newman steel spokes 49/54. Same internal width. But the ride feeling was just different. I have sold them further. I think I will always buy carbn spoke wheels in the future. And regarding comfort, I honestly do not feel the differance. I do however run lower tyre pressure than Silca pressure guide. I follow Sram tyre pressure calculator, which normally suggest about 5psi lower pressure. So my suggestion would be carbon spokes. And if comfort will be an issue, just lower few psi of tyre pressure.

Regarding wheel choice. I also currently look for new ones for next season. And also like no logos, so will opt for wheels on Wheelsfar, rather then on Farsports.com. Were recently told by somebody on other thread, that +5mm carbon spokes vs. 3,8mm carbon spokes, does not mean that +5mm are stronger, as they are also narrower, so probably not much differance. And I do not care for aero. Especially so marginal. The rim itself probably makes the differance. I already have 40mm Hypers RD270. Now I am looking for 50mm, for better overall looking bike, but want the same acceleration. Will probably go with DTSwiss carbon spoke hub, that has 24 spokes on the rear. Was told, this would give me best acceleration, as well as stifness from all Wheelsfar wheels. It is heavier for +120g when comparing with RD270. But all added weight is in the hubs (except for added 4 rear spokes), and no added rotational weight.

[razorree]

RD270 with 20/20 carbon spokes on Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1250g/set/+-30g
I was looking at the NonPlus to get close to the same weight as the carbon spoked RD270.

where did you find option on wheelsfar.com to configure RD270 with carbon spokes ?
when I enter to Products>carbon spokes I can see only DT Swiss and Extralite hubs options

[Requiem84]

RD270 with 20/20 carbon spokes on Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1250g/set/+-30g
I was looking at the NonPlus to get close to the same weight as the carbon spoked RD270.

where did you find option on wheelsfar.com to configure RD270 with carbon spokes ?
when I enter to Products>carbon spokes I can see only DT Swiss and Extralite hubs options

You can email them and get a quote.

They took it off their website (I suppose to not interfere with the Farsport Evo sales?). But you can apparently still buy it by emailing them directly.

[bcarvalho]

Hello everyone.
Is anyone's riding the hyper rd270 24int 30ext model with 30c ? I was considering 30 but I'm afraid it will measure too wide for the 30 mm external width. If someone could point me the measured width of a 30c vs 28c would be great!

I'm planning runing them with ridenow tpu tubes.
I had also this idea of running them tubeless without sealant but I'm not so sure if they would hold air. Would be great if somebody could tell me their eventual experience.

Thanks n

[Jmt1000]

As for spokes. When I first tried carbon spokes, it was a blast. So much better control and cornering on steep short technical descents. But at the same time, those internal rims were also wider. Recently I received (crash replacement program) new Newman steel spokes 49/54. Same internal width. But the ride feeling was just different. I have sold them further. I think I will always buy carbn spoke wheels in the future. And regarding comfort, I honestly do not feel the differance. I do however run lower tyre pressure than Silca pressure guide. I follow Sram tyre pressure calculator, which normally suggest about 5psi lower pressure. So my suggestion would be carbon spokes. And if comfort will be an issue, just lower few psi of tyre pressure.

Regarding wheel choice. I also currently look for new ones for next season. And also like no logos, so will opt for wheels on Wheelsfar, rather then on Farsports.com. Were recently told by somebody on other thread, that +5mm carbon spokes vs. 3,8mm carbon spokes, does not mean that +5mm are stronger, as they are also narrower, so probably not much differance. And I do not care for aero. Especially so marginal. The rim itself probably makes the differance. I already have 40mm Hypers RD270. Now I am looking for 50mm, for better overall looking bike, but want the same acceleration. Will probably go with DTSwiss carbon spoke hub, that has 24 spokes on the rear. Was told, this would give me best acceleration, as well as stifness from all Wheelsfar wheels. It is heavier for +120g when comparing with RD270. But all added weight is in the hubs (except for added 4 rear spokes), and no added rotational weight.

I am a fan off the responsiveness of carbon spoked wheels, also riding Cadex Ultra 50s. My biggest nerd concern at the moment is spoke alignment. The Cadex is brilliantly made and spokes are aligned with rotation of the wheel. My s6 less so - they ride very nicely and I'm generally very happy with the wheelset but the spokes have pronounced twist towards the nipple (no jokes please) which I presume is a result of the lacing process. I'm sure lots of people will dismiss this but coming from an aeronautics background my brain is visualising the stall at the fastest moving bit of the spoke. I don't know if this is something that a bit of time with a wheelbuilder could be reduced? Appreciate you said you don't care so much for aero, I'm jealous of your position on that!

[Agent041]

As for spokes. When I first tried carbon spokes, it was a blast. So much better control and cornering on steep short technical descents. But at the same time, those internal rims were also wider. Recently I received (crash replacement program) new Newman steel spokes 49/54. Same internal width. But the ride feeling was just different. I have sold them further. I think I will always buy carbn spoke wheels in the future. And regarding comfort, I honestly do not feel the differance. I do however run lower tyre pressure than Silca pressure guide. I follow Sram tyre pressure calculator, which normally suggest about 5psi lower pressure. So my suggestion would be carbon spokes. And if comfort will be an issue, just lower few psi of tyre pressure.

Regarding wheel choice. I also currently look for new ones for next season. And also like no logos, so will opt for wheels on Wheelsfar, rather then on Farsports.com. Were recently told by somebody on other thread, that +5mm carbon spokes vs. 3,8mm carbon spokes, does not mean that +5mm are stronger, as they are also narrower, so probably not much differance. And I do not care for aero. Especially so marginal. The rim itself probably makes the differance. I already have 40mm Hypers RD270. Now I am looking for 50mm, for better overall looking bike, but want the same acceleration. Will probably go with DTSwiss carbon spoke hub, that has 24 spokes on the rear. Was told, this would give me best acceleration, as well as stifness from all Wheelsfar wheels. It is heavier for +120g when comparing with RD270. But all added weight is in the hubs (except for added 4 rear spokes), and no added rotational weight.

I am a fan off the responsiveness of carbon spoked wheels, also riding Cadex Ultra 50s. My biggest nerd concern at the moment is spoke alignment. The Cadex is brilliantly made and spokes are aligned with rotation of the wheel. My s6 less so - they ride very nicely and I'm generally very happy with the wheelset but the spokes have pronounced twist towards the nipple (no jokes please) which I presume is a result of the lacing process. I'm sure lots of people will dismiss this but coming from an aeronautics background my brain is visualising the stall at the fastest moving bit of the spoke. I don't know if this is something that a bit of time with a wheelbuilder could be reduced? Appreciate you said you don't care so much for aero, I'm jealous of your position on that!

To me these diferrances seem very marginal. One would probably gain/loose more aero if one has 1cm up/down zipper on your yersey when hot.

As you are fan of responsiveness, how do you compare the responsiveness between Cadex Ultra 50s and Farsports S6? I know Farsports are deeper (58mm), so should be a bit slower. Then again would love to hear comparison between +3.000usd and +1.200usd

[Jmt1000]

To me these diferrances seem very marginal. One would probably gain/loose more aero if one has 1cm up/down zipper on your yersey when hot.

As you are fan of responsiveness, how do you compare the responsiveness between Cadex Ultra 50s and Farsports S6? I know Farsports are deeper (58mm), so should be a bit slower. Then again would love to hear comparison between +3.000usd and +1.200usd

The spec weight of the farsports is slightly lighter than Cadex despite the extra width and depth. This is in part driven by a significant spoke reduction from 24/21 to 18/18. I've ridden the front for a while now, the rear was more my concern in terms of relative stiffness. I've only taken the rear out once but my experience didn't deviate much from independent testing which shows Cadex as having best in class stiffness/weight and farsports not far behind. So, without having exhaustively tasted, I'm impressed. The Ultra 50s are still a competitive wheel but in fairness to Giant they are a couple of years old now. In my mind, if you want something meaningfully "better" than Chinese wheels, you're only looking at the Syncros.

On the aero, it's 18 spokes x 2 @ 80kph close to the rim? small inefficiencies can have an outsized impact. Where Cadex have the edge is build quality, the layup on my pair appears perfect, the hubs have been a dream, and they've taken a battering and are still perfectly true. Let's see how the Farsports hold up but for now it's on paper a better wheel at lower cost - and no rim tape! (though the factory tape job on my Cadex was faultless and has survived a lot of tires now).

[toxin]

Most of the weight saving is from the hubs, giant use slot in hubs and those are all heavy af. Not sure exactly what you mean by spokes being twisted? Could be a *f##k* up on the builder's part and just requires you to turn the big nipple a bit. Speaking of the nipple, there is doubtless a not insignificant aero penalty from those things

[razorree]

RD270 with 20/20 carbon spokes on Hyper 50/58 Rims - 1250g/set/+-30g
I was looking at the NonPlus to get close to the same weight as the carbon spoked RD270.

where did you find option on wheelsfar.com to configure RD270 with carbon spokes ?
when I enter to Products>carbon spokes I can see only DT Swiss and Extralite hubs options

You can email them and get a quote.

They took it off their website (I suppose to not interfere with the Farsport Evo sales?). But you can apparently still buy it by emailing them directly.

and how are those RD270 hubs? good? what's the weight? similar to DT240 ?

[Agent041]

and how are those RD270 hubs? good? what's the weight? similar to DT240 ?

Mine RD270 are still flawless. And bearings still smooth as new. Bought around April this year and have on them almost 10k km, with around 200.000m of elevation. Weight is around 270g as the name suggest. As far as I know that is much lower than DT240. But do not know the weight of them.