Craft Racing wheels - carbon spokes 1180g

[LanceLegstrong]

I'm torn between CS4045 and CS5060, or maybe even CS6575....
Currently have a new Foil RC with Roval Rapide CLXs (gen 1, so about 1400g) and an Addict RC with an older set of 38mm handbuilts (Hope RS4 hubs and weigh about 1540g).
My decision is either -
Buy the CS4045 for the Addict thus saving a not inconsiderable 360g from that bike, making it a pretty good climbing machine (its also running DA R9100 mechanical), possibly even under 6.8kg, or
Buy the CS5060 for the Foil and put the Rapides back on the Addict (where they came from). This would obviously lighten the Foil (which sits around 7.5kg currently) but only by about 110g or so, and take about 140g off the Addict.
I could even get the CS6575 for the Foil. This would only increase the weight by 30g but would perhaps be even more aero (appreciate any gain would extremely minimal, but would look cool)!
Any thoughts on this?

I love my 50/60s wanted a slightly deeper set but the 65/75 are just to deep. maybe a 60-65/67 like the hypers had would be good.
If they sold singles i might just have gotten X2 65s.

For me, give me 45mm (or 40) 25int front + 55 (or 60) 25int and I would hit the order button..

Same. Either 45/50 or 45/55 with a wide internal like 25 or 26, external like 32-34. I'd buy that.

[ChinaCycling]

Very long time lurker (over 10years), first time poster.
I am trying to decide between the CRW 5055s and the FARSPORTS 2025 New EVO S Series in 50mm. They are both simlar weight with the Farsports being slightly lighter, and also slightly cheaper (running the Steel Enduro bearings).
Thoughts?

Any specific questions just ask. I have >10,000km on various CRW CS (mostly 5060) and around 1000km on Farsports S6 Evo. I'm obviously bias, but I sell both so... double bias.

RE: Spoke thickness: Harder to measure than I thought, but basically lowest reading on Farsports 0.75mm, lowest reading on CRW 1.00mm

[vrapo]

Very long time lurker (over 10years), first time poster.
I am trying to decide between the CRW 5055s and the FARSPORTS 2025 New EVO S Series in 50mm. They are both simlar weight with the Farsports being slightly lighter, and also slightly cheaper (running the Steel Enduro bearings).
Thoughts?

Any specific questions just ask. I have >10,000km on various CRW CS (mostly 5060) and around 1000km on Farsports S6 Evo. I'm obviously bias, but I sell both so... double bias.

RE: Spoke thickness: Harder to measure than I thought, but basically lowest reading on Farsports 0.75mm, lowest reading on CRW 1.00mm

If you would go 50mm - which ones would you take and why?

[ChinaCycling]

Very long time lurker (over 10years), first time poster.
I am trying to decide between the CRW 5055s and the FARSPORTS 2025 New EVO S Series in 50mm. They are both simlar weight with the Farsports being slightly lighter, and also slightly cheaper (running the Steel Enduro bearings).
Thoughts?

Any specific questions just ask. I have >10,000km on various CRW CS (mostly 5060) and around 1000km on Farsports S6 Evo. I'm obviously bias, but I sell both so... double bias.

RE: Spoke thickness: Harder to measure than I thought, but basically lowest reading on Farsports 0.75mm, lowest reading on CRW 1.00mm

If you would go 50mm - which ones would you take and why?

Personally I like the CS5060. Reasons being the front and rear unique rim profiles and 16 spokes on the front wheel I think has some aero merits. The ceramicspeed EVO S5 is still a very, very good wheelset though. Also, which finish matches your bike more. The glossy-looking black CRW, or the more matt dark grey farsports.

[vrapo]

Very long time lurker (over 10years), first time poster.
I am trying to decide between the CRW 5055s and the FARSPORTS 2025 New EVO S Series in 50mm. They are both simlar weight with the Farsports being slightly lighter, and also slightly cheaper (running the Steel Enduro bearings).
Thoughts?

Any specific questions just ask. I have >10,000km on various CRW CS (mostly 5060) and around 1000km on Farsports S6 Evo. I'm obviously bias, but I sell both so... double bias.

RE: Spoke thickness: Harder to measure than I thought, but basically lowest reading on Farsports 0.75mm, lowest reading on CRW 1.00mm

If you would go 50mm - which ones would you take and why?

Personally I like the CS5060. Reasons being the front and rear unique rim profiles and 16 spokes on the front wheel I think has some aero merits. The ceramicspeed EVO S5 is still a very, very good wheelset though. Also, which finish matches your bike more. The glossy-looking black CRW, or the more matt dark grey farsports.

Both could fit thats the problem.
any insides on possible black friday deals on any of those sets?

[aeroisnteverything]

@chinacycling: Which of the two (Farsports S5 vs CRW) has better tyre retention? Remember reading earlier that people had bad experiences with CRW with tyres coming off the rim too easily and inflation being a problem without a compressor. Have they addressed this? Is Farsports better in this regard?

[Tpduke112]

@chinacycling: Which of the two (Farsports S5 vs CRW) has better tyre retention? Remember reading earlier that people had bad experiences with CRW with tyres coming off the rim too easily and inflation being a problem without a compressor. Have they addressed this? Is Farsports better in this regard?

I put 32 GP5KSTRs on my farsports with no tire levers and inflated them with a floor pump no problem. No sealant the both retained 40+ PSI for 3 days before I added sealant.

[ChinaCycling]

any insides on possible black friday deals on any of those sets?

I think CRW will have some bundle deals. Either frame + wheels, or wheels + cranks, etc, etc. Maybe also group-buys if you buy 2 pairs, 3 pairs (find some friends, lol) More info should be coming next week.

@chinacycling: Which of the two (Farsports S5 vs CRW) has better tyre retention? Remember reading earlier that people had bad experiences with CRW with tyres coming off the rim too easily and inflation being a problem without a compressor. Have they addressed this? Is Farsports better in this regard?

I think its something CRW addressed and the retention is now better... but, I can't think about how I'd measure which one is "better"I don't wanna ride down a hill with 0 PSI and see which one comes off first, haha.

[aeroisnteverything]

any insides on possible black friday deals on any of those sets?

I think CRW will have some bundle deals. Either frame + wheels, or wheels + cranks, etc, etc. Maybe also group-buys if you buy 2 pairs, 3 pairs (find some friends, lol) More info should be coming next week.

@chinacycling: Which of the two (Farsports S5 vs CRW) has better tyre retention? Remember reading earlier that people had bad experiences with CRW with tyres coming off the rim too easily and inflation being a problem without a compressor. Have they addressed this? Is Farsports better in this regard?

I think its something CRW addressed and the retention is now better... but, I can't think about how I'd measure which one is "better"I don't wanna ride down a hill with 0 PSI and see which one comes off first, haha.

I suppose what I expect is that when the tyre is seated, it should take some effort to actually dislodge it from bead lock. Generally, the more effort it takes, the better - although there are some extremes here (like my old Magic wheels where the tyres got stuck so hard it would take pliers to unseat them). In my experience, Roval Rapide wheels have this nailed perfectly. On the flip side, if the tyre pops off the bead lock with a lightest pinch or even by itself, this is not good.

[vrapo]

Roval Rapide CLX II or Evo S5? hmm?

[justinfoxphotos]

I still keep tabs on this thread as I'm still interested in a set. But over all this time I've at least stopped thinking about the lighter shallower options (I just got 45's for my SL6 and man they look a LOT weaker than the 65's on my Allez Sprint) and I've now narrowed it down to a few reasons as to why I've not yet pulled the trigger on some:

1) I hate the CRAFT logo. I'm a retired graphic designer and looks are massively important to me. I would never have considered an early set of CRW's with the gold logos, so the black logos on the new wheels was a great move but I still fail to see why they wouldn't just make the logos removable stickers.

I have ENVE 65's and as much as I like the ENVE logotype I still removed the decals for an even cleaner look. I also just ordered some Wheelsfar wheels for my SL6 rim brake build and also removed the stickers for a cleaner look.

I've seriously considered the new Farsports EVO wheels too but again, those graphics on the wheels just look terrible to me (if only they were stickers that were removable).

2) I prefer the look of a non-staggered wheelset. I'm 100% sure that a staggered setup would function better in crosswinds, but crosswinds really don't bother me so much.

Still keeping tabs though. Still interested in the 50/60's or 65/75's. Either way I go the wheelset would be lighter (and have better specs) than the ENVE 65's I currently run.

[pushpush]

I think its something CRW addressed and the retention is now better... but, I can't think about how I'd measure which one is "better"I don't wanna ride down a hill with 0 PSI and see which one comes off first, haha.

Well, it finally happened. I experienced a rapid deflation yesterday. Luckily I was going about 5mph when it happened. The tire bead instantly fell out of the rim hooks and I could not seat the tire again. CO2 inflation wasn't enough, and a hand pump definitely wasn't enough. Had this been at higher speed it would almost certainly have been a very bad outcome.

Today I tried mounting a brand new unstretched gp5k tire. It required a compressor to seat the tire because otherwise the beads just pop to the center channel of the rim bed and all the air spills out around the tire. No amount of coaxing would get the tire into a position where it would hold enough air to seat with a floor pump. I even tried putting in a little sealant to help it seat. No luck.

This behavior is a major annoyance and continues to represent the potential for a significant safety risk. I urge those riding early-production CRW wheels to think twice. I know I know..... queue up the choir of people saying they don't have this problem and it is fine. I'm just saying think twice. I never had a Rapide CLX1 blow apart from riding it tubeless but after a couple of well known events I decided to not become another. That's all. Think twice and assess your risk as you see fit.

If this design flaw has been fixed by CRW, how do those of us with early production wheels get replacements? I hope CRW will stand behind its products.

If not, I'm done with them.

[Maddie]

If unsure, add another layer of rim tape if there's only one.

[toxin]

Or get an air liner

[Kevin7767]

I think its something CRW addressed and the retention is now better... but, I can't think about how I'd measure which one is "better"I don't wanna ride down a hill with 0 PSI and see which one comes off first, haha.

Well, it finally happened. I experienced a rapid deflation yesterday. Luckily I was going about 5mph when it happened. The tire bead instantly fell out of the rim hooks and I could not seat the tire again. CO2 inflation wasn't enough, and a hand pump definitely wasn't enough. Had this been at higher speed it would almost certainly have been a very bad outcome.

Today I tried mounting a brand new unstretched gp5k tire. It required a compressor to seat the tire because otherwise the beads just pop to the center channel of the rim bed and all the air spills out around the tire. No amount of coaxing would get the tire into a position where it would hold enough air to seat with a floor pump. I even tried putting in a little sealant to help it seat. No luck.

This behavior is a major annoyance and continues to represent the potential for a significant safety risk. I urge those riding early-production CRW wheels to think twice. I know I know..... queue up the choir of people saying they don't have this problem and it is fine. I'm just saying think twice. I never had a Rapide CLX1 blow apart from riding it tubeless but after a couple of well known events I decided to not become another. That's all. Think twice and assess your risk as you see fit.

If this design flaw has been fixed by CRW, how do those of us with early production wheels get replacements? I hope CRW will stand behind its products.

If not, I'm done with them.

I appreciate your post. I've been on the fence on buying these wheels for some time, specifically because of the issue noted. I often do high speed descents (50+mph) and can't imaging what it would be like to flat AND lose the bead at that speed. I once had a sudden front flat (sliced tire) at about 30mph in the middle of the paceline and almost lost it... but that was with a GP5000 on CLX1 wheels and with zero pressure the bead held strong. I've officially decided I won't be buying these wheels. The risk just isn't worth it to me.