China-made Carbon bike rims,anyone used?

tohar

Are there any experts could give some advice bout China-made carbon rims for my MTB bike?
Just see a Chinese factory(GTL-BIKE) from Xiamen who provide some cheap carbon rims,
Any used?
How about quality?

esuhl

I don't know about carbon rims, but there are a lot of cheap knock-off bikes in China that are fundamentally dangerous.

I have some bike lights and small electronic items bought directly from China, but I don't leave them on when unattended, and I wouldn't risk buying something that could seriously cause injury like bike rims.

Oh, I also bought a fan-cooled aluminium hard drive caddy from China. It wasn't aluminium and the fan-cooling was so poor that I damaged the drive on first use. Actually, I damaged myself too -- I removed the drive from the caddy and it was so hot I burnt my hand.

So, yeah... I'd be very wary of random stuff from China unless you're SURE it's made to UK/EU safety standards.

brat

I've no personal experience, but a friend had his cheap carbon front wheel rim collapse on him last year on a sportive on nothing more than a slightly rutted road.
If you're looking for cheap carbon wheels, I'd be more tempted to go for used wheels from a reliable ebayer. My mate sold his Mavic CC40Cs online with 10,000 miles of use for £550.
A bargain, and they really make your bike look bonny!

Nasqueron

If you buy copies of legit stuff, expect it to break very easily with no recourse, companies doing knock-off don't care about the law or your safety, just making money and disappearing (commonly sold on places like Alibaba/Ali Express).

However, there are legitimate Chinese companies like Hong Fu who use open mould setups (i.e. just a generic build, not a design by one of the better known brands) and can produce good quality kit at a much lower price. Go with a reputable firm rather than buying copies

Johnmcl7

I'd agree with the comments to make sure you avoid the knock off stuff as the quality seems to be very poor, I realise this is written from a bike company's point of view but I'm sure much of it is true:

http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/components/catch-counterfeiter-sketchy-world-fake-bike-gear

From what I've read Nextie have a good reputation for their carbon rims although their service can be a bit iffy getting them delivered.

John

Keep_pedalling

If you are looking for expert advice a cycling forum is likely to be better bet, but personally Iwould avoid. If you need new rims spend the same sort of money on some high quality aluminium ones. Unless you are into competitive riding decent carbon rims are probably not worth the expense.

Elfbert

I know 2 people who have had carbon forks collapse on them (one Cannondale and one Giant, iirc), so personally I steer clear of anything carbon - but especially cheap knock-offs!

The last thing you want is to be dumped on your face in front of traffic.

brat

I've been riding quality carbon for some years now - Cannondale hi modulus carbon - , and I wouldn't hear a word against it. I've been on many sportives and have yet to hear of anyone suffering a catastrophic failure on carbon that they wouldn't have suffered on any other material. You don't see too many terrible carbon failures on the pro tours either.
I'm stunned that my carbon bike seems to have stood up so well to its recent high impulse RTC -, in fact it seems that all of the damage was done when the old boy reversed over the bike while trying to get his car off the road. Even then most of the damage apart from the crack on the top tube is 'potential' or 'cosmetic' rather than truly functional.
Decent carbon is expensive, I don't deny it; but if it's an enjoyable sport and a primary hobby, it's worth putting a bit of your hard earned into making it as enjoyable an experience as you can.
A good carbon frame has changed me from being a 50 mile a week leisure cyclist to a 120-300 miles a week evangelist.

But don't buy an unknown brand. It's just not worth it.