I’ve seen a few questions about these lately so I thought I’d offer my thoughts after a few rides:
I paid somewhere around £500 a few months ago and they arrived after about 4 weeks. They were well packaged and there was no customs charges. The fit and finish is really really, the hubs feel very well made and the tolerances are tight. They feel every bit as solid in terms of quality as the Zipp 303 Firecrests I have, and they feel like a good step up from the shallower, narrower OEM carbon wheels I got with my bike.
44mm Tufo Thunderos inflate to 47-48mm and the profile it gives is the standout feature of these wheels I think. I’m running a couple of PSI below what I would normally and the ride is fantastic, very comfortable and the usual bit of tyre squirm is gone! Bombing road descents and really getting the bike ripping through fast corners feels very assured and confident on these. Off-road feels great too, but it’s mud season in the UK so kinda hard to notice much there, so far. They’re also pretty loud if you’re into that.
In short I think they ride great and I don’t see them breaking from general use. How well they fair against an errant rock may be a concern with this kind of design, that seems like it doesn’t have a huge amount of material in the rim walls. So time will tell on that front.
For the price, I’m very pleased with them.
by NippleScream
6 Comments
Were these bought on Aliexpress? Can’t find them on the website: [https://www.elite-wheels.com/carbon-gravel-cyclocross-bike-wheelset-700c/](https://www.elite-wheels.com/carbon-gravel-cyclocross-bike-wheelset-700c/)
Sounds like advertising to me.
Relevant data for starters:
1. What freehub?
2. What inner rim width?
3. What max. system weight?
4. Hooked or hookless?
5. What the set weight?
6. How long the vendor warranty?
I bought a pair of these a couple weeks ago. One of them catastrophically failed due to delamination. I was inflating to 45psi with a floor pump. They’re en route back to the US warehouse now and I’m expecting a full refund. Maybe I just have extremely bad luck but I’d never feel confident actually riding on these.
https://ibb.co/FL1D0nj9
https://ibb.co/TBZyg12w
If these only inflated to 47-48, I’m hoping the ent gravel wheels (25mm inner) I ordered from them don’t expand my tires much more than 46-47. I really don’t have much more room to play with. I have the 44mm Thundero HDs.
Somewhat tempted to return my Zipp 303 xplr set that I got for these. They’re not quite as deep, are hooked, and probably have a better hub. I only paid $950 for the zipps so the price difference isn’t as huge, so not sure the peace of mind is worth the difference.
I bought a set of Gnar SR wheels from them. They ride great and can take abuse. The first hubs ratchet failed after a few rides but they were VERY quick to replace it. The new ratchet mech got here in 2 days from China.
Still putting my wheels through their faces and building confidence in them, but Elite certainly does support their product well. I’ve been pleased so far, especially considering the price point.