As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Are you looking to improve your cycling speeds but seem to have hit a wall to the amount of speed you can achieve?
If this is the case, it’s time for you not to work hard rather play smart. What you need to do more than anything is to improve the hardware of your cycle.
Small improvements on your cycle can give you the necessary boost in speed required to reach your targets.
And one of the simplest and most effective changes you can consider would be to replace your current rims with the best Chinese carbon wheels in the market.
These wheels will not only be easy on your wallet but will also provide that necessary boost.
Features to Look for Before Buying
If this is your first time purchasing a carbon wheel, understanding your exact needs might seem like a bit of an issue.
To allow you to make a more thought-out decision, we’ve made up this brief buying guide.
This guide should give you the right idea about your needs and let you match them with the right product.
Usage Type
The varying depth of carbon wheels help serve various bikes’ varying purposes; it’s essential to understand your goals before purchasing.
Average wheel depths start from a small 25mm and can go up to over 88mm, some even come with complete disk covering.
Speed
You must understand the depth figures because as the wheel’s depth increases, the carbon fiber used on the wheel also increases.
Thus, with the increasing amount of depth, wheels become more aerodynamic, improving speed as you go up.
Comfort
It would also help if you also kept in mind as the rims get wider and cover up more area, there’s only a limited amount for the spokes left.
Thus, with an increasing depth, not only does the wheel become faster, but they also become more uncomfortable as the spoke lengths start to decrease.
So, if you’re looking for an everyday rough use bike, we would recommend going for the smaller depth ones.
But if you’re looking to gain a huge amount of speed for performance use, then the only way is to go for a deeper wheel.
Related Guide: Best Exercise Bikes
Braking
One of the most critical factors on par with speed is the braking of your bike.
As the speeds go up, so must your bike’s braking capabilities, or else you may end up with serious injuries.
Plus, increased speeds mean increased heat generated from braking; therefore, you need a rim that can deal with such high increases in heat.
In such a case, we recommend going for a bike rim with the braking surface additionally made with Basalt or tougher layers of Carbon fiber.
These will allow the brake pads’ heat to be dispersed more evenly and quickly, thus ensuring quick braking.
Furthermore, it improves the brake track’s longevity, meaning your wheels will last much longer.
Spokes
The spokes are a factor that will contribute to your bike’s various aspects, so it is necessary to make a thought-out choice on them.
However, the main three functions of spokes are:
Therefore, when making a choice, choose a pair of wheels with a solid set of spokes.
Also, we recommend keeping a set of spokes with you at all times, in case of a rainy day.
Suggested Guide: Indoor Cycling Bike Review
Best Chinese Carbon Wheels Comparison in 2021
Last update on 2021-03-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
5 Best Chinese Carbon Wheels Review in 2021
Carbon wheels come in many shapes and sizes, and with many brands selling the same promises.
This overwhelming availability of products does make it quite difficult for people to make the right choice.
To make you a bit more decisive about your decision, we’ve shortened the list down to the top 5 wheels you can purchase.
Superteam Carbon Fiber Road Bike Wheels 700C
One of the most extraordinary carbon fiber race wheels comes from the shops of Superteam.
Superteam is one of China’s biggest and most competitive producers of good quality carbon fiber wheels.
And the company means business when talking about quality with products that can compete with the big boys of the industry such as Zipp and Shimano.
This model from Superteam comes with a 50mm tire depth. A 50mm depth means that the tires fall perfectly in the mid-range, where they’re both comfortable and quick.
The tires’ aerodynamics and lightweight seem to be the biggest contributing factors for speed.
These give the tires an overall racing feel, working best on fast flats and rolling hill conditions.
With the tire’s capabilities to reach immense speeds, they are also likely to cause extreme heat during braking.
As braking temperatures might get over 200 degrees, most braking surfaces will not be able to comply.
However, the Basalt braking surface on these rims dissipates such high heat evenly, causing them to improve braking performance.
The Carbon fiber used on these wheels is of 3K weave with a matte finish. 3K weave means there are 3000 carbon filaments packed into every 125” of the material; thus, in simple words providing an immense improvement in strength.
Moreover, the wheels’ strength is improved with the high-quality hubs and spokes; these give the bike the ability to carry a max 120kg rider.
PROS
CONS
Related Topic: The Urban Bike
Superteam 38/50/60/88mm Carbon Wheelset 700c
If you’re looking for that sleek dark theme for your bike, then these non-laminated wheels from Superteam do quite a decent job.
The dark UD matte finish of these rims blends the wheel quite well with the road, giving your bike a decent stealth finish.
Additionally, the large variety available for 38/50/60/88mm wheelsets provides a good base to choose from.
Although the rim widths on each wheel vary, they are all made to be as lightweight as possible.
Furthermore, every wheel also provides a certain aerodynamics level to it; all these factors provide high speeds without much effort.
Moreover, the wheels’ ability to run 8/9/10/11-speed gears gives you a good enough ability to adjust speed.
For braking, the wheels require to use the standard V-braking system. These V-brakes should allow a good braking ability; however, with the speeds you might be traveling at, these braking capabilities may fall over time.
The fix to the wheel’s braking issues lies with the Basalt braking surface, pre-lined on the wheel, that can handle the high-heats of high-speed braking.
Furthermore, the wheels are made from some extremely tough Carbon Fiber-Toray T700 material.
Thus, handling the city’s rough terrain for the wheels should not be an issue; instead, the wheels should provide a reasonably comfy ride.
All these features further come certified since the wheels have passed all EN quality standard tests.
PROS
CONS
SunRise Bike 25mm U-Shape Wheel 50mm Carbon Fiber Bike Wheelset 700c
Here, we have another set of stealth black carbon fiber wheels from a Chinese brand known as SunRise.
This manufacturer may not be a top-tier brand to purchase from; however, the wheels they make are affordable and perform exceptionally.
The company ensures high-grade quality in all its production processes, producing a relatively reliable product.
For this model, SunRise provides a U-shaped wheel with a wheel depth of 50mm.
This 50mm wheel depth is the perfect mid-point to be in if you’re looking for both comfort and speed.
With the mid-depth 50mm wheel, the wheel’s aerodynamics see a significant rise.
Since there is less surface available on the wheel causing friction, your speeds significantly increase.
Furthermore, the wheels have been made with 3K Carbon Fiber-Toray, giving them immense strength while also keeping the wheels light.
These improvements help the bike’s wheels survive easily on bumps and potholes, usually seen on city streets.
The CN494 black spokes and Powerway hub further add to this strength factor, thus providing a reliable product.
For the bike’s braking system, the braking surface has been covered with a Basalt line.
The Basalt helps with easy dissipation of heat, allowing the tracks to remain cool and improving braking speeds.
Additionally, the wheels have further been certified with UCI and EN quality standard certifications, making them on par with industry standards.
PROS
CONS
SunRise Bike Carbon Wheels 60mm Depth 25mm Width Clincher Wheelset
These wheels are another product from SunRise, and they’re relatively similar to the one we reviewed previously.
However, the significant difference you’ll find here is with the depth of the wheel.
The depth was previously 50mm; this model, however, has a depth of 60mm; this difference in depth in-turn adds many new capabilities for the wheel.
One of the main improvements with the 10mm increase in wheel-depth is the wheel’s aerodynamics improvement.
The increased carbon fiber body cuts down the effects of drag forces by providing a greatly sleek design.
This improvement of the aerodynamics paired with the lightweight property should provide the speed you need to get ahead.
While the speed is improved through better aerodynamics, the wheels do take quite a sacrifice on the comfort category.
The shorter spokes on the wheel mean more shocks are absorbed directly onto the hub, transferring most of it to your body.
For this reason, the 60mm wheels perform much better on flat out track meant mainly for racing purposes.
Although the wheels do take a hit on their comfort, they still carry the same fantastic braking capacities.
Instead of the regular Basalt brake surfaces, these brake tracks are made using a 12-layer carbon cover.
These make the braking abilities improve to much greater extents. The use of Carbon fiber further enhances the longevity of the tracks – increasing the longevity of the wheel itself.
PROS
CONS
Superteam 700c Carbon Bicycle Wheel Front 60mm Rear 88mm Clincher Wheelset
If you’re looking to build a complete racing type bike, but can’t spend over $1000 on wheel enhancements, these wheels from Superteam should cover you. Not only cover you, but these wheels will also be doing a damn good job as well.
This pair is a bit peculiar than your regular wheel pairs; it’s made up of a 60mm front and an 88mm back wheel.
With a pair of wheels like this, the cycle should cut through the air without any issue.
Both the wheels take out drag forces from the formula – making the bike significantly aerodynamic at levels that match racing bikes.
The improved aerodynamics fits with the wheels’ lightweight, giving you the ability to overcome your speed benchmarks and set some higher ones.
High speeds like these require brakes and brake surfaces that can handle the immense heat being created.
Thus, the wheels have been fitted with a 12-layer carbon brake track surface, lowering the cooling time and making your brakes more effective.
Improved cooling effects will allow the brake pads’ and the braking surfaces’ longevity to improve.
Since the wheels are mainly for extreme-performance purposes, you can’t expect much comfort from these wheels. The wheels majorly seem to perform optimally on smooth flat surfaces.
However, if you do come into contact with a bumpy surface, you wouldn’t have much to worry about; the hubs and spokes on the wheels should be able to take in most impact.
PROS
CONS
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will a carbon wheel last?
It all depends on the amount of usage and the quality of the carbon wheels you’re getting.
Unlike most alloy wheels that have a confirmed lifespan, carbon wheels do not.
The only time a carbon wheel will need replacing is whenever you detect the bond between the Carbon and resin has been damaged.
Will a Chinese carbon wheel be worth the money?
If you’re looking for an upgrade on your wheels but are short on money or just aren’t sure about Carbon, then these Chinese wheels are the way to go.
The prices of a base pair of such wheels are relatively low, so you can get a good taste of what Carbon wheels are like for a small price.
How much faster will a carbon wheel make me?
The exact numbers depend on the wheel’s depth; however, a carbon wheel should typically cut down weight and improve aerodynamics.
These add quite some advantage to your riding, giving you around 4-5mph of boosted speed on the base depth alone.
How do I determine the size of the carbon wheel I need?
It all depends on the type of riding you want to do; if you’re looking for a light wheel that’s easy to paddle, go for the 25mm or 38mm wheels.
However, if you’re looking for a wheel with greater top-speed, then the models above 60mm are the way to go.
These wheels may be more difficult to paddle but can reach much higher speeds, covering performance rides.
Will a carbon wheel be more robust than aluminum?
Yes, carbon fiber structure allows the material to be much more robust yet lighter than its aluminum counterpart.
However, this complicated structure and delicate build process also make carbon wheel way more expensive than regular aluminum wheels.
Final Words
If you’re looking for the perfect way to spend a small amount of money yet get big returns on the speed of your bike, you don’t have to look far.
All you need to do is search for the best Chinese Carbon wheels. These may be unbranded wheels, but they provide much better value than the branded ones ever could.