Light Bicycles - Carbon 29er Rim Review

In August I received some carbon 29er rims from Light Bicycles. Light Bicycles are based in China and provide a range of carbon rims and other cycle related products. By ordering direct from China there are significant cost savings to be had.  Light Bikes delivered a well packaged pair of rims to my door for less than £275. Including online traceable shipment and the UK import duty.

 

Undoubtedly there is an element of doubt when ordering direct from a faceless corporation on the other side of the world. There is not the same confidence in the product that you have when buying from a major brand.  Of course quality shouldn’t be a problem, the majority of well known global brands are manufactured in China, maybe even at the same factory! The difference is probably just a sticker on the outside and some swish packaging. There is still the issue of what to do if something does go wrong, and you have to accept that there isn’t the benefit of simple local support. So do your homework and make sure you know what you are buying. Light Bicycles have been providing wheels rims for several years; there is now a wealth of overwhelmingly positive feedback available online. In addition the company themselves make a special effort on their website to promote their customers positive experiences, with comments and photos from all over the world. Most have an individual response from Nancy, who is the consumer face of the business.

 

The service offered is almost bespoke, I emailed the company with my initial request and asked if they could provide off-set spoke drilling. I received a reply from Nancy next day, with details, prices and lots of options. In the end I chose the standard 32 spoke hole rims with a matt UD finish. On recommendation from my wheel builder (thanks Daz!) I had the rims built up using CX-ray spokes onto Stans 3.31 Hubs. Stans hubs offer an excellent combination of value for money, low weight and reliable performance. There is also the option to convert them to any of the current hub standards should I change frame or forks in the future. All in the wheels weighed just over 1500g, taped and valved. Good start!

 

It was a baptism of fire for my new hoops, at a rocky Hadley Farm national XC. I had a major accident after only 5 miles, leaving two chips in the front rim and the spokes scratched. Depressingly the wheels were already in worse condition than my previous set! I emailed Nancy and although the damage was purely my fault they offered a discount on a replacement rim. Great service! A friend suggested that I use Araldite epoxy resin to repair the damage, which was only to the tyre hook and not structural. The finished job was so good I can now hardly tell where the damage was, so I have decided not to return the rim. The positive I could draw from this bad start was that the wheel still ran perfectly straight and true despite the heavy impact.

 

In the past month I have now completed another race and enough miles around my local trails to form an initial impression of the wheels. These are my first carbon rims, my assessment is based on a comparison to my previous Stans Crest wheels using the same Stans hubs. Racing I’ll admit I didn’t really notice a radical difference, but this is probably because I am focused more on my own performance than worrying about the bike! Back home on familiar trails the differences became more noticeable. Tracking across dried ruts was one of the areas where the extra stiffness stood out. An aluminium wheel might get trapped in the wrong rut and then jump out. The carbon wheel just went where I pointed it, transferring smoothly across the trail. Heading down a familiar piece of Singletrack at Whiteways, I was aware that I was holding the line better through the tree roots than I could have previously.  

In summary, I decided to get new wheels because the hubs where beginning to get rough and tired on my old set. I didn’t have the budget for top of the line wheels like the Specialized Rovals. The Light Bikes rims provided a cheap entry into the world of carbon rims. The weights are on a par with aluminium so there isn’t a radical performance benefit to be had in terms of pure straight line speed. However, the carbon rims do track better through the corners and across obstacles, inspiring greater confidence as you tackle rough terrain. I can vouch for the quality of the Light Bicycles products and the customer service in my experience has been excellent.

 http://www.light-bicycle.com