Zwift Chat

[CXRAndy]

Hit 'buy' on a new wheelset today. Surprised myself by eventually going with Winspace Hypers. Wherever I looked and whoever I asked, they were always mentioned as one of the best (the best?) value for money and actually really good quality. Hard to argue when a pair of equivalently-performing and similar-quality (on paper) ZIPPs is 2.5x the price.

Anyone else into 'officially Chinese' stuff? Frames, groupsets, componentry?

Do not buy Zipps or Enve. They are not worth 2* or 3* what a quality Chinese wheelset. I bought 80mm rims from Lightbicyle, got some Hope hubs, built up with Sapin blade spokes

 

[alex_cycles]

Hit 'buy' on a new wheelset today. Surprised myself by eventually going with Winspace Hypers. Wherever I looked and whoever I asked, they were always mentioned as one of the best (the best?) value for money and actually really good quality. Hard to argue when a pair of equivalently-performing and similar-quality (on paper) ZIPPs is 2.5x the price.

Anyone else into 'officially Chinese' stuff? Frames, groupsets, componentry?

Are you importing these Peter or bought from a UK supplier?

 

[Peter Salt]

Exciting. Don't know much about it to be honest, but looks nice! What depth did you go?

I got the 'R45' which is a depth of 46mm for the front and 54mm at the back. Watched a shedload of videos, from people that (I think) know what they're doing, that show they perform better than some 80mm western brands. Bonkers. Really like the 'butterfly' carbon pattern on them as well - have to admit that aesthetics was a factor too. Not sure about the stickers but I remove those from all my wheels. It's a bit of a faff with water transfer decals but nothing that a bit of patience and soapy water can't (dis)solve.

I came across them and Lightbicycle a fair bit when looking at mid-market wheels last year. In the end I went with Prime through CRC/Wiggle for the warranty, and I'm glad I did because I used it. They replaced a hub within a couple of weeks and it was simple and painless, they even refunded the fee from my LBS to fit the replacement.

Yeah, I looked at other east Asian brands like Farsports, Lightbicycle, Elite, etc. and the Winspace (Lún) is the only one that seems to have local support. So spares are available from a warehouse somewhere in the UK and they're native English speakers on the support end.

Do not buy Zipps or Enve. They are not worth 2* or 3* what a quality Chinese wheelset. I bought 80mm rims from Lightbicyle, got some Hope hubs, built up with Sapin blade spokes

I have to say, I was very seriously considering ZIPPs. I have a pair of older generation 302 (bought used) and am really happy with them. They have the trialled and tested 77/177 hubs and are a pleasure to ride. However, when I looked at the newer models, a lot of stuff started to put me off - the newer Cognition hubs look like a step back and there have been a few factory recalls in the last few years; I'm not really sold on the golf ball/dimpled surface; and aero as well as weight seems to be trailing behind competitors - except for the very top of the line wheels - circa £3k.

Had a discount code for the Winspace too, so knocked off another 10% - that made the decision even easier.

Only thing I'm slightly concerned about is the exceptional stiffness of these wheels, which I fear may be detrimental to the ride quality. On the other hand, they seem to be optimised for 28C tyres and I'm currently rolling on 25C, so maybe that will even things out. The new bike frame will also be a bit less harsh than my current TCR.

Are you importing these Peter or bought from a UK supplier?

They sell direct to consumer so I don't think there are any official suppliers. But, as mentioned above, they have warehouses all over the place - including UK - so I won't have to wait 12 weeks for them to arrive, hopefully.

 

[alex_cycles]

I got the 'R45' which is a depth of 46mm for the front and 54mm at the back. Watched a shedload of videos, from people that (I think) know what they're doing, that show they perform better than some 80mm western brands. Bonkers. Really like the 'butterfly' carbon pattern on them as well - have to admit that aesthetics was a factor too. Not sure about the stickers but I remove those from all my wheels. It's a bit of a faff with water transfer decals but nothing that a bit of patience and soapy water can't (dis)solve.


Yeah, I looked at other east Asian brands like Farsports, Lightbicycle, Elite, etc. and the Winspace (Lún) is the only one that seems to have local support. So spares are available from a warehouse somewhere in the UK and they're native English speakers on the support end.


I have to say, I was very seriously considering ZIPPs. I have a pair of older generation 302 (bought used) and am really happy with them. They have the trialled and tested 77/177 hubs and are a pleasure to ride. However, when I looked at the newer models, a lot of stuff started to put me off - the newer Cognition hubs look like a step back and there have been a few factory recalls in the last few years; I'm not really sold on the golf ball/dimpled surface; and aero as well as weight seems to be trailing behind competitors - except for the very top of the line wheels - circa £3k.

Had a discount code for the Winspace too, so knocked off another 10% - that made the decision even easier.

Only thing I'm slightly concerned about is the exceptional stiffness of these wheels, which I fear may be detrimental to the ride quality. On the other hand, they seem to be optimised for 28C tyres and I'm currently rolling on 25C, so maybe that will even things out. The new bike frame will also be a bit less harsh than my current TCR.


They sell direct to consumer so I don't think there are any official suppliers. But, as mentioned above, they have warehouses all over the place - including UK - so I won't have to wait 12 weeks for them to arrive, hopefully.

Ok I was more from th point of view of VAT and Excise duty + handling fees.
I've bought lots of cheapish things from AliExpress in the past, but higher value items tend to get stung for all of the above. I think below £100 is supposedly exempt.

But if it's shipping from a UK warehouse you should be golden

 

[CXRAndy]

I like deep section rims, wish I'd gone 100mm on the rear. But listening to Hambini about airflow and tyre connection at the rim area, I am satisfied that tyre and rim give me a 100mm aerofoil.

Mine are super wide also allowing me to run 32mm tyres, they blend in perfectly at the rim

 

[CXRAndy]

I was told some suppliers put a nominal price on their products for dispatch to the UK.

I never experienced this myself

 

[alex_cycles]

I was told some suppliers put a nominal price on their products for dispatch to the UK.

I never experienced this myself

Actually AliExpress have now "gone legit" since Brexit and now charge VAT at source. I actually prefer that because it means packages don't sit in the processing queue at Coventry for 2 weeks

 

[Peter Salt]

Ok I was more from th point of view of VAT and Excise duty + handling fees.
I've bought lots of cheapish things from AliExpress in the past, but higher value items tend to get stung for all of the above. I think below £100 is supposedly exempt.

But if it's shipping from a UK warehouse you should be golden

Oh yes, that's a good point. That bit is simplified as the item is already in the UK.

The frame will be a faff in that respect - it's getting made in the EU and I bought it without tax. There will no import/customs fees but I'll have to pay UK VAT on it - presumably when they ship it.

 

[CXRAndy]

What frame have you gone for Pete?

Are you getting it Painted?

 

[Peter Salt]

What frame have you gone for Pete?

Are you getting it Painted?

Getting it in these colours.

 

[Del C]

When you're right on the threshold of categories and you want to serve out the season on your team without getting booted it can be quite useful. I missed it by 1 race, getting booted (but not DQed) after semi-final 1. But for your information the whole "you're a sandbagger if you don't do things my way" culture in Cyclechat is a big part of why I've chosen to ride in another team for my B career. (Also not having to ride evenings is about 50% of it though).

(Edit to add clarity: This 'cultural issue' is not an issue in CCC at all.)

You could have joined us.

I ride B cat. All our Tuesday ZRL and Thursday TTT races are in the morning around 10.30. I do ride in the evenings, but only if I have to. Joined up for the new ladder league, and sort of regretting it as it means a 7.30 race!

 

[alex_cycles]

You could have joined us.

I ride B cat. All our Tuesday ZRL and Thursday TTT races are in the morning around 10.30. I do ride in the evenings, but only if I have to. Joined up for the new ladder league, and sort of regretting it as it means a 7.30 race!

Sounds like you're in Atlantic East as well then? I went with DIRT as they have both C and B teams in that region so I'm covered either way.
We're doing DRS as well. My Gold 1 team has a guy from Australia, a lightweight woman from Canada (she'll kill us all up the hills) and most of the rest are men from USA. They get up and race at 0430 before work. The Aussie does evening and I'm doing 1030am.

 

[Peter Salt]

My Gold 1 team has (...) a lightweight woman from Canada (...)

Ah! That figures!

 

[Del C]

Sounds like you're in Atlantic East as well then? I went with DIRT as they have both C and B teams in that region so I'm covered either way.
We're doing DRS as well. My Gold 1 team has a guy from Australia, a lightweight woman from Canada (she'll kill us all up the hills) and most of the rest are men from USA. They get up and race at 0430 before work. The Aussie does evening and I'm doing 1030am.

Yes I'm in Atlantic East.

Much the same for us. We have guys from the US who race at 5.30 before they go to work. We also have riders in South Africa, Romania, Germany, Netherlands and 2 riders from Australia.

I ride for Level Velo now. I used to ride for WTRL, but almost every team left and joined up with Level Velo instead.

 

[CXRAndy]

Wife treating me, staying at the Savoy, eating cakes at the Corinthia

Nearly there for the big day