Rear wheel on my FFWDs was blown from the inside when super lite schwalbe tube exploded on a hard sprint. Managed to finish the rest 30 km of the race with a palm size hole on the upper side of the rim, Luckily FFWD has crash replacement. So they re-laced wheel free of charge.
Yes. Today. Was taking the cross bike out for a spin before a race this weekend, tried to jump a curb, and hit the back wheel on the cement curb. I then heard a loud crack, and looked...sure enough the rim is broken pretty good. And I'm pretty light, only like 58 kg!
Alex brought a realism to the tests that appeals to me... I like Hank, but IF he had been the one - I would fear that his intensity would possibly have lead to damaging the wheels... And then we the audience would be left wondering whether it was just "Hank being Hank" or a failure of Carbon...
You need rider who has excellent bike handling skills for this stunt testing. For insurance, liability and safety reasons you need a former pro rider. Hank is more likely to end up scratched up, injured or in a hospital. If the stunt testing didn't go as planned.
@@luukrutten1295 I suppose they could do an NDT inspection, but I’m still pleased to see it didn’t catastrophically fail when used well outside “normal” conditions.
Trek had a downhill bike that, being carbon, was all cleverly moulded, except the top headset cup was only really supported by the thin edge of the top tube... Long story short, a good hard landing and the cup would smash its way back through the top tube as the bottom of the fork pushed its way forward. I wouldn't have been surprised if a road bike like this did the same. But given the absolute horrendous manufacturing of most carbon bikes, I wouldn't be surprised regardless.
I thought this when they went to the skate park, but the gmbn folk know how to land a bike. So it may be harder hits this way....although those gmbn can send it harder/further
This test only deals with certain impacts. The other issue is where spokes pulling through - which has been how the wheels I have had - carbon and aluminium - have failed rather than impact failures.
@@billpickle2875 all drive side spokes for me. Shame as the wheels rolled very nicely and had a more damped feel than the various Al wheelsets I have had on the bike.
I guess we did say "Do your worst!" 😂 Good job Alex. And thanks Oli for the...erm... moral support. (I guess they can also tell the health and safety they technically had a doctor on the scene too...)
Just remember, when they state weight limits (130kg), generally engineering tolerances are some multiple of the stated number. So for instance, they may be tested to withstand 3x or 4x as much weight as the stated limit, where they have 50% failure at 520kg, which they'd expect to be very very unlikely to happen at 130kg
@@Mububban23 And therefore their products are no longer as cheap, same with carrying out UCI testing, all makes the price more expensive. It is a real problem with unknown product brands, there is no point in buying something 50% cheaper it just doesn't work or breaks very quickly, going from £1000 to £500 is a big saving, but you haven't saved anything if they £500 version isn't fit for purpose. The issue is where is that line and that is hard to know with many products, I have brought relatively expensive "cheap" version and them be rubbish, and brought cheap "cheap" versions and them be absolutely fine.
I hit the pothole of death (choice... car head on, huge pothole, or go off a cliff) at speed on alloy rims. Instant flat ruined the tire and bent the bits which hold the clincher in place. Bike shop sort of bent them back into shape but a bit bumpy. I was just relieved not to have really hurt myself...
Those are my wheels! I've got them in rim and they're a dream. I'm glad they passed those tests. I wouldn't try them myself. Nerves of steel on those stunts, Alex!
This will add a lot more credibility to this endoresement than just seeing if the wheel is true or not. You can't see voids and hairline fractures developing well just by scanning it with your eye. I expect more from GCN as they have a reputation to uphold.
@@calinionel i know yours might be a rhetorical question, but it´s not an expectation, it´s a recommendation for something i would find interesting and also something that would help ease the mind of people concerned about carbon wheels breaking, which in itself would make for better marketing/publicity
@@manolocomanoloco7451 I totally agree with you. It was my mistake, because what I wrote was a reply to @Jordan Minkoff Geraldo post more than yours.
Summit bicycles did this with the Aeolus 3V and let the air out of the rear tire (and ultimately REMOVED the rear tire) and rode down cement stairs until the wheel failed....
Alex is obviously after Hank’s job. Meanwhile Ollie (‘says it how it is’) grins like a child in a toy shop! Very brave of Alex too. Great show tech-gurus.
Thank you for this analysis. I just bought a new Specialized bike with Carbon wheels. I came up on an unexpected curb, and clamped on the brakes just to be safe. Still learning.
Theres a video where some guys tested Bontrager carbon wheels WITHOUT THE TYRES! The Bontragers are crazy strong and took a lot before finally breaking.
Would be great to see a set of ENVE, Lightweight, Bora, Shimano or some other top tier "snob" brands getting the same treatment. Honestly, after all of that with zero disc rub and the frame holding up. Im happy to say that Im pretty chuffed looking over my shoulder at my Winspace wheel and frame setup.
Yeah they cost too much lol Be good if the big money brands were challenged by GCN to hand over the goods to compare Lets face it WS wheels are lighter cheaper and use the latest high end tech that the big brands charge a premium for and yet £1000
@@darrenmathers152 I read an article at some point that WInspace was a factory of choice of major brands for their manufacturing that we are accustom to and from there, they decided to start their own inhouse brand "Winspace". In the article they weren't able to disclose those brands for obvious reasons.
Way to go guys. It is great to see a mainstream organization finally getting past the stereotypes and pretentiousness and opening up to Chinese brands. I own that very same set of wheels and love them!
Unfortunately, Winspace just won some bad reputation recently due to usage of inferior spokes without notice in its home market. It's great to see local manufactures are smarter at marketing, though.
@@stilerone you sure have a point, but GCN is big enough to not simply accept any advertise because it's paying. Even more, they at least "heavy" tested the wheels and proved it's at least sturdy, and although it's not a "cheap chinese wheel", it's still much lower cost than bigger brands that also advertise on GCN..
That does seem like a very resilient set of carbon hoops! Way to go Winspace! Maybe you should seek out a roadie who has s decent record for wheel trashing? Leonard Lee perhaps…
@@mrvwbug4423 I’d agree, to destroy those wheels, give them to GMBN. To get a real world result, Len would treat them as we would. Put loads of miles in them and if they stayed true, no spokes broke and the hubs remained working, when he had a spate of wheel failures from normal use - then they are great, robust carbon wheels. There’s no way I’m hitting a curb at 40kmh on any of my wheels intentionally!
@@richcrompton6891 Yeah, I wouldn't intentionally hit a curb at 40kmh on my MTB much less a road bike, I could hear my wrists cringing when I heard the sound of him hitting the curb haha
Very interesting! I am a very heavy rider. I bend alloy wheels on a regular basis with the smallest of bumps. Got a set of Easton EC90 at the end of the season. Have not broken them yet.
Have Blake from GMBN go crazy on them wheels. Jumps and all. Hahaha. I seem to remember carbon wheels screaming in pain during his video with the gravel bike.
Awesome to see GCN testing them on a T1500 and not some other brand's frame! I've got thousands of miles on my T1500 and 50mm Hypers. Awesome combo and Winspace has the best customer service I've experienced in the bike industry in 25 years. Every inquiry or email received a direct response within 24 hours and immediately addressed any questions. Super fast shipping, well packaged, and they ride superbly.
I have put around 10 000km on a set of Winspace Hyper 50's now. Previously owned Zipp 808's, Reynolds and Campy deep carbon wheels. IMHO the Hyper's have been the most durable, lightest and look the best.
I have 88mm wheels from CarbonSpeed Cycle, from China. I’ve been using them for 4 years weighing around 220 lbs (100 kg) and have had no problems. These are disc brake wheels.
there are lot high tier carbon wheel factorys in China. They are friendly, speak fairly good english! You can pay via PayPal and you get 3 Years Warranty. I have arround. 5 pairs build on various bikes... Flawless!
I've definitely had some major impacts on my FFWD wheels on my road bike, hitting potholes, road seems, etc. The worst was an industrial staple that destroyed a tire, going through the tire and exiting against the rim. I was quite worried about the wheels, but once the staple was removed, it was apparent the wheel had not suffered damage. I've scuffed them up a little, but they are still true and work well. It did make me a little sad when I got a pretty bad scratch on them early in my ownership of them, but it was going to happen. My gravel bike has e-Thirteen Race XCX gravel wheels (very light carbon gravel wheels). I've done single track on them, including some decent jumps - ok, decent jumps for a roadie - with absolutely no concern. Given e-Thirteen's mountain bike roots, I am completely unconcerned about them.
@@luukrutten1295 well, time will tell. If that was a known issue my guess is they fixed it. The RYOT series have lifetime warranty that I hope I never have to use (BTW, FFWD Sponsors some ARKEA riders wich it gives me confidence on the wheels).
Thats the only way for chinese brands to get into the market. Sell for cheap and after they build up some reputation they sell for the same amount every other european brand does.
@@henrik2935 That is sad but you are correct. Some people think that because the price is very high they must be good!!!! Not always the case though. AB OSPW a fine example!
The issue with the cheapest carbon wheels is you just don't know what you're buying. It's going to be some random store, you have no idea about quality control, you could get lucky, or unlucky. The more expensive ones are somewhat branded, so you're paying for the brand, and some peace of mind / seriousness.
I have been using this wheels during summer, they wirk perfect and the performance is as equal as my Zipp wheels. Nothing to complain at all. Nice review
Bought myself the new Lun Hyper this week .. this video honestly gave me plenty of confidence as yes that is some abuse and I don't think I anywhere near that on my wheels... I am heavier though... Still ... Buying experience was also good ... They'll be my event wheels as they are a lot of firsts for me ... First carbon wheel... First carbon spoke...first ceramic bearings... I most interested in seeing what my times become as grape vine says these wheelswsets not half bad 🤞 For folks griping about Made in China whatever...yeah ...some people had the same bias regarding Japan way back as well ... I'll give the company a shot and not hold them to some label their government did or didn't do ... and that's all I really have to say about that score ... Thanks for the review GCN
I've used them for a couple of months and it was initially on inner tube 25. Went over a small pothole and burst the rear whilst the front was fine. Now running them on tubeless and so far so good. FYI I weigh 95kg and my titan weighs 8.2kg A friend recommended me this wheels and I really glad I bought them, worth the $$$ imo Just wondering if anyone manage to install CK 28H rear hub on it successfully since it's a 2:1 hence it's a 14:7 spokes config. Cheers 🙏
Winspace seems to be making quite a dent with the Hypers. I didn't see Tracevelo's review of Winspace though. I thought he only had Farsport and Elite wheels reviewed
Lol I broke a Campy Last month uphill on the road against a sidewalk, they did not even have 500km🤌 This is good news because it means that I was going fast enough to break a wheel uphill 😎
I had a carbon wheel on my mountain bike fail. After a few years (and no crashes), the carbon started delaminating along the outer clincher wall. To their credit, Reynolds replaced it under their lifetime warranty. OTOH, I've never broken a metal wheel or rim (outside of a crash) in over 30 years of avid cycling. I still like carbon wheels, they are light, stiff, strong, and aero. But like any wheel, they can fail and you gotta take care of them and inspect them regularly. Of course with carbon wheels (whether road or MTB) you should use disc brakes.
My ENVE AR 3.4s folded on me after an idiot crossed into my lane on the bike path while we both were doing about 15mph - a 30mph crash. To protect myself, I went MTB on him at impact, thrusting my Ti gravel bike into his carbon road bike head on! Gotta say, the ENVE rim kinked, but 30 mph is a big crash, and the crease - thanks to disc brakes - still allowed me to wobble home at about 12 mph for 5 miles with a climb. BTW, the rim took all of the impact; no fork or frame damage whatsoever. Indeed, even I came out okay (the transgresor, not so much.) Kudos to the GREAT FOLKS AT ENVE for replacing the rim and repairing the whole front wheel in two weeks FOR FREE. I'd say, from that experience, carbon rims are pretty tough, at least the high end ones. Definitely a big ENVE fan.
"So why is it called the Staircase of Death..?" "Don't worry about that. Anyways, Alex is going to ride down the Staircase of Death." LOL, that's how to involve your mates in your fun. 😅
I put my bike on the car rack and then forgot to also put my front wheel (Zipp 404 Firecrest) up there but instead left it leaning up against the rear bumper. Then proceeded to run over the wheel with the car. Surprisingly the rim survived but the hub and skewer was bent out of shape. Got it fixed by Zipp for about $120. Granted the car is a compact Toyota but still I'd call that a good stress test and might more stress than hitting a curb at 40Km/hr.
I bought a set of Elite 47mm deep carbon clinchers, tubeless ready hooked rim design, in March this year. Other than some slight issues with the end caps as I need them to be q/r to use on an older Defy disc bike. They have been excellent. Would happily buy another set. They were substantially cheaper than these winspace wheels too. But not as light either right enough. 👍
There I go and ignore GCN for a couple of weeks and when I randomly click it on a video, I see a nice Chinese frame in the thumbnail. I like! Oh and, thinking about “Road bike party”, I think you can’t.
I have the winspace hyper wheels - had them for over a year now. Great wheels. Very aero as well as strong. They are amazing. I highly recommend them. I ride on New Zealand very rough seal roads, and they also are extremely compliant.
While practicing a cyclocross course at night I went full speed into a railroad tie used as a barrier that I should have jumped. Carbon wheel was crushed as was my CX season. But the wheel still held straight, air was in the tire, I continued to ride. Later I cried, ruined my shoulder too. Wheel ruined but it still kept going. Reynolds strike was a great wheel. Years later I still ride with the remaining rear wheel. Thanks for the video.
I'm up to about 15,000km on my farsports 50mm disc wheels. They have taken a ton of hammer including at least two nasty potholes at 60km/hr.almost true after 4 years. Considering buying lighter next time, definitely from China
I've broken a rear carbon wheel - an ENVE 45 (that's the "classic"). Hit a deep and very sharp-edged pothole at about 30mph on a dark, rainy morning. All my weight was on the saddle because I had no time to react. The wheel was still true and round, but upon inspection I discovered a section of the wall was splintered on the drive side. It was not deformed at all, in fact it was difficult to even see the damage. I rode (very gingerly!) on it for another 150 miles before I could get a replacement, during which time I also managed to literally drive a nail into the rim bed thanks to our garbage shoulders. Still rode it for another week after that. 🤯
Great presentation GCN, it has been long waited for. You beat the hell out of them and they refused to break ! I use 2 sets of 38mm rim brake version and would NOT trade them for anything else...well maybe for LIGHTWEIGHT GIPFELSTURM ??? The rim braking with Swiss Stop pads is excellent too. I have done about 10,000 km on one and about 6,000 km on another set, so far as good as it was out of the box. I praise WinSpace for such great product at bargain price. I don't hesitate to recommend these wheels to serious/pro cyclists. You guys mentioned Tour de France...here you go. I hope to see them on the Tour if WinSpace decides on sponsoring partnership with pro teams.
Thumbs up for Alex doing bigger drops on a road bike than I would do on my MTB. You now have to lift the bar and send the wheels over to Blake from GMBN
I got the exact same pair of wheels and I have absolutely no regret going for Winspace! Half the price of many other carbon wheels but as good as or better than most/if not all.
I've got 8600 miles (nearly 14.000 km) on my Light Bicycle 55mm rim brake wheels with no issues whatsoever. There is no appreciable wear on the brake tracks, because most of my rides are on flat terrain, overheating is not an issue. With DT Swiss 350 hubs the cost of the pair was just $730 USD delivered to USA in August of 2020. Build time and delivery took 60 days. Would absolutely buy again, couldn't be happier.
A few months ago I was doing some jumps while I was doing MTT, on some jump my back wheel landed on a rock, the tire literally blew off and the wheel well, the wheel cost me a lot off time and effort to fix it. So yeah, they can break! xD
I hit a car right in the front 40 years ago. Peugeot steel frame and fork, aluminium wheels. The fork has been bent into the frame. The wheel remained almost perfectly true. Took me out for some weeks, too.
I've definitely seen carbon MTB wheels break, though it still usually takes something like hucking to flat onto a sniper rock. Most carbon road wheel failures I've heard of have been rim brake wheels getting overheated and delaminating on really fast downhills.
Alex, plus the weight vest and bike is about my current rider weight. Olympic weightlifter cutting into cycling. The minimal weight loss in an expensive wheelset is the equivalent of a few week's hard work in the gym and the kitchen.
Have had these for about two months now. Lovely wheels. Had an issue with a missing spacer on the hub and the after sales teams were great, sending me the exact dimensions of the spacer and where to get it etc. Would recommend!!
Great video, very fun. I'm about as large as a road cyclist can get and slightly over the weight limit of all the equipment so I'm always on the lookout for what can damage my carbon wheels. Sad to say I didn't do anything foolish, simply took a ride and when I inspected my bike briefly as I do after each ride there was a crack on the rear rim. It could have been manufacture defect but Bontrager Aeolus 37 kindly warrantied them no questions asked but the lead time was 6 months. I was very happy about them replacing the rim so I was willing to wait. However, I was and will always be spoiled now by Carbon rims and didn't want to go back to aluminum for too long so I bought the CLX50 and kept the 37mm front. From a small distance away you can only see the size difference and I like the look. Thanks for making all these great videos. I always leave with laughs and information I didn't have before. Cheers from CT USA : )
I was going to put this too! The holes, mud and weird repeating divots make some of those roads very tough indeed. L’enfer du midlands 😬 I destroyed a Michelin tubeless in north northants on a massive hole that I didn’t see until too late
10 years ago, riding a run-up at Shedd XC in Lowell, MA. Heard a god-awful explosion, thought some unfortunate dude crashed hard on the adjacent downhill, suddenly couldn't pedal anymore. Put a little to much torque into that rear wheel, a good 16-18 inches of the carbon rim shreaded. Last pair of Zipps, or any carbon hoops, on a cross bike. BTW - was having my best day out that season, day was done, pits were 1/2 lap away.
How about x-raying the wheels? Just because you couldn't see any damage doesn't mean there isn't any significant damage hence they recommend changing a crash helmet after it's been down the road, visible damage or not.
Try them with fully packed cargo bags on both sides. They won't smooth out the impact like one does with the arms and legs. It might be important for someone, who only has one bike for cycling and commuting.
Gutsy to do all that without a FULL FACE Helmet on! I have run the HYPER wheels, size 50's, for over 1 year now. Blasted over many a gnarly object on the roads. My most brutal hit was a giant hidden concrete hole and 30+ mph and came out with the loudest smashing sound I could imagine, a double flat tire - front & back- but the HYPER wheels flashed perfectly past this with not one issue. I have used the wheels extra, extra hard and they still look and roll as if brand new after over 1 year of steady use. Hat's off to the HYPER wheels for putting up with my riding style!
Me last night: These guys are nuts! Me at 9am this morning: I shattered my carbon wheel. When I write shattered, I mean shattered. And it was a legit wheel with less than 600 miles on it.
Winspace on GCN - brilliant! So many excellent DTC brands coming out of China now that they have knowledge thanks to the investment in R&D the big name brands have put into carbon tech initially. Makes no sense to knock the big brands (even if their prices do seem a tad exorbitant) as their contribution to the industry in general is the tide that has lifted all ships.
Bought a pair of Carbon Speed Cycle years ago and I don’t think I’ve trued them since I bought them. I have checked the spokes and they have been good. Great wheels
I took my road specific ICAN 50's on my stainless steel allroad frame on some mountain bike singletrack trails.They held up fine. And, I did some stuff on them that I'm sure would've bent aluminum rims or at least put them out of whack a little. I'm convinced with carbon wheels. It took me a decade, but I trust them more than aluminum.
Have you managed to break a set of carbon rims before? Tell us what happened!
No but I have managed to brake them. No problems.
Yes 27mph Z303 hit a base for a sign that was left without the sign
Most carbon is made in Taiwan and China is a dictatorship so don't support china and better don't buy chinese products
Rear wheel on my FFWDs was blown from the inside when super lite schwalbe tube exploded on a hard sprint. Managed to finish the rest 30 km of the race with a palm size hole on the upper side of the rim, Luckily FFWD has crash replacement. So they re-laced wheel free of charge.
Yes. Today. Was taking the cross bike out for a spin before a race this weekend, tried to jump a curb, and hit the back wheel on the cement curb. I then heard a loud crack, and looked...sure enough the rim is broken pretty good. And I'm pretty light, only like 58 kg!
How did Hank not get chosen for this? Seems like a segment designed for him. Bravo to Alex for stepping up and taking on the challenge, well done!!!
Because he would have found a way to annihilate them first try...
Alex brought a realism to the tests that appeals to me... I like Hank, but IF he had been the one - I would fear that his intensity would possibly have lead to damaging the wheels... And then we the audience would be left wondering whether it was just "Hank being Hank" or a failure of Carbon...
The wheels were afraid of Hank.
Insufficiently dangerous/painful to warrant using Hank.
You need rider who has excellent bike handling skills for this stunt testing. For insurance, liability and safety reasons you need a former pro rider. Hank is more likely to end up scratched up, injured or in a hospital. If the stunt testing didn't go as planned.
I’m almost more impressed with the steertube and headset junction. Sure the wheels took it, but so did the bike.
Honestly what I've learned is that Winspace will be my next bike.
But did it? it only shows it didnt fail catastrophically
@@luukrutten1295 I suppose they could do an NDT inspection, but I’m still pleased to see it didn’t catastrophically fail when used well outside “normal” conditions.
@@luukrutten1295 cam nicolas has a video of this being ultrasound and the guy was impressed says you can see the pride in the carbon layup
Trek had a downhill bike that, being carbon, was all cleverly moulded, except the top headset cup was only really supported by the thin edge of the top tube... Long story short, a good hard landing and the cup would smash its way back through the top tube as the bottom of the fork pushed its way forward. I wouldn't have been surprised if a road bike like this did the same.
But given the absolute horrendous manufacturing of most carbon bikes, I wouldn't be surprised regardless.
This needs a part 2 with the GMBN guys.
YES
I thought this when they went to the skate park, but the gmbn folk know how to land a bike. So it may be harder hits this way....although those gmbn can send it harder/further
Give them to Blake, he would sort them out
SAM PILGRIM
@@PeakTorque he did ride the hell out of a bike with no tires, legend.
Never mind riding down stairs or smacking off kerbs. Try riding on any road in Central Scotland.
If they survive then they might be worth a punt
aye, kelvinbridge to anniesland will test any wheelset to destruction
They did
This test only deals with certain impacts. The other issue is where spokes pulling through - which has been how the wheels I have had - carbon and aluminium - have failed rather than impact failures.
@@brianglendenning1632 yeah same here. I somehow managed to pull 3 spoke nipples right thru my first set of carbon rims on the rear wheel.
@@billpickle2875 all drive side spokes for me. Shame as the wheels rolled very nicely and had a more damped feel than the various Al wheelsets I have had on the bike.
I guess we did say "Do your worst!" 😂 Good job Alex. And thanks Oli for the...erm... moral support. (I guess they can also tell the health and safety they technically had a doctor on the scene too...)
Can I have a discount?
China Cycling out!
Ha! My Hypers have seen way worse than these two clowns will ever be capable of doing to them..
@@loc9588 Discount codes are everywhere... Charles Ouimet, durian rider, china cycling all have 10% codes
it feels like Oli is the older brother who forces his younger brother to do all this dangerous stuff, watching him hurting himself 😂
I ride the Hyper with rimbreak now for one year and love them, and I just built my Winspace T1500 and testing it now out. And with new hyper diskbreak
What groupset did you build it with , I’m building mine with sram rival etap .. groupsets are like hens teeth 🦷 right now
@@rickiwynne4785 i put the Sensah empire pro 2x12 speed on it i whas waiting for a sram of Shimano groepset but i coult not find one.
@@echiko4156 thanks dude,I Literally just got my hands on a sram group set today 🙏🙏
Just remember, when they state weight limits (130kg), generally engineering tolerances are some multiple of the stated number. So for instance, they may be tested to withstand 3x or 4x as much weight as the stated limit, where they have 50% failure at 520kg, which they'd expect to be very very unlikely to happen at 130kg
I have the 38mm rim brake version of these wheels. Certainly haven't tried anything like this but they've been a great purchase!
winspace on GCN? wow, thought that moment would never happen
Sponsors pay and they get airtime. Pretty straightforward.
@@Mububban23 And therefore their products are no longer as cheap, same with carrying out UCI testing, all makes the price more expensive.
It is a real problem with unknown product brands, there is no point in buying something 50% cheaper it just doesn't work or breaks very quickly, going from £1000 to £500 is a big saving, but you haven't saved anything if they £500 version isn't fit for purpose. The issue is where is that line and that is hard to know with many products, I have brought relatively expensive "cheap" version and them be rubbish, and brought cheap "cheap" versions and them be absolutely fine.
@@Alex-to8es That's why you do research and read reviews. If you don't want to bother, enjoy spending $2500 on a set of Roval wheels.
@@Alex-to8es looks like you have absolutely no idea where majority of the best bike is manufactured . It’s right here at Taiwan
That was one of the nicest GCN video I've watched for a while. Ollie's reaction every time Alex hit the curb is priceless.
I have winspace wheels for around the last two year 10000 km on Irish road .there still going strong 👍
Happy to see Winspace being featured. I’ve been considering them as I’m looking to upgrade my bike.
I have these exact wheels, and they have been amazing on the terrible pothole roads around Detroit. And I wouldn't hesitate to order them again.
Heard the huds aren't greased enough is that true?
would've been interesting to see a side to side comparison with an alloy wheel going through the same tests
I've dented decent quality (HED) aluminum wheels going over potholes
I hit the pothole of death (choice... car head on, huge pothole, or go off a cliff) at speed on alloy rims. Instant flat ruined the tire and bent the bits which hold the clincher in place. Bike shop sort of bent them back into shape but a bit bumpy. I was just relieved not to have really hurt myself...
@@elijg6104 yes bro my rims are dented on potholed roads, what are u using now carbon rims
Alex has become a great presenter over the past year. Look forward to his segments!
This is the hard hitting journalism we need.
True
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Pun intended 🤣
Specifically hard hitting curb journalism we need.
Literally hard hitting. :D
Been using ICAN Cycling carbon wheels (FL40 road and G25 gravel) for a few seasons. Running them tubeless. So far a great experience with them.
I've had mine 5 years . All good. Just change the rear wheel bearings.
@@renegadeflyer2 yup mine still good as new after 5 years
ICAN isn’t even carbon it’s plastic lol
Those are my wheels! I've got them in rim and they're a dream. I'm glad they passed those tests. I wouldn't try them myself. Nerves of steel on those stunts, Alex!
Winspace Gang...REPORTING FOR DUTY!
For all us 100kg riders out there, I like that they did a heavy person test!
i am not such a wuss carrying 100k around without a west. maybe even 103 after a weekend with a family gathering;)))
It would be interesting if you can x-ray the wheels before the tests, and after the tests
This will add a lot more credibility to this endoresement than just seeing if the wheel is true or not. You can't see voids and hairline fractures developing well just by scanning it with your eye.
I expect more from GCN as they have a reputation to uphold.
relly not impressed with this video... Cam Nicholls does a faaar more credible and serious job judging carbon fibre components quality
What did you expect from a video "In association with..."?!...
@@calinionel i know yours might be a rhetorical question, but it´s not an expectation, it´s a recommendation for something i would find interesting and also something that would help ease the mind of people concerned about carbon wheels breaking, which in itself would make for better marketing/publicity
@@manolocomanoloco7451 I totally agree with you. It was my mistake, because what I wrote was a reply to @Jordan Minkoff Geraldo post more than yours.
Summit bicycles did this with the Aeolus 3V and let the air out of the rear tire (and ultimately REMOVED the rear tire) and rode down cement stairs until the wheel failed....
Alex is obviously after Hank’s job. Meanwhile Ollie (‘says it how it is’) grins like a child in a toy shop! Very brave of Alex too. Great show tech-gurus.
Amazing that during the runs of Alex hitting the curb, the same two people were walking up the hill he rode down!
Thank you for this analysis. I just bought a new Specialized bike with Carbon wheels. I came up on an unexpected curb, and clamped on the brakes just to be safe. Still learning.
Theres a video where some guys tested Bontrager carbon wheels WITHOUT THE TYRES! The Bontragers are crazy strong and took a lot before finally breaking.
Yeah, I saw that one and immediately went out and bought a set of Aeolus Pro 37s. Love them.
Link? This I have to see.
@@aliensporebomb czcams.com/video/ItGjutaYoYk/video.html
Yep but the Bontragers are 3x the price and after having both the Aeolus and now the Winspace. The winspace is a stiffer and better wheelset.
Would be great to see a set of ENVE, Lightweight, Bora, Shimano or some other top tier "snob" brands getting the same treatment.
Honestly, after all of that with zero disc rub and the frame holding up. Im happy to say that Im pretty chuffed looking over my shoulder at my Winspace wheel and frame setup.
Yeah they cost too much lol
Be good if the big money brands were challenged by GCN to hand over the goods to compare
Lets face it
WS wheels are lighter cheaper and use the latest high end tech that the big brands charge a premium for and yet £1000
@@darrenmathers152 I read an article at some point that WInspace was a factory of choice of major brands for their manufacturing that we are accustom to and from there, they decided to start their own inhouse brand "Winspace". In the article they weren't able to disclose those brands for obvious reasons.
Who do you think manufactures these 'top tier' snob brands?
Watch road bike party, some people went out to "lightly" test I think it was vision wheels.
Way to go guys. It is great to see a mainstream organization finally getting past the stereotypes and pretentiousness and opening up to Chinese brands. I own that very same set of wheels and love them!
Way to go on the paid product placement 🤔
Well, they were paid to do it. The video is labeled as a commercial. Winspace does make some good stuff though
@@DaveCM i understand that, but it is the first time they actually talk about Chinese products. Hopefully this will help with the stigma.
Unfortunately, Winspace just won some bad reputation recently due to usage of inferior spokes without notice in its home market. It's great to see local manufactures are smarter at marketing, though.
@@stilerone you sure have a point, but GCN is big enough to not simply accept any advertise because it's paying. Even more, they at least "heavy" tested the wheels and proved it's at least sturdy, and although it's not a "cheap chinese wheel", it's still much lower cost than bigger brands that also advertise on GCN..
I have the exact same bike of the test. Wheels, tires, groupset and color. Absolutely love it!
That does seem like a very resilient set of carbon hoops! Way to go Winspace! Maybe you should seek out a roadie who has s decent record for wheel trashing? Leonard Lee perhaps…
Even he isn't 135kg, and he's not an aggressive rider. Maybe hand a set over to GMBN and have them thrash it on MTB trails.
@@mrvwbug4423 I’d agree, to destroy those wheels, give them to GMBN. To get a real world result, Len would treat them as we would. Put loads of miles in them and if they stayed true, no spokes broke and the hubs remained working, when he had a spate of wheel failures from normal use - then they are great, robust carbon wheels. There’s no way I’m hitting a curb at 40kmh on any of my wheels intentionally!
@@richcrompton6891 Yeah, I wouldn't intentionally hit a curb at 40kmh on my MTB much less a road bike, I could hear my wrists cringing when I heard the sound of him hitting the curb haha
Very interesting! I am a very heavy rider. I bend alloy wheels on a regular basis with the smallest of bumps. Got a set of Easton EC90 at the end of the season. Have not broken them yet.
Carbon is stiff AF. especially if you buy 50 or 60mm deep wheels, especially if you buy wider rims / gravel minded, there's no way you can bend those
Have Blake from GMBN go crazy on them wheels. Jumps and all. Hahaha. I seem to remember carbon wheels screaming in pain during his video with the gravel bike.
I BOUGHT SOME WHEELS FOR YOELEO SAT C50|50 PRO AND THEY WORKED PERFECT FOR 3 YEARS
Awesome to see GCN testing them on a T1500 and not some other brand's frame! I've got thousands of miles on my T1500 and 50mm Hypers. Awesome combo and Winspace has the best customer service I've experienced in the bike industry in 25 years.
Every inquiry or email received a direct response within 24 hours and immediately addressed any questions. Super fast shipping, well packaged, and they ride superbly.
I’ve got a set of winspace hypers absolutely brilliant set of wheels, only down side is they are a bit twitchy in cross winds
I have put around 10 000km on a set of Winspace Hyper 50's now. Previously owned Zipp 808's, Reynolds and Campy deep carbon wheels. IMHO the Hyper's have been the most durable, lightest and look the best.
I swear by these wheels after I was intentionally hit from the back by a angry driver and managed to stay upright and no damage. Good job Winspace.
Wow! That’s amazing. Great you survived to ride another day.
Bravo winspace and BOO for the angry driver
"Why is it called the Staircase of Death?" "Never mind that ..." = brilliantly funny!
I have 88mm wheels from CarbonSpeed Cycle, from China. I’ve been using them for 4 years weighing around 220 lbs (100 kg) and have had no problems. These are disc brake wheels.
there are lot high tier carbon wheel factorys in China. They are friendly, speak fairly good english! You can pay via PayPal and you get 3 Years Warranty. I have arround. 5 pairs build on various bikes... Flawless!
I've definitely had some major impacts on my FFWD wheels on my road bike, hitting potholes, road seems, etc. The worst was an industrial staple that destroyed a tire, going through the tire and exiting against the rim. I was quite worried about the wheels, but once the staple was removed, it was apparent the wheel had not suffered damage. I've scuffed them up a little, but they are still true and work well. It did make me a little sad when I got a pretty bad scratch on them early in my ownership of them, but it was going to happen.
My gravel bike has e-Thirteen Race XCX gravel wheels (very light carbon gravel wheels). I've done single track on them, including some decent jumps - ok, decent jumps for a roadie - with absolutely no concern. Given e-Thirteen's mountain bike roots, I am completely unconcerned about them.
I have a set of FFWD RYOT44. I LOVE THEM.
@@FRamirez1A I have RYOT 55s. I agree - I think they're amazing and are a bargain compared to Zipp, Enve, etc.
Dont worry at some points it will just fail at the spoke nipples, like most ffwd wheels do.
@@luukrutten1295 well, time will tell. If that was a known issue my guess is they fixed it. The RYOT series have lifetime warranty that I hope I never have to use (BTW, FFWD Sponsors some ARKEA riders wich it gives me confidence on the wheels).
Winspace moving up in the world. I remember when the frames were going for less than $500 a piece.
Thats the only way for chinese brands to get into the market. Sell for cheap and after they build up some reputation they sell for the same amount every other european brand does.
@@henrik2935 That is sad but you are correct. Some people think that because the price is very high they must be good!!!! Not always the case though. AB OSPW a fine example!
@@merckxy54 some letter are coming thru your door soon
@@henrik2935 they are more expensive for a Chinese brand but still considerably less than European brands.
@@nuttynut722 give AB a break, they need to charge a lot so they can sue people for calling out their products. Poor guys
Could you do one of these challenges but cheap wheels (400£) vs expensive 1k£ to see if price really makes a strength difference? Thanks!
Elitewheels ELT or SLT would be great in a comparison considering how popular they are
@@SWatchik yep, or something like the Superteam/Queen Bike wheels on Amazon
i agree
The issue with the cheapest carbon wheels is you just don't know what you're buying. It's going to be some random store, you have no idea about quality control, you could get lucky, or unlucky. The more expensive ones are somewhat branded, so you're paying for the brand, and some peace of mind / seriousness.
I have been using this wheels during summer, they wirk perfect and the performance is as equal as my Zipp wheels. Nothing to complain at all. Nice review
well the hypers were in my budget and I figured why not give them a rip.... and they sure rip, I am so happy I upgraded to these wheels.
Love my Winspace Wheels, glad to see them getting some good reviews on the bigstage now!
Bought these a few months ago. Arrived on time and great quality.
Bought myself the new Lun Hyper this week .. this video honestly gave me plenty of confidence as yes that is some abuse and I don't think I anywhere near that on my wheels... I am heavier though... Still ...
Buying experience was also good ... They'll be my event wheels as they are a lot of firsts for me ... First carbon wheel... First carbon spoke...first ceramic bearings... I most interested in seeing what my times become as grape vine says these wheelswsets not half bad 🤞
For folks griping about Made in China whatever...yeah ...some people had the same bias regarding Japan way back as well ... I'll give the company a shot and not hold them to some label their government did or didn't do ... and that's all I really have to say about that score ...
Thanks for the review GCN
I've used them for a couple of months and it was initially on inner tube 25. Went over a small pothole and burst the rear whilst the front was fine. Now running them on tubeless and so far so good. FYI I weigh 95kg and my titan weighs 8.2kg
A friend recommended me this wheels and I really glad I bought them, worth the $$$ imo
Just wondering if anyone manage to install CK 28H rear hub on it successfully since it's a 2:1 hence it's a 14:7 spokes config.
Cheers 🙏
One louder. Very quick Spinal Tap reference probably missed by most. Lol love these guys!
Oliver: "listen to these ceramic bearing spinning"
Hambini: "they are utterly crap"
To be fair he didn't sound very excited about them!
Nice to see this channel showing those brand new products, months after Tracevelo and Hambini both reviewed the same wheelset.
Winspace seems to be making quite a dent with the Hypers. I didn't see Tracevelo's review of Winspace though. I thought he only had Farsport and Elite wheels reviewed
@@flflam elite are better anyway
@@loc9588 yeah seems better than farsport
Lol I broke a Campy Last month uphill on the road against a sidewalk, they did not even have 500km🤌 This is good news because it means that I was going fast enough to break a wheel uphill 😎
I had a carbon wheel on my mountain bike fail. After a few years (and no crashes), the carbon started delaminating along the outer clincher wall. To their credit, Reynolds replaced it under their lifetime warranty.
OTOH, I've never broken a metal wheel or rim (outside of a crash) in over 30 years of avid cycling.
I still like carbon wheels, they are light, stiff, strong, and aero. But like any wheel, they can fail and you gotta take care of them and inspect them regularly. Of course with carbon wheels (whether road or MTB) you should use disc brakes.
I just ordered the Winspace t1500 frame, 50mm hyper wheels, and their integrated cockpit!
My ENVE AR 3.4s folded on me after an idiot crossed into my lane on the bike path while we both were doing about 15mph - a 30mph crash. To protect myself, I went MTB on him at impact, thrusting my Ti gravel bike into his carbon road bike head on! Gotta say, the ENVE rim kinked, but 30 mph is a big crash, and the crease - thanks to disc brakes - still allowed me to wobble home at about 12 mph for 5 miles with a climb. BTW, the rim took all of the impact; no fork or frame damage whatsoever. Indeed, even I came out okay (the transgresor, not so much.) Kudos to the GREAT FOLKS AT ENVE for replacing the rim and repairing the whole front wheel in two weeks FOR FREE. I'd say, from that experience, carbon rims are pretty tough, at least the high end ones. Definitely a big ENVE fan.
"So why is it called the Staircase of Death..?"
"Don't worry about that. Anyways, Alex is going to ride down the Staircase of Death."
LOL, that's how to involve your mates in your fun. 😅
I put my bike on the car rack and then forgot to also put my front wheel (Zipp 404 Firecrest) up there but instead left it leaning up against the rear bumper. Then proceeded to run over the wheel with the car. Surprisingly the rim survived but the hub and skewer was bent out of shape. Got it fixed by Zipp for about $120. Granted the car is a compact Toyota but still I'd call that a good stress test and might more stress than hitting a curb at 40Km/hr.
Years ago I fixed a huge buckle on some steel rims with a g clamp and some wood at school. I didn't even hit the kerb that fast, either.
I bought a set of Elite 47mm deep carbon clinchers, tubeless ready hooked rim design, in March this year. Other than some slight issues with the end caps as I need them to be q/r to use on an older Defy disc bike. They have been excellent. Would happily buy another set. They were substantially cheaper than these winspace wheels too. But not as light either right enough. 👍
Yeah they look better than winspace imo. Because they don’t have a stupid price tag
This is a job for Sam Pilgrim. No one else
There I go and ignore GCN for a couple of weeks and when I randomly click it on a video, I see a nice Chinese frame in the thumbnail. I like!
Oh and, thinking about “Road bike party”, I think you can’t.
I have the winspace hyper wheels - had them for over a year now. Great wheels. Very aero as well as strong. They are amazing. I highly recommend them. I ride on New Zealand very rough seal roads, and they also are extremely compliant.
Would loved to have seen a metal rim also do this test. I am betting it would not last long.
Those Winspace Lun Hyper wheels are better than ones far more expensive that I've tried. I'm surprised though they're also that tough.
While practicing a cyclocross course at night I went full speed into a railroad tie used as a barrier that I should have jumped. Carbon wheel was crushed as was my CX season. But the wheel still held straight, air was in the tire, I continued to ride. Later I cried, ruined my shoulder too. Wheel ruined but it still kept going. Reynolds strike was a great wheel. Years later I still ride with the remaining rear wheel. Thanks for the video.
I'm up to about 15,000km on my farsports 50mm disc wheels. They have taken a ton of hammer including at least two nasty potholes at 60km/hr.almost true after 4 years. Considering buying lighter next time, definitely from China
I've heard Farsports has a really good reputation for Chinese wheels, maybe better made than some much more expensive wheels.
I've broken a rear carbon wheel - an ENVE 45 (that's the "classic"). Hit a deep and very sharp-edged pothole at about 30mph on a dark, rainy morning. All my weight was on the saddle because I had no time to react. The wheel was still true and round, but upon inspection I discovered a section of the wall was splintered on the drive side. It was not deformed at all, in fact it was difficult to even see the damage. I rode (very gingerly!) on it for another 150 miles before I could get a replacement, during which time I also managed to literally drive a nail into the rim bed thanks to our garbage shoulders. Still rode it for another week after that. 🤯
I'm more afraid that the handlebars or the fork will break 😱
I've done 10,000km on my Winspace T1500, Winspace ZERO bar and HYPER wheelset. so far so good
or Alex ...
@@pigupigu Please do a video on your bike. I'm currently putting together that exact combo with Ultegra Di2
@@NeutralGenericUser no i dont have time for that
Love the vid! Winspace seems to be a very impressive affordable and quality brand
Great presentation GCN, it has been long waited for. You beat the hell out of them and they refused to break ! I use 2 sets of 38mm rim brake version and would NOT trade them for anything else...well maybe for LIGHTWEIGHT GIPFELSTURM ??? The rim braking with Swiss Stop pads is excellent too. I have done about 10,000 km on one and about 6,000 km on another set, so far as good as it was out of the box. I praise WinSpace for such great product at bargain price. I don't hesitate to recommend these wheels to serious/pro cyclists. You guys mentioned Tour de France...here you go. I hope to see them on the Tour if WinSpace decides on sponsoring partnership with pro teams.
Thumbs up for Alex doing bigger drops on a road bike than I would do on my MTB. You now have to lift the bar and send the wheels over to Blake from GMBN
I got the exact same pair of wheels and I have absolutely no regret going for Winspace! Half the price of many other carbon wheels but as good as or better than most/if not all.
While checking for damage Alex manages to do a freehub sound check 👍👍
I have had a pair of 60mm CSC tubs from China for 4 years now no issues whatsoever after 9000+miles total weight with tubs and cassette is 1958 gramms
I've got 8600 miles (nearly 14.000 km) on my Light Bicycle 55mm rim brake wheels with no issues whatsoever. There is no appreciable wear on the brake tracks, because most of my rides are on flat terrain, overheating is not an issue. With DT Swiss 350 hubs the cost of the pair was just $730 USD delivered to USA in August of 2020. Build time and delivery took 60 days. Would absolutely buy again, couldn't be happier.
A few months ago I was doing some jumps while I was doing MTT, on some jump my back wheel landed on a rock, the tire literally blew off and the wheel well, the wheel cost me a lot off time and effort to fix it. So yeah, they can break! xD
I hit a car right in the front 40 years ago. Peugeot steel frame and fork, aluminium wheels. The fork has been bent into the frame. The wheel remained almost perfectly true. Took me out for some weeks, too.
I've definitely seen carbon MTB wheels break, though it still usually takes something like hucking to flat onto a sniper rock. Most carbon road wheel failures I've heard of have been rim brake wheels getting overheated and delaminating on really fast downhills.
GMBN had done this before but it was pretty rad
Alex, plus the weight vest and bike is about my current rider weight. Olympic weightlifter cutting into cycling. The minimal weight loss in an expensive wheelset is the equivalent of a few week's hard work in the gym and the kitchen.
Winspace... About time !!! What's next? Hopefully Trifox... This is starting to get good :)
I ordered a trifox. They are trash tier quality.
😂
@@pigupigu Built up an X16QR and Love it...
Have had these for about two months now. Lovely wheels. Had an issue with a missing spacer on the hub and the after sales teams were great, sending me the exact dimensions of the spacer and where to get it etc. Would recommend!!
Would've been more interesting if you tested the Hyper toe to toe vs some mainsteam brands.
Great video, very fun.
I'm about as large as a road cyclist can get and slightly over the weight limit of all the equipment so I'm always on the lookout for what can damage my carbon wheels. Sad to say I didn't do anything foolish, simply took a ride and when I inspected my bike briefly as I do after each ride there was a crack on the rear rim. It could have been manufacture defect but Bontrager Aeolus 37 kindly warrantied them no questions asked but the lead time was 6 months. I was very happy about them replacing the rim so I was willing to wait. However, I was and will always be spoiled now by Carbon rims and didn't want to go back to aluminum for too long so I bought the CLX50 and kept the 37mm front. From a small distance away you can only see the size difference and I like the look.
Thanks for making all these great videos. I always leave with laughs and information I didn't have before. Cheers from CT USA : )
Bring and try them on Northamptonshire roads and if they survive that, they're solid as a rock (a hard rock that is).
I was going to put this too! The holes, mud and weird repeating divots make some of those roads very tough indeed. L’enfer du midlands 😬 I destroyed a Michelin tubeless in north northants on a massive hole that I didn’t see until too late
10 years ago, riding a run-up at Shedd XC in Lowell, MA. Heard a god-awful explosion, thought some unfortunate dude crashed hard on the adjacent downhill, suddenly couldn't pedal anymore. Put a little to much torque into that rear wheel, a good 16-18 inches of the carbon rim shreaded. Last pair of Zipps, or any carbon hoops, on a cross bike. BTW - was having my best day out that season, day was done, pits were 1/2 lap away.
@11:30 - well I love bunny hopping those curbs and speedbumps, so... yeah, I need sturdy wheels
I live in a city with a lot of potholes, and ordered Winspace wheels over the winter for one of my bikes, so this gives me a bit of confidence. :P
Should have called Sam Pilgrin.. he'd show you how to break things :D
It feels like Oli is the older brother who forces his younger brother Alex to do all this dangerous stuff, watching him hurting himself 😂
How about x-raying the wheels? Just because you couldn't see any damage doesn't mean there isn't any significant damage hence they recommend changing a crash helmet after it's been down the road, visible damage or not.
I genuinely don't understand how this has been filmed without poor Alex doing the pirouetting faceplant of doom. Brave soul.
Try them with fully packed cargo bags on both sides. They won't smooth out the impact like one does with the arms and legs. It might be important for someone, who only has one bike for cycling and commuting.
Gutsy to do all that without a FULL FACE Helmet on! I have run the HYPER wheels, size 50's, for over 1 year now. Blasted over many a gnarly object on the roads. My most brutal hit was a giant hidden concrete hole and 30+ mph and came out with the loudest smashing sound I could imagine, a double flat tire - front & back- but the HYPER wheels flashed perfectly past this with not one issue. I have used the wheels extra, extra hard and they still look and roll as if brand new after over 1 year of steady use. Hat's off to the HYPER wheels for putting up with my riding style!
Me last night: These guys are nuts!
Me at 9am this morning: I shattered my carbon wheel. When I write shattered, I mean shattered. And it was a legit wheel with less than 600 miles on it.
Winspace on GCN - brilliant! So many excellent DTC brands coming out of China now that they have knowledge thanks to the investment in R&D the big name brands have put into carbon tech initially. Makes no sense to knock the big brands (even if their prices do seem a tad exorbitant) as their contribution to the industry in general is the tide that has lifted all ships.
Winspace made great affordable bike
What an opportunity this would have been for a collab with Sam “this is the best” Pilgrim :)
That was what I was about to post! If they can stand up to him, they can stand up to anyone.
Bought a pair of Carbon Speed Cycle years ago and I don’t think I’ve trued them since I bought them. I have checked the spokes and they have been good. Great wheels
I took my road specific ICAN 50's on my stainless steel allroad frame on some mountain bike singletrack trails.They held up fine. And, I did some stuff on them that I'm sure would've bent aluminum rims or at least put them out of whack a little. I'm convinced with carbon wheels. It took me a decade, but I trust them more than aluminum.
“One louder” too funny!