That is what I love about carbon rims, the roundness is amazing. As a person who has built their own wheels in the past I found building with carbon rims to be a lot easier.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching and commenting, Kevin. Yes on good carbon rims like Elite's the rims are nice and round. But I have seen carbon rims that aren't that good so it's always something to check to make sure. Thanks again.
@richardcoppedgejr6871
Жыл бұрын
Jim. These sound great! These will make it difficult for a personal wheel buider to compete against the price point.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching and commenting Richard, appreciate it. The price point is reasonable for what you get and the weight is really impressive, significantly lighter than similar wheels costing a lot more.
@jonr3891
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the deep-dive on these wheels! Looking forward to a follow up review after you rack up some miles on them. Great content, as usual🍕✌️☕️.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
You're very welcome Jon and thanks for watching, glad you liked the review. Since I made this vid I've had some pretty epic and demanding rides on these wheels and they've been just as impressive on the road, trails and gravel as they tested on the workbench. Thanks again.
@sylvainmichaud2262
Жыл бұрын
Personally, I would never use tire levers made out of metal with a carbon rim for the tire removal. I would use _softer_ plastic levers for carbon rims.
@mattkavanaugh5623
Жыл бұрын
Jim is far more experienced than me, but I cringed when the metal tire levers were used! I was relieved that the tire levers were not used on the second tire :)
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching Sylvain & Matt. That tire was not very tight so there was no risk using the aluminum tire levers.
@sylvainmichaud2262
Жыл бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Thanks Jim for the precision. I totally trust you to evaluate what is good or bad for your own situation. As Matt said about himself, even thought I'm an old guy, I too don't have your experience i.e. number of wheels handled. I made the comment as a personal reflexion and as a warning to the less experienced viewers. When I say I *personally* wouldn't use a metal lever, it has more to do with my own risk assessment, both mechanical and financial, than saying that everyone, in any circumstances, shouldn't use a metal lever. My major concern was for those who are overconfident or unaware of the risks involved.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
@@sylvainmichaud2262 thanks for explaining more. I can add that those levers are what I consider the best design ever. They were made by Gripfast in England - no longer available. The ends are wide, thin and flat which means if any real prying is needed (it wasn't on the tire in the video) you have a flat lever resting against the carbon rim - no risk to the rim ☺
@Bikeops2021
Жыл бұрын
The Gripfast levers often pop up here in England, and they can mainly be found at car boot sales, I guess like a yard sale or something in the US!
@jpvdw1961
14 сағат бұрын
I only use plastic tire levers ... the ones that are metal reinforced
@JimLangley1
3 сағат бұрын
@@jpvdw1961 Park Tool makes a nice set of those amzn.to/4dTSVuJ
@davidburgess741
Жыл бұрын
You referred me to one of Bill Mold's videos about number of threads on spokes and nipples. I'd already seen that one but it is good review. The aluminum nipples that collected onto the floor were in a 24 spoke rear wheel, and I'm around 240lbs. One that failed during a century was on a short spoke, due to a hop at that rim location. The head of the nipple shattered because the nipple shoulder was unsupported by the too short spoke. Just an empty void at the shoulder. Brass being a bit stronger and more easily machined also doesn't gall like aluminum . More spokes, more crosses, and brass nipples is the choice for durability.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed Bill’s video again David, it’s a good one. Had your spokes been longer i.e. the correct length for the aluminum nipples they probably would not have broken. It’s true that brass works even with slightly too short spokes and won’t break. But aluminum can work too if care is taken to get the spokes long enough. So it isn’t really the aluminum nipples’ fault they broke is one way to look at it. Still with brass there is less to worry about. Thanks for the comment!
@jyl1970
Жыл бұрын
Excellent detailed review!
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed the review, JasonL, thanks a lot for watching and commenting!
@Bikeops2021
Жыл бұрын
Another top review Jim.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot Graham! Appreciate you watching and commenting!!
@carlos4731
7 ай бұрын
Hi Jim, Do you think these rims can safely fit 28c tires? The Elitewheels Edge gravel 45mm model (same dimentions) are spec for 28-50 tires. Would like to know your opinion. Thanks
@JimLangley1
7 ай бұрын
Hi Carlos. I always go by what the rim maker’s specs say. But please reach out to Elite using their chat bubble on their website and ask them directly. That way you’ll be 100% sure that those 28mm tires will be safe to run. Thanks for watching and the great question.
@carlos4731
7 ай бұрын
@@JimLangley1 thanks Jim
@ph33lix
Жыл бұрын
3:19 a rather... bespoke presentation of spares. 😂
@AdamZimmerman
11 ай бұрын
Great initial review however can we get a video on the real world testing? How do you like riding them so far?
@JimLangley1
11 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and asking how the G45s are doing Adam. I haven’t had time to do another video yet. But I have put 1000s of miles on the wheels, raced the Sea Otter gravel course on them - awfully rough technical course, climbed Mt Lemmon in AZ, Mt Whitney and Tioga Pass (road climbs) on them and done lots of gravel here in Santa Cruz. I’ve crashed them several times too losing it in deep gravel and in mud. None of this has done anything to the wheels. They’re still straight, round and tight. I weigh 150 pounds so I’m not a bigger rider but I have ridden over some bad bad singletrack smashing into ruts rocks and roots and crashing but the wheels don’t show any wear and tear except for some minor scratches on the carbon rims. The hubs and freehub still spin smoothly. I do wash the bike and take care of my stuff. But these wheels haven’t needed any truing or tensioning. They have been great riding and reliable wheels. Okay? I hope this is helpful. Happy to answer any other questions. Thanks again!
@AdamZimmerman
11 ай бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Thanks for the lengthy response, greatly appreciated. One last question. What's your take on "aero" wheels for gravel bikes? These wheels seem to fall into that trend of 35-45mm rim depths but can they make a difference with a 40mm tire?
@JimLangley1
11 ай бұрын
@@AdamZimmerman hi Adam. I’ve been riding 35 to 50mm tall carbon wheels for a long time but mostly on the road. The issue some people have is control in crosswinds but once you get used to it most roadies don’t mind because it’s a small price to pay for the free speed especially on group rides. Also a tall profile rim increases lateral stiffness and helps response too when you stand and accelerate. They do add weight so not the best choice for extended climbs maybe. I have been running the G45s as gravel with Pirelli 45mm wide Centurato tires since the Sea Otter. I’m about ready to set the wheels up as road with probably a 30-32 mixed tread tire and put the Pirellis on the stock Bontrager alloy wheels. The only thing is I love the ride of the 45mm tires and the superlight G45s which out perform the Bontragers since they’re so much lighter. So I don’t see a drawback to the 50mm rim depth unless someone’s averse to crosswinds or gusts from passing trucks, or if you wanted the lightest rims possible you would go lower profile. But at 1300 grams the G45s are lighter than my ICAN Aero 40 carbon road wheels - thanks to the carbon spokes. Hope this answers your question.
@paulatwood4603
Жыл бұрын
I sure wish they made them in 349 and 406 which is what I roll on.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching Paul! If there are any carbon rims in those sizes maybe someone will see your comment and let us know.
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
★ WATCH this review of my 2023 Trek Checkpoint SL5 gravel bike next: kzitem.info/news/bejne/25qg3oVosoV3mXo
@denis_roy_7
Жыл бұрын
Good review Jim! Some people have expressed serious concern about carbon spokes. What is your take on that? Thanks!
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks a lot for watching Denis, glad you enjoyed the video. I talk a little about that concern with carbon spokes in the video at 5:44 The reason you can hear bad things about carbon spokes is because when they first appeared on some wheels from a major wheel company (Mavic) they had some highly publicized wheel failures due to broken carbon spokes. That was years ago but because it happened in major pro races people remember. The thing is that all carbon components and frames can crack or break if they're impacted with the "right" type of force in the "right" way. For example, at the beginning of this video of mine kzitem.info/news/bejne/rpx_r4qDh6qglqw I show a recreation of how I broke my Cervelo letting it fall onto a jagged rock. Anything sharp or pointy or really rough that runs into carbon in the right direction to damage it and with enough force can break it. So with these spokes, you wouldn't want to get tangled up in a crash or when parking your bike next to other maybe, with bicycle pedals. In a moving crash if a pedal went into the moving wheel it would probably break the spokes. A stick going into the wheel stopping it might also break these spokes because that's enough to tear aluminum nipples on steel spokes right through rims. Anyone concerned about these types of serious impacts probably wouldn't want to use wheels with carbon spokes. However, if you can avoid such calamities, they do offer impressive boosts in lateral stiffness, acceleration, climbing and weight reduction. Hope this is helpful. Thanks for asking a great question!
@denis_roy_7
Жыл бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Thank you Jim! If a guy like you is confident in carbon spokes, it makes me confident (I have bought wheels from Wheel-Tec in the Netherlands with carbon spokes and can’t wait to put them on my bike). Thanks again!
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
@@denis_roy_7 you're very welcome Denis! Thanks for telling me about Wheel-Tec wheels, I'll look them up to learn more. I hope you like them and the carbon spokes work well for you, please let me know how you like them. Thanks again🙏
@denis_roy_7
Жыл бұрын
@@JimLangley1 I wanted to gift you some money, but because I am on vacation in France (from Gaspé, Québec), my credit card does not allow it. Next time for sure!
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
@@denis_roy_7 thanks Denis! Enjoy your vacation😊!!
@FliskerX
21 күн бұрын
Hello Jim, could you please share if the tension numbers at section 16:45 are the same numbers as on the park tool tension meter? Or is this tool giving out different numbers? I'm asking because I bought used Elitwheels D65 which use these carbon spokes, I do have the park tool tension meter but I have no idea what factory numbers are for that tool and parktool doesn't have these spokes in the conversion table to kgf :( I'm getting about 23-25 on front wheel for example.
@JimLangley1
20 күн бұрын
Thanks for watching and the question Flisker. I'm using a Wheel Fanatyk tensiometer in the video. It'll show different numbers on the tool than your Park tensiometer, but if we had a conversion chart for these Elite carbon spokes, and we both checked your wheel, we'd arrive at the same, or numbers that are very close in terms of how tight the spokes are in kgf on the chart. But Wheel Fanatyk doesn't provide information on these spokes and Park doesn't either. So in these scenarios all you can determine is if the wheel is evenly tensioned. You can also try to "ballpark" the tension by measuring the spoke and finding the one closest to it dimensionally as what's on Park conversion chart. Hope this helps.
@FliskerX
20 күн бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Thank you very much Jim, that's what I thought, that there's no way to convert it without chart from manufacturer, I sent them a mail so maybe they will give me the chart. I'm also confused that I'm getting nearly same average number for spoke tension on the dirve side and nondrive side of the rear wheel. Hope this is not somehow connected to the rattling issue mentioned in the other question.
@JimLangley1
20 күн бұрын
@@FliskerX you're welcome Flisker. In my review video I say that my Elite Wheel carbon spokes are in the 120 kgf range to a little more. I'm betting yours are about the same since wheel companies typically use the same tension ranges for various rims they offer. The reason the spoke tension is pretty even on the drive and non-drive sides is because Elite is using different length spokes on the drive and non-drive sides - that evens out the tension. I wouldn't think anything with the spokes would be making the rattle you're hearing and unless the wheels were wrecked and repaired poorly, I wouldn't expect that the spokes have loosened or changed tension from when the wheels were built. I've ridden my Elite wheels extremely hard, even crashed several times. I haven't been able to loosen any spokes or even knock the wheels out of true. Haven't had any noise issues either. I'm running a Shimano cassette and GRX drivetrain. Hope this is helpful.
@FliskerX
20 күн бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Thank you very much, this is very helpful!
@sylvainmichaud2262
Жыл бұрын
I thought that with carbon rims, the spoke were not tensionned to fix any of the issues related to trueness, the rim being so stiff. So I thought one would expect an even more constant tension from spoke to spoke. Can some with more expertise elaborate ?
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching and the question, Sylvain. I actually explained in the video at 18:30. It's the varying shapes of the molded bladed carbon spokes that makes the readings on the tensiometer vary. Had the wheel been built with standard round or aero stainless steel spokes which have much more consistent shapes, the tension numbers would have been more the same from spoke to spoke (I don't know but I bet Elite is using their own proprietary tensiometer). Regarding truing, all rims, steel, aluminum and carbon need to be trued with the spokes when built and the spokes need to be brought to full tension and the wheels centered. Carbon rims if they're made perfect - and some are near perfect - make the process easier and faster in some cases but you still have to true them and tension them with the spokes. Thanks again!
@sylvainmichaud2262
Жыл бұрын
@@JimLangley1 This tension measurement variations would means, that with a carbon spoke with a carbon rim, in order to avoid the risk to break a spoke due to over tensioning in an attempt to true the wheel, the removal of the rim tape is essential in order to evaluate the spoke dept in the nipple. Does this make sense ?
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
@@sylvainmichaud2262 no it doesn't Sylvain, I think you're maybe overthinking this. First according to Elite their carbon spokes can handle up to 400kgf pulling force which is way way beyond what wheels are tensioned to so it would be almost impossible to over tension one of these spokes by hand with a spoke wrench. And, regarding spoke depth in the nipple, as long as the spokes are the correct length there will be room to tension the spokes should they need any more. Most of the time, if wheels need more tension it's because the spokes loosened and what you do is tighten them just a little more than they were tightened before to hopefully get them to stay tight. In the case of these Elite wheels they are using secure lock spoke nipples. These nipples have a thread lock device inside that is designed to ensure the nipples cannot change position on their own so that spokes are less likely to loosen. Hope this answers your question.
@sylvainmichaud2262
Жыл бұрын
@@JimLangley1 Many thanks Jim for the very exhaustive explanation. I'll go to bed tonight knowing that I'm far less ignorant ! 😜
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
@@sylvainmichaud2262 you're very welcome and thank you for watching and allowing me to explain things I could have explained better in the video 👍
@Gixer750pilot
3 ай бұрын
Greta review , but did you really use metal tyre levers on a carbon rim ??? 🤦♂️ 😣
@JimLangley1
3 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and commenting. Yes I did. I am a pro bike mechanic and those are the best levers ever made - super thin and smooth - Gripfasts made in England (no longer available unfortunately). Thanks again.
@Gixer750pilot
3 ай бұрын
@@JimLangley1 I’m sure you are careful . It just hurt. It’s like hearing a wedding ring clanking against a guitar neck . Just seems wrong
@JimLangley1
3 ай бұрын
@@Gixer750pilot never heard a wedding ring on a guitar but that's a nice image, thanks. But, again, it's all in the quality of the levers and the skill of the person using them. And carbon is much much stronger than everyone thinks - been riding carbon since 1989. With these wheels I've hit rocks, roots, ruts so hard in thousands of hard gravel miles. I've been able to scratch the finish of the wheels but I haven't harmed them one bit. And the only carbon bike I broke happened because it landed on a sharp rock. Luckily I was able to fix it with a patch kit - one of the cool things about the material: kzitem.info/news/bejne/rpx_r4qDh6qglqw
@terjemyller6573
Жыл бұрын
Would be surprising if they sent Jim a wheelset that didn’t pass the tests …
@JimLangley1
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching and making that point, Terje. The thing is that a couple of the companies that have sent me wheels did not get the best marks on all the tests. Even these wheels had an issue with spoke twist, which you would think they'd have gotten perfect if they watched the other reviews I've done. I always hope that the wheels are as perfect as possible because I ride them a lot and don't want to break spokes, knock them out of true or round or have tension dropping issues. But you make a valid point, appreciate it.
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