Wake up Western bike wheel brands! Have Chinese carbon wheels now overtaken established brands factoring in performance and price?

If you're someone who's interested in making your road bike faster, chances are you’ve looked at buying a set of carbon wheels. For the past two decades or so this segment has been almost entirely dominated by Western brands such as Zipp, Mavic, Bontrager and Roval, but there is a way of getting carbon wheels for less.

Buying direct from China is undoubtedly cheaper, but in the past it's been said that there's a sacrifice to be made in terms of performance and/or quality. In 2025, is that still the case? We've been investigating...

Chinese carbon road bike wheels are by no means a new thing, but we did think that it was about time to delve a bit deeper since they have recently enjoyed a surge in popularity. While numerous road.cc staff members and reviewers have plenty of positive things to say about Chinese wheels, you only need to look as far as our road bike wheels buyer's guide to see that it's often the Western brands that we recommend as offering the average Lycra-clad Brit the best all-round value for money.

Topping that list for the last couple of updates has been the Hunt Limitless 48 wheelset, wheels that have recently been superseded by the Hunt Limitless Sub 50s.

These latest wheels are very fast, pretty light, impressively stable, come with all sorts of peace of mind as far as the warranty goes, and with the price tag of £1,479 seriously undercutting much of flagship competition, you'd expect them to continue to top this list.

While reviewing these wheels though, it got me thinking... are they really the best value for money wheels you can buy right now? 

To take on the best of the West, I knew I needed to find something that could not only undercut the Hunt wheels in terms of price, but also deliver when it came to consistent manufacturing, aerodynamics, stability, weight, durability and post-sale service. This ruled out buying direct from the likes of Temu or Aliexpress, so I set about browsing the ranges from the likes of Winspace, EliteWheels and Ican.

I settled on the latest Falcon Turbo Pro wheelset from Light Bicycle, a well-established Chinese brand that I've had good experiences with. To make the comparison with the Hunts as fair as possible, I then tried to spec them in a like-for-like build, or as close as reasonably possible.

Before we take a look at the exact specs of the wheels, let's just clarify what exactly I mean when I say 'Chinese brand'...

Aren’t most bike wheels made in Asia nowadays?

The Giant factory in Taiwan

Let’s not kid ourselves, most of us are aware by now that most ‘Western’ cycling brands get the majority of their carbon fibre products manufactured in Asia. ENVE are definitely a notable exception with their SES wheels, but the US brand are very much in the minority. In most cases, your carbon wheels are probably being made in a factory in either Taiwan or China.

You might, for some reason or another, feel a bit cheated to learn this, but the truth is that it’s Asia where nearly all the expertise in carbon fibre manufacturing is, so it makes a lot of sense for products that use carbon fibre to be produced there. 

If you take these Hunts as an example, they’re designed in the UK, assembled in the UK and distributed from the UK. This means that if you do have any issues with them, you can talk to a team of customer service staff that are based in the UK. The rims are made in the Far East, but using a closed mould – this means that no one else can use this design of rim profile.

> What is open mould?

Light Bicycle differ to Hunt in that they're a direct-to-consumer brand. The rims could, for all I know, be made in the factory next door, but the key distinction is that Light Bicycle, like many ‘Chinese’ brands, own the factory that their products are made in, before shipping them direct to you wherever in the world you reside. This process makes Light Bicycle a Chinese direct-to-consumer brand.

How do the two wheelsets compare?

To illustrate the kind of performance-to-price ratio that Chinese direct-to-consumer wheels can offer, I've incorporated the wheelsets into one of my favourite childhood games: Top Trumps!  

The Falcon Pro Turbo 50 price includes relevant shipping and duty to be paid to get them in to the UK. The actual wheelset price: £1,028

As you can see, the results are alarming. For £300 less than the best that the West has to offer you, I can have a wider, lighter, deeper and hooked wheelset. They get pipped by the shallower Zipps in terms of weight, but those Zipp wheels would set you back three times the price at RRP. Based on that information alone, I know which wheels I'd be choosing!

A closer look at the Light Bicycle Falcon Pro Turbo 50

This is not the first set of Light Bicycle wheels that I have used. My dad has been using a set for the past few years, and other than forgetting to spec them with drainage holes, and the hub (from a Western brand) breaking… they’ve been very good!

This new set, though, is quite a bit different. That 50mm-deep wheel has a twisted wavy profile that is said not only to reduce air drag and improve crosswind stability, but also enhance lateral stiffness. The super wide profile will pair nicely with 28mm or 30mm tyres, and in the centre of them I’ve opted for the ever reliable DT Swiss 240 hubs.

> Are expensive carbon wheels worth it?

And that brings us on to another big advantage of buying wheels from a brand like Light Bicycle. Whereas the Hunt Sub 50s are available in two variations, either with steel or carbon spokes, the Falcon Pros have almost endless possibilities.

On the Light Bicycle website there are seven different depths and widths of their wavy rim, then there are eight different hubs to choose from plus various colours, ratchet tooth counts etc. There are well over 200 different combinations in total.

To be honest I was initially a little bit baffled by all this choice, so I decided to make the wheels as close to the Hunts as possible and then see what they cost. I think I came pretty close; they’re almost identically deep and certainly as wide.

I wanted hooks so I can use them with more of the tyres that I have lying about, and the DT Swiss hubs are just a bit of a staple. If they’re good enough for Visma–Lease a Bike, then they’re good enough for me!

Next question then, what are they like out on the road?

The road test

I think that I won’t really be offending anyone by saying that it is now relatively easy to make a fast bike wheel. The difference between the fastest and slowest wheels of the same depth in a wind tunnel is a matter of a few watts, so it won’t surprise you to find out that we’ve found no measurable differences in speed between these two wheelsets in our real-world testing when equipped with the same tyres.

> How strong are Chinese carbon road bike wheels, and why are they cheaper?

Where wheel development has come on a long way in the last decade or so is stability. I was recently in Lanzarote – an island that feels like one of the windiest places on earth when you ride there – and the difference has never been so obvious. A set of Mavic Cosmics from a decade or so ago were billowing about all over the place, whereas on the Falcons there was a steady sideways pressure, but none of that sudden jerking about. It really was an eye-opener that demonstrated to me quite how far we’ve come.

This is an area where the Hunts also absolutely excel. That super wide rim profile bats off crosswinds like Freddie Flintoff, and they’ll outperform just about every other wheelset of this depth. Unfortunately for Hunt, the Falcons are one of the very few wheelsets that can stand side-by-side with them. I don’t know if it's the waviness or simply the width and smooth transition to the tyre, but whatever it is, it worked for me. 

Maybe the Falcons would be really floppy in a sprint? Nope. There's been no skimping in terms of lateral stiffness, with 24 spokes front and rear.

Maybe they accelerate slowly? Negative. That low weight means they're right up there with the best 50mm wheels out there in my opinion, and I like the fact that you can choose between a 36T or 54T ratchet when purchasing the wheels. 

Maybe they aren't as true or de-tension themselves when you hit a hole? I had both sets of wheels out of the box and straight onto a truing stand to find that they're well dished, true laterally and radially, and the spoke tensions are even.

In terms of the supplied accessories, I think the tubeless tape supplied with the Falcons is much better than what Hunt have used. The valves are pretty much identical, but you do get a set of wheel bags with the Hunts. That's some points clawed back!

How are 'Chinese' wheels cheaper?

It's safe to say that the Light Bicycle wheels have impressed so far, and so I was keen to find out how they can undercut the Western brands if the quality really is on a par.

road.cc: How do you keep your prices low?

Light Bicycle: “Very early on, Light Bicycle took a risk in the direct-to-consumer business. When we say direct to consumer, we truly mean direct to consumer, no middlemen, simple factory to customer. Many companies will operate "direct to consumer," but they are purchasing their rims from different manufacturers, pushing up the end price.“

Are there fewer QC checks?

“There are definitely not fewer quality checks in place; if anything, there are more; it is a constant battle to change the narrative on Chinese made products but we are extremely proud of our people and our process and would happily put our rims up against any brand in the industry. As an added bonus, due to our custom nature, our wheelsets are hand-laced, resulting in a very premium product for the price.”

What are the negatives of buying direct from China?

In the past, I'd argue that the biggest downfall of direct-to-consumer goods from China has been the complete lack of consistency between products. This seems to be changing with the dawn of named brands rather than no-name factories simply going for high volume sales on the likes of AliExpress and Temu.

When you buy direct from Light Bicycle, for example, the brand now have a reputation to uphold. They don't want you to be disappointed with the product because then you won't recommend them or purchase again. So if the quality and consistency is now on a par with Western brands, what are the negatives? Well, I've thought long and hard about it and here are my thoughts:

Delivery time
If you try to buy an in-stock wheelset from a Western brand, you'll likely have them on your doorstep a fair bit quicker than you will from a Chinese brand. With Hunt, for example, the order was placed and two days later the wheels arrived. Light Bicycle have tried to minimise this wait with warehouses in Canada and Europe, but even then you're probably looking at between two to three weeks from ordering for your order to be delivered.

Warranty time
Likewise, if something goes wrong with your wheelset and it's covered by warranty then the wait could be longer for the Chinese wheelset. In the past, if I've had an issue with my Hunts like requiring a new freehub, it's been with me within a few days. Due to the location of parts, this is likely going to be over a week for a Chinese direct-to-consumer brand.

The mind boggling choice
This could be argued as both a positive and a negative, and I think it's only fair to recognise that some people don't want to do the hard work of choosing what the best wheel for them is. Take Hunt's Limitless range as an example; the brand has already chosen the hubs, spokes and rim widths that it thinks are best for the target rider. Yes, I love the choice that Light Bicycle offers me, but I can see how it could be intimidating to someone who doesn't write about bikes for a living.

Warranty period
Many Western brands have recently been beefing up their warranty periods, and most wheels now coming with a lifetime warranty. That's what the Hunts come with, whereas the Light Bicycle Pro range benefit from a five-year warranty. Good, but not as good as the example we have here.

Crash replacement
When comparing prices it's important to note the additional benefits that you get. The Sub 50s are £300 more expensive than the Falcon Turbo Pros, but you do get free 'H_Care', Hunt's free crash replacement service for the first owner. Light Bicycle do offer a discount (25% off), but this is definitely a difference worth noting if you're accident prone or are looking at racing the wheelsets.

China > the West?

Firstly, I should say that both of these wheelsets are absolutely brilliant, and both will do you proud. I'd be very happy to spend my own money on either, and I'm a fussy bugger! I also think that we're at a point where some Chinese carbon road bike wheels have caught up with the best of the West in terms of performance and price, which makes them a very realistic option to anyone in the market for a bike upgrade.

If you're prepared to wait just a few weeks for a new set of wheels, then you can make an absolute killing in savings. In the case of the Light Bicycle wheels, they face no penalty in terms of quality or performance. I'm not for a moment telling everyone to go out and buy any old direct-to-consumer wheelset, but there are some that are definitely worth considering. 

What next?

It seems hard to imagine that brands as big as the ones in the wheel industry could be eclipsed. Can someone like Light Bicycle really sell more wheels in the UK than someone like Zipp? I got a bit reminiscent and realised that things really can change fast. It wasn't all too long ago that Mavic had the UK wheel market in their pocket, quickly followed by a series of well-documented struggles before emerging out the other side.

As they own the factories that the wheels are built in, Chinese brands seem to be fast learning the trick of jumping on the latest trends as the West plays it safe with wheels that sometimes look dated before they've even hit the shelves. I suspect this means that Chinese carbon wheels are only going to be talked about more and more in years to come.

We've recently seen Chinese groupsets and bikes loudly try to upset the established brands, and I don't think they've managed it. With wheels, though, the Western brands can't stand still for a minute, because if our favourite wheels are already getting a run for their money then other brands will very fast become irrelevant.

Western wheel brands, this is your wake-up call! Either way, we'll have some very fast wheels on our bikes for years to come.

Let us know which wheels you'd choose and why down in the comments section below