Yoeleo R12 & SAT C50 PRO Wheels - Revamped and Refreshed

[patliean1]

So Yoeleo graciously sent me out their latest R12 frameset and 50mm Pro wheels to test and review. YouTube link is down below.

Frame - R12 (Refreshed/Revamped) - $1590
Size 56, Hemidium paint
Weight 1305g for the frame

Wheels - SAT C50|50 DB PRO - $899 usd
50mm depth, 27mm external, 21mm internal
YOELEO 230 SP Ratchet System Hub 52T (basically DT Swiss)

Initial Thoughts:
The packaging, presentation, and included hardware for the frameset is fantastic. Equally as good as when I purchased my Allez Sprint. UCI-approved (if that's important), flawless paint job, and no imperfections around the exposed carbon areas. No question the frame is on par with Winspace visually.

The Elephant in the Room - Customer Service
I've had meetings with Yoeleo and their marketing team where I told them I would not review or endorse their products moving forward until they resolve customer service issues for Western customers. Like SEKA, it seems for a while that Yeoleo were giving preferential treatment to their domestic audience. I've had personal friends of mine get burned by Yoeleo, after they made purchases solely from my video reviews. Back in 2021-early 2022 Yoeleo were quoting people 1 month for fulfillments, which ended in customers doing CC chargebacks after 8-9 months of no frame. The good news is I've spoken to recent customers who tell me Yoeleo is back to their days of good service as they were back in 2020 when I first built my R9. Fast to respond to customers and they actually have a full stock of the R12s.

$1590 isn't cheap, but you're getting Winspace-tier perceived quality. And their latest G21 gravel bike is freakin awesome. I'll report back my bike build progresses. I have to finish building this before my Tan Tan x38 frame arrives

YouTube Keyword Search: Yoeleo R12 Unboxing and Overview - The Return To Greatness?

[dustedrob]

Just to add one more data point to this conversation; I got my R12 at the end of last year and it's been a flurry of issues with it since then:

• They didn't include a cable stop for mechanical front derailleurs, which they later shipped and delayed my build
• The handlebar/stem was failing to secure properly to the steerer tube which caused it to loosen up while riding (Scary sh*t!). I've built quite a few bikes and I was pretty confident that this wasn't human error, I later took it to a shop and they confirmed it. It was a long back and forth with Yoeleo's customer support that took months! They kept sending small parts for me to try out like the compression plug, steerer tube adapter, and stem bolts which didn't fully fixed the issue, the handlebar still loosened up but not as frequently.
• Since they were dragging their feet and refusing to replace the handlebar I had to take the loss and bought a handlebar from a different brand. I still had to buy an ST1 stem from them (which they offered at a slight discount   ) because the integrated cabling system doesn't play nicely with anything else
• The bike works fine now which proves my point that there was an issue with that particular handlebar/stem. They still refuse to accept that.
• I also discovered that the clamp that holds the saddle together was wearing out internally; The notches that help keep the saddle from rotating had all but disappeared. I asked them to send a replacement along with the other small parts they they were sending and they told me they would but they never did. When I confronted them about it, they blatantly lied and told me that they did ship it. At this point, I just gave up...

What a massive waste of time and money! I'm so profoundly disappointed because I had previously bought a couple of wheelsets from them and they are really good.

[patliean1]

Just to add one more data point to this conversation; I got my R12 at the end of last year and it's been a flurry of issues with it since then:

• They didn't include a cable stop for mechanical front derailleurs, which they later shipped and delayed my build
• The handlebar/stem was failing to secure properly to the steerer tube which caused it to loosen up while riding (Scary sh*t!). I've built quite a few bikes and I was pretty confident that this wasn't human error, I later took it to a shop and they confirmed it. It was a long back and forth with Yoeleo's customer support that took months! They kept sending small parts for me to try out like the compression plug, steerer tube adapter, and stem bolts which didn't fully fixed the issue, the handlebar still loosened up but not as frequently.
• Since they were dragging their feet and refusing to replace the handlebar I had to take the loss and bought a handlebar from a different brand. I still had to buy an ST1 stem from them (which they offered at a slight discount   ) because the integrated cabling system doesn't play nicely with anything else
• The bike works fine now which proves my point that there was an issue with that particular handlebar/stem. They still refuse to accept that.
• I also discovered that the clamp that holds the saddle together was wearing out internally; The notches that help keep the saddle from rotating had all but disappeared. I asked them to send a replacement along with the other small parts they they were sending and they told me they would but they never did. When I confronted them about it, they blatantly lied and told me that they did ship it. At this point, I just gave up...

What a massive waste of time and money! I'm so profoundly disappointed because I had previously bought a couple of wheelsets from them and they are really good.

What a freakin nightmare. You should post this in the comment section on my video so Yoeleo sees it. I got minor pushback from some of their dealers regarding my points of criticism. My response was Yoeleo is free to address anything they need to, and if problems have actually been resolved they have nothing to worry about.

[dsveddy]

Thanks as always for the reviews Patty. You're really the MVP of the chiner-space.

1305 grams...wow I did not expect it to be so heavy, it's nearly 300g more than the weight quoted for the 47cm on their website.

For comparison, my Large Seka Exceed Std is only 37g more than a Small in the same color, as reported on WW. So about +20g per size. Using that math a 56 shouldn't be more than 50g heavier.

When I was speccing my Seka Exceed build I had considered getting this frame instead. At KSR last year, I met a guy on the Canadian Yoeleo team riding an R12 who said he loved it and offered me a discount coupon. Given the price and low claimed weight on their website, I almost got this bike instead of the Seka.

Those wheels, though, look VERY cool, and I definitely am considering them!

[patliean1]

Build is complete. Video soon to follow.

-Yoeleo R12 ‘23 size 56
-Ultegra Di2 12 Speed
-Yoeleo C50 Pro Wheels
-FSA/Vision Trimax Aero Bars (38cm)
-SWorks Power Carbon Saddle
-PowerTap/SRAM P2 Pedals
-Supacaz Bar Tape
-Continental GP5000 28
-Weight 7.8kg (w/o pedals, cages, computer)

[ricedaddy]

Looks killer! Good job keeping it under 8kg!

[patliean1]

Bike build and first ride is live on the channel.

YouTube Title Search: My Yoeleo R12 Is Finished - Dream Build and First Ride

[coffeebreak]

Will this frame clear 32mm wide wheelset or it's too much? I have a wheelset in my mind that's 32mm external width. May be too wide but worth checking if someone tried that.

[patliean1]

Will this frame clear 32mm wide wheelset or it's too much? I have a wheelset in my mind that's 32mm external width. May be too wide but worth checking if someone tried that.

32c GP5000s on 30mm ext 23mm int wheels fit with plenty of space. The tires measure out to 32.7mm.

[PLA]

Just to add one more data point to this conversation; I got my R12 at the end of last year and it's been a flurry of issues with it since then:

• They didn't include a cable stop for mechanical front derailleurs, which they later shipped and delayed my build
• The handlebar/stem was failing to secure properly to the steerer tube which caused it to loosen up while riding (Scary sh*t!). I've built quite a few bikes and I was pretty confident that this wasn't human error, I later took it to a shop and they confirmed it. It was a long back and forth with Yoeleo's customer support that took months! They kept sending small parts for me to try out like the compression plug, steerer tube adapter, and stem bolts which didn't fully fixed the issue, the handlebar still loosened up but not as frequently.
• Since they were dragging their feet and refusing to replace the handlebar I had to take the loss and bought a handlebar from a different brand. I still had to buy an ST1 stem from them (which they offered at a slight discount   ) because the integrated cabling system doesn't play nicely with anything else
• The bike works fine now which proves my point that there was an issue with that particular handlebar/stem. They still refuse to accept that.
• I also discovered that the clamp that holds the saddle together was wearing out internally; The notches that help keep the saddle from rotating had all but disappeared. I asked them to send a replacement along with the other small parts they they were sending and they told me they would but they never did. When I confronted them about it, they blatantly lied and told me that they did ship it. At this point, I just gave up...

What a massive waste of time and money! I'm so profoundly disappointed because I had previously bought a couple of wheelsets from them and they are really good.

That's sucks, sorry to hear this about yoeleo yet again. Unfortunately this is what I've heard from multiple other people, including personal friends at my cycling club.

Yoeleo is on my hard pass list. As it stands, I'm not sure how anyone with an ounce of integrity could possibly endorse them.

[Takiyaki]

Insane considering what they charge. The bike business is tough

[coffeebreak]

32c GP5000s on 30mm ext 23mm int wheels fit with plenty of space. The tires measure out to 32.7mm.

Thanks. Dropped the plan for Falcon WR65s and ended up going with Elitewheels SLT that measure 28mm outside coupled to 32c Corsa N.ext.

[coffeebreak]

My R12 build is complete, unexpectedly quick thanks to from-USA shipping of Elitewheels.

Size 54 that fits like 56. I used FSA SMR stem and FSA Energy handlebar that allows full internal routing unless you do external junction box Di2 thingy like I did - then it is semi internal.
The color is "Golden Apache" and on the website it looks very golden but in reality its pretty light, almost on the verge of being beige. The drivetrain is a mix of 11 speed Di2 bits.

The Di2 battery is held inside the seatpost wrapped in a bubble wrap and thin foam layer. It was surprisingly very snug fit. No special shims needed. No bar end junction box used because I miscalculated the wire situation. The RS785 shifters being old school compared to Ultegra 8070, have only a single Di2 port on each. To use bar end junction you either need shifters with multiple ports or a "Y" split e-tube which I didn't have. I had already gathered rest of the wires and junction boxes so decided to move ahead with it without getting extra parts. The braking performance on these is excellent and I love the snappier-than-Ultegra levers. The shifters do look humongous though.

As compared to Velobuild's internal routing, this one was a breeze. Not just the frame but also thru the FSA stem and bars. I routed the whole bike in one afternoon without hassle. I will definitely recommend this setup if you are okay with alloy parts.

Nothing much to note really. The frame internals were super clean, BB shell, brake mounts, cable exits, thru axle dropouts all perfectly finished without any extra paint anywhere. The internal cables all went through effortlessly. The paint seems pretty good quality.

Parts used -
1. Shimano RS785, Ultegra R8000, DA 9100 Di2 mixed groupset. The RS785 work fine with Ultegra R8020 hydro calipers using BH90 hose, olives and barbs even though RS785 are officially supported only for BH59.
2. Elitewheels 50mm deep 28mm wide SLT-Disc tubeless
3. Vittora Corsa N.ext tires (32mm) with tubes. Plenty of clearance still left so I am guessing I can go 35 if I want but 32 it is. Note - these tires are a b*tch to mount. Probably the hardest I have ever tried to. Tubes are RideNow TPU.
4. FSA SMR 100mm stem FSA + FSA Energy SCR compact 400mm handlebar with full internal routing. The stem came without spacers so I bought this from Aliexpress and it fit as if FSA themselves made it - https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804948224583.html
5. Shimano Pro saddle.
6. Crankbrothers Candy 2 pedals - I use MTB style pedals even on road bikes.
7. Ultegra 52/36 crank, Ultegra 8000 11-32 cassette, KMC X11 chain.
8. Blackbird GPS mount, Towild 18650 light.
9. Riderace bar tape.

No fancy equipment. 7.8 kg minus the pedals.

Rides BEAUTIFULLY and accelerates quickly. The 32c tires don't feel fast but numbers don't lie. I have become a big fan of 30/32c tires. And even with 32c tires, the bike is pretty stiff, not bone jarring but tight. Just for the kicks I put the wheelset with Gravelking tires from my VB GF002 bike and it still feels way more stiffer than the GF002. Not apples to apples comparison but it was nice comparison for me to notice how frames make a huge difference in comfort.




For now, the build is exactly what I wanted it to be minus the wheels which have extra loud hubs. These are as loud as Reynolds wheels that I have on other bike and I am not a fan. I should have done some more research on that topic. A while ago I replaced the bearings on my ICAN Aero 50 wheelset with NGK ones and those wheels became silent to the point the pedestrians can't hear me rolling behind them. May be I will try that in some time.

Thanks.

[TidyDinosaur]

Keep an eye on those tires. I had the 28mm version and after only a few months the rubber began to crack. Send it back and got a replacement. And they were indeed VERY hard to put on. No way this is possible without tire levers...

[coffeebreak]

Oh dang I got them over Conti 5ks. Thanks for the heads up! Spent more than an hour wrestling with those. If I was setting them up as tubeless don't think I would have been able to do it at home. Insanely hard even with tire levers.