So, I have been shopping for a pair of wheels for my overkill commuter bike for a while, and I originally intended to go with a pair of ICAN wheels, which I have previously used and was very satisfied with. However, I also wanted something a little bit more unique/flashy. I either wanted a wavy rim or a butterfly weave pattern, which I quite liked from Winspace. (Though the Hyper wheels that have this weave pattern were a little bit out of my budget range, and most importantly, I just don't want to deal with carbon spokes on a daily commuter that I throw around and lean against things all the time. You could argue that I shouldn't be getting a pair of carbon wheels to begin with, but nonetheless, I have commuted on the ICAN wheels for almost seven months with no problems.)
Anyway, I remembered that YiShun/LightCarbon also provide wheel-building services for individual buyers too. So, I got a quote from them for the price of a pair of their butterfly-weaved rims (BRD28-45C) built with DT-350. They quoted me a price of $585, which I thought was a little bit too good to be true. Almost all other Chinese wheels built with DT-350 are upwards of $800, and LightBicycle (not to be confused with LightCarbon) quoted me $900 (same with WheelsFar). I know these OEM factories are buying the hubs in bulk and getting special deals on them, but at retail, a pair of DT-350 hubs costs at least around $270, which leaves only around another $270 for the rim, the spokes, and labor. Even if labor costs are dirt cheap in China, this is still concerningly cheap.
Maybe I have been conditioned by the bigger companies to think that a good pair of wheels should cost upwards of $800, but the reality is that I am still a little concerned with this price. I know that YiShun is a very reputable OEM with huge manufacturing capacity and many bigger customers, but I have also seen some horror stories of their products arriving cracked. I am wondering if I should go with someone like LightBicycle or WheelsFar, or if I should test the waters with the Yishun wheels. Any suggestions would be appreciated, especially from those who have firsthand experience with the company. Thanks in advance.
P.S. a set of wavy rims (RBD50C) from YiShun built with DT-350 will cost 729 USD, and I am not sure how to feel about this price as there are very few reference points
