Want to let this community know that I have experienced a rather strange issue with a pair of LightCarbon Wheels.
Bought in June 2022, ridden approx 15,000k, three/four sets of tires worn out and always ridden tubeless, issue after 33 months.
https://www.lightcarbon.com/700c-disc-brake-asymmetric-road-carbon-rim_p69.htmlI had to make the wheels tubeless again. New sealant, clean valves. Tires were not yet worn out, so I reused them.
When inflating the tire with a floor pump, after the tire was put on the sides of the rim by a tire booster, at 4.5 bar in the rear wheel, the rim cracked.
The outer layer of the rim has come loose from the inner layer, creating two parts. See the picture linked below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dUzDTUM2q1YC_o4HvHV2WRVZx-dAeuSL/view?usp=drive_linkI had done the front wheel first and thought that had worked out well. However, when checking the wheel in the wheel truing stand, I saw that the rim was also starting to move in one place. See the photo and video linked below. Same issue as rear wheel/rim with outer layer coming from inner layer.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NFYvK2ZZsu6GhFbXnWoSqBVklV8-xRa6/view?usp=drive_linkhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/1GnmqT7ySiq1gk-b1_Ctf8qoHvrlHtJNx/view?usp=drive_linkShared the issue with the retailer of LightCarbon in The Netherlands who forwarded the issue to Gavin Woo, sales director of LightCarbon. The reaction was disappointing because he did not give any specific reaction on my issue.
See his reaction here
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QkLO9Ko5hW5hqJH5dJjysJKHCx63Sc_p/view?usp=sharingAs you know, generally carbon wheelset is easier to be damaged compared to carbon frames.
Due to different road condition, tire pressure, and riding behavior, the working life of carbon
rim can vary a lot.
This wheel was purchased in 2022, nearly 3 years from now, has exceed 2-year warranty period.
For carbon wheel that have been used for more than 2 years, it could be regular worn out, may
not be quality issue.
For carbon rims with quality issue, normally the problem will occur during the first 1 or 2 years.
Please suggest that customers to buy new rims for replacement. Thanks.
Best regards,
Gavin Woo | Sales Director
I am still puzzled what the reason can be for this LightCarbon wheel/rim fail.
Looks like issues like this are happening more often with LightCarbon wheels and/or rims
https://chinertown.com/index.php?topic=4048.0Maybe @JimLee can give some more clarification here?