Zen Carbon Wheels Xiamen

[hillclimber]

Seeing the great feedback on this thread, I've decided to order a pair of Zen Carbon Wheels from Zara. So far the ordering experience has been great. Zara has been very responsive to my queries.

This is the configuration I went with:
* Rims: 25mm IW, 50mm depth, UXL weight 380g, UD paintless gloss finish
* Hubs: H-Works SR261, steel bearings, weight 269g
* Spokes: Sapim CX Ray, weight 4.9 x 48

Total expected weight: 1264.2g

Could've gone lighter with the SUXL rim at 350g and carbon spokes, but I was worried about reliability being a heavier rider at 85kg. Zara shared the lead time is about 4-5 weeks so I'm looking forward to when these ship to the West Coast here in the US.

[dovh]

Hi, I'd like to share my experience with buying a wheelset from ZEN. I'm very happy with the purchase so far. Zara was amazing to communicate with and helped me build out the specs I was looking for. Amazing customer experience, I must say.

I ordered everything over WhatsApp, and from the time of payment (PayPal) to when I received the wheels in the Czech Republic, it took about 6 weeks.

Specs I went for:

(The specs are inspired by the No.6 52/58 wheelset.)

• Front: 50mm depth, 25mm inner, 32mm external, 350g
• Rear: 55mm depth, 24mm inner, 31mm external, 450g
• Both hooked, tubeless-ready, with drain holes
• UD glossy finish
• Load limitation: 120kg

Hub:

• ZC235RC
• 36T ratchet system
• Center Lock
• Ceramic bearings
• Black color
• 20/20 holes
• HG / XDR / N3W / MSR freehub

Carbon Spokes:

• Front: 3.25mm width
• Rear: 5.1mm width

Weight:

1173 +/- 30g
(Actual weight was 1201g, see photo.)

Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. Although I've only done one ride on the wheelset so far, about 80km, it's too soon to say how well they will hold up. However, my first impressions are that the wheelset is very stiff, and it feels really cool and fast to ride out of the saddle. Based on this i'd recommend the ZEN wheels.

[ZenCarbonBike]

Hello everyone,

We have a new wide gravel rim profile now available.

35mm internal width
42mm external width at edge of bead
42.7mm external width at rim

Available in 47mm, 52mm, 58mm and 67mm depths, with three different layup options:

Super Lightweight: 100–110kg load limit
Lightweight: 120kg load limit
Regular Weight: 120kg load limit

[Chupacabra]

Zara, do you have in pipeline 25 mm IW rim with lower depth (like 40 mm)? Preferably paired with steel spokes.

Could anyone also tell me if they’ve had any problems with these hubs? I’m interested in the after-sales service for customers in Europe (mainly the availability of spare parts for the hubs).

[ZenCarbonBike]

Zara, do you have in pipeline 25 mm IW rim with lower depth (like 40 mm)? Preferably paired with steel spokes.

Could anyone also tell me if they’ve had any problems with these hubs? I’m interested in the after-sales service for customers in Europe (mainly the availability of spare parts for the hubs).

Good Day

We already offer 25mm inner width road rim options, including a 40mm depth model as well as shallower profiles. We have attached our current range of 25mm inner width rim profiles for your reference.

These rims can be paired with a wide range of steel spoke options, including:

Sapim CX-Ray
Sapim CX-Ray Super
Alpina HyperLite Other Alpina  models
Pillar steel spoke range

For steel spoke builds, our most popular hub option is the H-Works SR261, available in a 24/24 spoke configuration with a total hub weight of approximately 269g per set. 
https://h-works.cn/products/sr261-rear-hubs

We can also build wheels using a range of premium hubs, including:

DT Swiss 180
DT Swiss 240
DT Swiss 350
Tune
Extralite
Carbon-Ti
Chris King
White Industries


Please contact us using the contact information below for further information, pricing and build recommendations.

[Tdiguy]

Good Day


For steel spoke builds, our most popular hub option is the H-Works SR261, available in a 24/24 spoke configuration with a total hub weight of approximately 269g per set. 
https://h-works.cn/products/sr261-rear-hubs

Do you offer these in TI or other finishes?

[Chupacabra]

Good Day

We already offer 25mm inner width road rim options, including a 40mm depth model as well as shallower profiles. We have attached our current range of 25mm inner width rim profiles for your reference.

Sorry, I wasn't precise. I meant the 40 mm variant of VaporLite II rim.

[ZenCarbonBike]

Do you offer these in TI or other finishes?

Hello I’m afraid not only black or silver.
Most of our hub offering are either black or silver.
The only hub available in multiple color options like TI, green, purple, blue etc is the THR Industries R2 hub

[ZenCarbonBike]

Sorry, I wasn't precise. I meant the 40 mm variant of VaporLite II rim.

I’m Afarid Not. 
There are no plans to make any other Depth of VaporLite II.
We do have the Original VaporLite Rim 23mm Inner 30mm External width which is 290g per rim in its lightest layup. Lighter spec 879g per wheelsets

We do have moulded spoke hole rims available in 38mm Depth 25mm internal Width 30.94mm external.
110kg limit rim is 285g
130kg limit rim is 310g

Paired with our lightest carbon spoke hub ZC215Rc with 3.1mm bladed carbon spokes or 3.2mm bladed carbon spoke with hidden nipples Wheelset estimated weights are
919g 130kg limit
869g 110kg limit

[Tdiguy]

Any plans for a 50+ depth at 25-26 internal width?  I'm looking for a 60 depth, 25-26 internal, 32+ external.  A deeper Vaporlite II profile-

[Chupacabra]

Any plans for a 50+ depth at 25-26 internal width?  I'm looking for a 60 depth, 25-26 internal, 32+ external.  A deeper Vaporlite II profile-

Go back 3 pages, VaporLite II 60mm.

[ZenCarbonBike]

Any plans for a 50+ depth at 25-26 internal width?  I'm looking for a 60 depth, 25-26 internal, 32+ external.  A deeper Vaporlite II profile-

Good Day Sir
We have 60mm VaporLite
See attached deep profiles

[Ludo]

Received, installed and went on a 80km ride this morning on my new 60mm wheels; I am not a fast rider so aero gains are hard to evaluate for me but the upgrade on the feel side from my 50mm csc wheels is significant. The ride quality is so much better, even though I went from 40mm (Hutchinson caracal) to 32mm tires (Michelin power cup, 35mm mounted). The road buzz is significantly reduced.

[Rebel_Yell]

Just an update on my Zen wheelset.  Had bike serviced and they checked on the SR270 hubs and they said they looked incredible. Zero dust and needed nothing but to be closed back up. 

Wheels have been incredible so far! Closing in on 3000 miles on them.

[kubackje]

Received, installed and went on a 80km ride this morning on my new 60mm wheels; I am not a fast rider so aero gains are hard to evaluate for me but the upgrade on the feel side from my 50mm csc wheels is significant. The ride quality is so much better, even though I went from 40mm (Hutchinson caracal) to 32mm tires (Michelin power cup, 35mm mounted). The road buzz is significantly reduced.

Which exact wheels you got ?