Author Topic: Reserve 52/63 alternatives (Xiamen carbon speed sports goods)  (Read 2318 times)

sidles

Reserve 52/63 alternatives (Xiamen carbon speed sports goods)
« on: August 09, 2025, 12:57:39 PM »
Hello!  :)

My friend is offering me a pair of the above wheels with 180 hubs for a really good price. I'm unsure whether to go with these or not. They weight a bit compared to my elite 50Ds, about 200g more. But I'd like something with a wider internal and perhaps a bit more areo.

I have been recommended the Carbon speed 50/65s from carbon speed sports goods (https://www.xmcarbonspeed.com/Productinfo.asp?f=1660) But I've never heard of them at all. So I have no idea if they'd be as good as the reserves despite being lighter.

Are these good/better than the reserves and do people have any other recommendations. Thanks!
« Last Edit: August 09, 2025, 01:11:51 PM by sidles »

toxin

Re: Reserve 52/63 alternatives (Xiamen carbon speed sports goods)
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2025, 01:20:37 PM »
Reserve are likely better in most aspects of aero and certainly serviceability and after sales customer care. Drawback is they're very heavy. Regarding the quality of carbon manufacturing, XMCS are top notch, but their hubs are in-house and a relative uncertainty compared to dt swiss. We haven't heard of problems with them yet, though you could get them built with dt hubs for a higher price, if you need the peace of mind.

Sakizashi

Re: Reserve 52/63 alternatives.
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2025, 01:40:22 PM »
In terms of aero, I think it's hard to do better than the Reserves, the Roval CLX II, or the Enve 4.5. I do not know much about the newest Rovals, but they seem more like the Hunt Sub 50 in terms of the theory behind them (e.g., similar to the old design but with slightly lower performance and lighter weight). All of these wheels have had extensive data collected to characterize real-world conditions relevant to CFD and tunnel work.

I think it's a fair statement to say that a lot of the Chinese brands or designers, including those on the forum, are focused on weight and structural ways to reduce aero (e.g., reducing spoke count) rather than profile refinement other than what can be done in CFD. That said, I suspect the differences are both more marginal than you think between wheels of different designs, but also bigger than you think if you expect wheels of equal depth to perform similarly.

I attempted the catalogue approach, utilizing insights gained from Enve, Hunt, and Swisside's public discussions and publications to pick parts for an aerodynamically fast yet lightweight wheel that leveraged the Aero 111. My testing is rough, but I was pleased with the results, particularly since I know I left some easy stuff on the table with those large 6-bolt hubs. Just didn't want to pay an extra $3-400 at the time for this experiment.
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,6243.msg86412.html#msg86412

Takiyaki

Re: Reserve 52/63 alternatives (Xiamen carbon speed sports goods)
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2025, 10:26:54 AM »
See if your friend will let you borrow them and put some miles on them. Thats gonna be more meaningful data than even what someone who owns both wheels could offer as they don't have your roads/bike/preferences etc.

I feel like they will be faster aero wise, which prob means faster overall. My old Marvel 60Ds absolutely flew down descents to the point that they added a good bit of speed into short climbs. So if going faster is the goal the Reserves prob win