Chinertown
Chinese Carbon Road Bikes => Road Bike Frames, Wheels & Components => Topic started by: cyruscycles on August 07, 2025, 02:53:28 PM
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After around 600 miles on my Elitewheels ENT 2.0, I noticed the rear rim beginning to delaminate. For the last 80 miles or so, I had been running 80 PSI on a 32c GP5000 with a TPU tube. Total system weight was around 200 lbs (rider + bike + water + saddle pack).
I reached out to Elitewheels and was basically told to kick rocks for exceeding the “recommended pressure.” But as far as I can tell, there’s no published maximum PSI limit on their Ali product page. There’s just a general recommendation chart that mirrors around what SILCA and others suggest for comfort and rolling resistance, not structural safety limits:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806716368653.html
I checked Amazon and that page doesn't even have the recommended pressure chart that the Ali listing has:
https://www.amazon.com/ELITEWHEELS-Carbon-Wheels-Wheelset-Quality/dp/B0DK53KBXQ
I get that 80 PSI is higher than what many people run on 32c, but it’s still within normal bounds, especially for heavier riders. And for hooked carbon rims, particularly like the ENT, which I’m assuming is almost entirely T700 and pretty heavy, I was under the impression they should easily handle up to around 120 PSI.
If a rim is going to fail structurally below that, shouldn’t it be clearly labeled with a max pressure warning, not just a recommendation? I could easily see a newer rider seeing a pressure recommendation of 100 PSI for a 25c tire, pumping their 32c tire to the same pressure(this is below Continental's maximum pressure rating), and then having their rim fail on a descent. Boom, broken collarbone.
(Continental pressure ratings here: https://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/road-and-track/clinchers/grand-prix-5000)
They offered to sell me a replacement rim for $165 plus shipping (assuming another $100+), but that’s it. I wasn’t expecting a brand-new wheel, but I was at least hoping for a rim so I could rebuild the wheel myself, especially since I didn’t ignore any explicit limits.
I was seriously considering upgrading to their Elite Drive II wheels to save weight and gain external width, but this whole experience has me rethinking things. Am I being unreasonable here? Maybe this just comes with the territory of a $400 set of wheels.
I've attatched one of the videos I sent them showing the seperation. How stupid would it be to adhere the layers back together with epoxy while I wait for a set of wheels from Peter to arrive? I'd stick to flats. Just really itching to get out again.
Considering XMCS 65/50 or 2025 Magene EXAR DB508s atm. I want to stick under $1,300 or so.
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(Elitewheels)
Thanks for your information , please check the recommend tire pressure for road wheelset on the picture .
The total weight that wheelset bear to is 198lbs(182lbs+16lbs), it is about 89kg, and the 60PSI is the best to 32C tires.
But you used 80PSI, it is too high for the wheelset.
Please take some more pictures of damage area from different angle , then we can find the cause , thanks
(Me)
On Thu, Jul 31, 2025 at 11:48 PM <> wrote:
I’ve attached another photo and I’ve added a video demonstrating the separation in the layers with my finger nail. My phone doesn’t let me focus very close to the rim unfortunately.
Is it ok if I repair the rim with epoxy while I wait for a resolution?
Thank you for your help,
(Me after around a week of no response)
发送时间：2025年8月7日(周四) 10:40
收件人：Sale02<sale02@elite-wheels.com>
主 题：Re: ENT 2.0 Issue
Hello,
Could I please get some guidance and a resolution?
Also, I’m considering the Elite Drive II mixed wheelset. Is there an option for steel bearings at a slightly lower price? I prefer the long lifespan of steel bearings and don’t think it’s worth it to pay extra for ceramic.
Thank you!
(Elitewheels)
As I mentioned in my previous email, due to the high tire pressure you used, the wheels exploded during the ride.
This is a damage caused by improper use and is not covered by our warranty. We cannot provide replacement wheels for free
Considering that your cycling time is relatively short, we have applied to the company for a special offer to sell one rim to you at a price of $165, excluding shipping costs
(You can check the original price of the wheels in the product link:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008627129653.html)
Never asked for a free wheel. Just kinda expected a bit better. I picked Elitewheels because of the GCN association. Assumed the extra $100 over a no name brand was worth it for good QC and support.
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Just on the pressure part. 80PSI really? :o
I have at total system mass of 110kg (240lbs) and i'm running 83psi in the back on a 28mm GP5000 with TPU.
Silca stops at 205kg (450lbs) and even then they recommend a max of 78,5 psi.
so yes, your pressure is way to high but with your weight this shouldn't be a severe problem for a carbon rim
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I'd be asking why if it's rated system weight is 89kg are they advertising them as having a 130kg rider weight limit on AliExpress? Even their recommended pressures go up to 110kg.
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Just on the pressure part. 80PSI really? :o
I have at total system mass of 110kg (240lbs) and i'm running 83psi in the back on a 28mm GP5000 with TPU.
Silca stops at 205kg (450lbs) and even then they recommend a max of 78,5 psi.
so yes, your pressure is way to high but with your weight this shouldn't be a severe problem for a carbon rim
Yeah, I typically stick to the 60s on the rear rim, but I wanted to try out a firm feel and it was fun while it lasted. I kinda got why some people like narrow tires at high pressure. I felt like a speed demon
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There's a story about the EDGE wheelset.
They originally claimed 120kg max weight and pressure up to 120psi. A guy bought them from alix exactly because of those specs. Yes, he double-checked with the shop about the working pressure (90-120psi), and they confirmed it. According to them, some fancy light carbon was used that didn't compromise strength, ofc. And guess what, after a short while, running the specified high pressure, the rear wheel shattered during a ride (yeah, delamination thing).
Elitewheels fuqed around for some time with classic: "please close the dispute friend, we will send (or already sent) a new replacement friend, trust me bro and close the dispute". Eventually, alix stepped in and asked for a formal diagnostic certificate from a workshop to confirm it was unrideable. The guy did the stuff, sent the docs and got a full refund.
Happy end! Kind of.
PS: the dispute took three months.
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Yeah, I typically stick to the 60s on the rear rim, but I wanted to try out a firm feel and it was fun while it lasted. I kinda got why some people like narrow tires at high preassure. I felt like a speed demon
So I am curious here, and yes, I know there are "tests" about that all over the internet, but - were you really a speed demon, or did you just feel like it?
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So I am curious here, and yes, I know there are "tests" about that all over the internet, but - were you really a speed demon, or did you just feel like it?
I just felt like it ;D
The firmness of the higher pressure makes you feel more connected to the road, but my speed was a bit slower than normal
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You gave them too much info. You should have just told them the wheel was delaminating at normal pressures and it's a defect. I like high pressures too, but running a 32c tire at 80psi seems kinda dumb. I run my tubeless 25c tires at 80psi (or lower), and drop down 10psi each size up. At most I'll run 32c tires at 65psi tops and that's only for the initial tire bead-in. This is another Chinertown moment of FAFO. :)
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I mean, just cause it's a higher volume and mass of air, doesn't mean the forces on the rim will be any higher. Air pressure is still the same.
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Force per area will be the same, yes, but with higher volume tires you'll have more total force acting on the tire and rim. Still don't think it should've failed at 80 psi.
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I can see both sides here.
You want your rim replaced because while the pressure was a bit high, it shouldn’t be enough to cause this delamination. Reasonable request.
I also can see Elites point of view why they need to “deny” warranty claims when they can. They can’t have much of a margin on that wheel in the 1st place. Verses with “name brands” we pay multiple times the cost of the product to the brand, while this sucks, if something happens this large mark up means they don’t mind sending out a replacement to keep customers happy. You already paid 3-5x anyways.
With that being said, we have all heard stories of Canyon and Specialized denying warranty claims for the smallest things. Like you couldn’t prove you used a torque wrench, there’s a scuff on the frame, did you crash? and this caused the crack etc.
You’re being fair, but got the short end of the stick imo. I feel like this was very obviously a manufacture defect, but telling them you pumped it up to “high” pressure made you an easy scapegoat.
I wouldn’t write elite off as they seem to have one of the better track records for budget wheels. Unfortunately at these prices, we can’t have it all and fulfilling warranty claims only adds cost. Sucks, but being able to get a (Usually) solid Carbon wheelset for $375 shipped from china is also a crazy deal.
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I don't understand how this isn't a warranty claim. You were within their own guidelines and specs, and I may be unimaginative, but I don't see how 80psi on a 32mm tire, creating higher tension on the beads than normal, would break a rim in that way without also causing more substantial damage to the rim bed or hooks somewhere on the rim.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the exact type of failure that led to the DT Swiss recall. Of course, those rims are supposedly made in Vietnam, but IDK.
Luesher Teknik has a video on that failure, with an example and you can see the similarities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgDOD994e1E
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That's total BS from elitewheels, I will not consider buying from them again. 80 psi on 32mm is not high at all and well within specs. For example Continental advises a max psi of 85-102 for a 32mm GP5k.
I would do credit card charge back.
Before we all roast elitewheels, can you confirm you purchased from the OFFICAL Ali store store ? There are a couple of sellers running under a similar name.
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That's total BS from elitewheels, I will not consider buying from them again. 80 psi on 32mm is not high at all and well within specs. For example Continental advises a max psi of 85-102 for a 32mm GP5k.
I would do credit card charge back.
Before we all roast elitewheels, can you confirm you purchased from the OFFICAL Ali store store ? There are a couple of sellers running under a similar name.
Yeah, official Elitewheels store. Gave them my Aliexpress order number through email. I’ve been talking to Peter at XMCS about spec-ing a new set of wheels to fit my tires, and he’s been patient and and offering helpful guidance around picking my rims, hubs entry style, spoke hole vs hole-less rims. I definitely think @Serge_K is right about working with an actual person.
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Question: Do you know that the pump/inflation device you are using is correct? That your claimed 80psi, is actually 80psi and not higher?
I recently found out that my 20+ year old Specialized floor pump's gauge is off by about 15psi. A friend of mine uses an expensive digital, calibrated pressure gauge and he recently used my pump. When he used his gauge after filling his tire with my pump, he stated my pumps gauge is off by 15 pounds. 38 pounds is actually 53 psi. I went home and confirmed this with a pressure gauge I have at home.
OTOH, in recent times, I have been filling my carbon rimmed road wheels to 105 psi per my floor pump, which is actually 120 PSI...
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OP posted photos on the FB Chinese bike group. A lot of people think it looked like impact damage. Even Hambini chimed in. :)
Actually Elite Wheels can handle 80psi just fine. I know, I blew up an Elite Wheels rim with a stubborn tubeless tire that wouldn't bead. It'll take at least over 100psi on a 25c tire to blow one up!
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There's a video of the delamination in the op and it's definitely not the same as the one on facebook.
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This is borderline gaslighting. Unless i missed something, the OP told them he only inflated to 80 psi. that's within specs.
Unless i am missing something, Elite is outright trying to scam him.
By no means am I gaslighting, I am on the owners side and I agree 80psi is no where near high enough pressure to cause damage. This is a manufacturer defect that elite is claiming was caused by the 80psi, clearly not true.
Is scamming the right word to use? No, we are just dealing with warranty claims. Almost all brands Chinese or not will look for anything to deny a claim.
Velobuild once told me to epoxy a headset bearing into the frame to make up for the cup being oversized.
They should be more clear if by recommended pressures they actually mean Maximum pressures.
I just went into detail why they are going to try to deny any claim they can. The only brands that give us a “no questions asked” warranty are the ones charging 4-5x the cost of the elites. Unfortunately in this case the owner of the wheels did tell them that he pumped it up to 80psi, so he did technically “exceed recommended pressures” according to their chart. That’s likely enough to deny the claim on their end.
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By no means am I gaslighting, I am on the owners side and I agree 80psi is no where near high enough pressure to cause damage. This is a manufacturer defect that elite is claiming was caused by the 80psi, clearly not true.
Is scamming the right word to use? No, we are just dealing with warranty claims. Almost all brands Chinese or not will look for anything to deny a claim.
Lol. No. This is not the case. Many Chinese OEMs aren't accustomed to offering warranties when they start new brands, as that is typically the responsibility of the brand and extensive warranties are a western thing. However, Specialized IME doesn't reject warranty claims due to reasons unrelated to the issue, because it's illegal in the US and most of Europe to do so. This sets the standards for what they expect in terms of claims. You are either misinformed about this at best or are gaslighting.
If your Specialized dealer is unwilling to process the claim, you can take it to another one and offer them a tip for their work. It does not need to be the original place of purchase. Wahoo and Sram have a rep for basically approving anything. Even crash damage. Yes, the cost of warranties and returns is built into the pricing, but Elite can offer either no warranty or a lesser one, depending on their preference. They chose to offer 3 years with specific terms. Its hard to see how this falls outside of this claim unless there is more extensive damage not shown in the video uploaded here.
No comment on Canyon other than their warranty issues appear to be a significant reason why they are partnering with REI in the USA.
This kind of misinformation is rationalizing poor behavior. It's on the brand to provide proof that the failure is related to misuse or negligence on the owner's part, not the other way around.
It's a lot harder to deal with, but your credit card may also offer warranty protection in addition to chargebacks as a benefit to help you get through issues like this.
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@jjjohn try reaching out to Yuan an wheels who are the parent company of elitewheels. I believe Kelly Lee is the rep from Yuan an who visits this forum - go straight to the source as it might be some junior admin responding to the Ali messages.
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I mean, just cause it's a higher volume and mass of air, doesn't mean the forces on the rim will be any higher. Air pressure is still the same.
That's not correct.
If it was to much for the rim I can't and don't want to tell
But with same pressure on rising tire width the forces are increasing. Which is why you can find for good companies "max pressure x at tire width y"
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You gave them too much info. You should have just told them the wheel was delaminating at normal pressures and it's a defect. I like high pressures too, but running a 32c tire at 80psi seems kinda dumb. I run my tubeless 25c tires at 80psi (or lower), and drop down 10psi each size up. At most I'll run 32c tires at 65psi tops and that's only for the initial tire bead-in. This is another Chinertown moment of FAFO. :)
Bums me out that kicking people while theyre down is what you need to do to feel better
80psi/100kg system weight shouldnt prompt delamination, period
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I was thinking about purchasing these wheels also. I just asked them the max tire pressures and they sent me this list. I couldn’t find it in the Ali store.
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I was thinking about purchasing these wheels also. I just asked them the max tire pressures and they sent me this list. I couldn’t find it in the Ali store.
Yeah, that’s what they sent me
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OP posted photos on the FB Chinese bike group. A lot of people think it looked like impact damage. Even Hambini chimed in. :)
Actually Elite Wheels can handle 80psi just fine. I know, I blew up an Elite Wheels rim with a stubborn tubeless tire that wouldn't bead. It'll take at least over 100psi on a 25c tire to blow one up!
Yeah, not me. I haven't posted anything but the video on this thread. There's another video and a handful of photos I sent to Elitewheels, but those don't show crash damage either. I'd appreciate a link to the group though
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@jjjohn try reaching out to Yuan an wheels who are the parent company of elitewheels. I believe Kelly Lee is the rep from Yuan an who visits this forum - go straight to the source as it might be some junior admin responding to the Ali messages.
My case was handled by a sales manager named Michelle. I'll give this a shot. Thanks!
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Bums me out that kicking people while theyre down is what you need to do to feel better
80psi/100kg system weight shouldnt prompt delamination, period
Okay, I take it back I won't be so mean! Seriously though, in cases like it really just needs to be open and shut. I've had Elite Wheels send me a replacement rim free of charge with something that was my fault, so it's weird they won't honor a rim defect.
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Elitewheels saw this post and reached out to me to honor the warranty contingent on deleting this post. I refused to delete my post, so Elitewheels ghosted me:
We haven't receive your reply about the replace rim , do you have any question about the solution ? if you don't agree with it , you can
You can talk about your demands. We have seen on social media that you are not satisfied with the handling of this customer complaint. We are sorry that this issue has left you dissatisfied. We would like to communicate with you for a better solution
https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,6322.0.html
Me:
I understand that the ENT 2.0 is a value wheelset and margins are limited, so I am not asking for anything unreasonable. I would simply appreciate the wheel being warrantied with a replacement rim. I can handle the rebuild myself, as arranging a warranty wheel build in California is quite expensive. I’d also appreciate some replacement nipples as wheel builders online seem to recommend replacing when re-lacing the spokes for safety
After we applied to our company , we can provide you a new replace rim , some replace nipples can be included , but we hope that you can deleted the bad comments on social media first .
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It is difficult to say that is a quality issues on the product itself , hope you can understanding it .
But this time , we can provide you a new replace rim , after you delect the comment , then tell us , we will start to make it for you , ok ?
Jan 27, 2026, 7:26 PM (2 months ago)
Me:
Thank you for offering a replacement rim and nipples; I’m happy to update my forum thread once the replacement is shipped/received and the issue is resolved, but I can’t delete my post as a condition for warranty support. I understand impacts can spike tire pressure, however I did not have any notable impacts (no pothole strike/curb hit/crash) that should reasonably damage the rim, and the listing describes the pressure as “recommended,” which in English is generally guidance, not a maximum limit that voids warranty. If there is a hard maximum, the product information should state “maximum” clearly so riders know it is not safe to go higher. Please confirm if you can proceed with the replacement and share shipping/tracking when available.
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man, I would remove the post so you can have the wheels shipped to you and then you can see what to do next, I know it's a question of principle but you can always fix it