Quote from: BeR on September 23, 2026, 03:38:28 AM
It is a SL9 looks like frame. Pictures attached.

Man I must say the bottom bracket area on that does not look properly reinforced. I'd be hesitant to buy it just off of this observation. Not sure if it would be stiff enough...

Quote from: hillclimber on August 27, 2026, 01:08:00 AM
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.

Received my wheelset, installed and went on 20 mile test ride. First impressions I'm quite impressed by the quality. Firstly, thanks to everyone on the forum for sharing all the useful info on Zen. I'm sharing some of my thoughts after my first ride with them. To prefix my thoughts below I must say that I consider myself a casual rider and these are my first set of carbon wheels. My FTP hovers around 240w-280w (based on the time of the year lol), I don't race and I don't really have a sprint to test stiffness.


Pictures
Box


Packed wheel


Weight


On Bike


Unboxing and Installation
The wheelset came well packed in a cardboard box which included rim tape and tubeless valves. There was no damage to the box or any of the contents. These came out to exactly 1264g on my scale which was exactly what was discussed with Zara. I measured internal width of 25.23mm (vs 25mm advertised) and widest external to be 33.45mm (vs 34mm advertised). Imo the UD matte finish is more satin than matte and it glimmers very nicely when it catches the light just right. Tire installation for my 28mm GP5000 was quite easy and didn't require tire levers. 28mm GP5000 measured 30.37mm when installed and fit on my Tarmac SL6 with >= 4mm on each side (measured with a hex key). My Cyclami TPU tubes with 60mm metal valves have no issues with these 50mm deep rims. There's plenty valve showing to mount my track pump.

Rims
When doing my research on various carbon layups and wheel types, I found some info about T1000 and T1100 rims flexing when trying to press them with a finger (for ex about the XMCS 26mm rim) but on this wheelset which is also advertised as T1100, there is no flex at all. Keep in mind I went with the "Race" or "UXL" layup and not the "Extreme Ultralight" or "SUXL" layup.

Hubs and Spokes
The R261 hubs seem very well made and imo aren't loud. I didn't measure spoke tension but they seem consistent and the wheel is properly balanced.

First Ride Impressions
I went on a 20 mile ride with some rolling hills with these. It was quite a windy day today and I must say I noticed the 50mm depth catch the wind at times. But it didn't feel unsafe or I was being pushed into traffic. I guess the U shaped rim is helping with that? I've never ridden 50mm deeps before so can't comment whether this wheelset is better than others with crosswinds. In terms of comfort I didn't feel any harshness when compared with my old alloy rims.

Conclusion
All in all, I'm quite pleased with this purchase and am looking forward to see how they hold up over time. I've also purchased a pair of cranks from Zara and will share a review on them when they're here.

I reached out to SPCycle to ask whether it was possible to order this frame. Maybe they can't list it publicly but are still offering it privately? I thought it was worth a try... But this was their response: "The R098 frame mold has been bought out. We will be listing new models soon." Let's wait and see what this new frame is.

I haven't seen a lot of discussion on here about Zen carbon cranks. Specifically, BC03 cranks with 24mm Titanium spindle that come out to 300g. These chinese cranks (Cybrei, Elilee, Leese, Bigrock, etc) all look very similar so I suspect they're made from an open mould design and probably in the same factory. But searching around I couldn't find any that are 300g. Only Zen seems to be offering these and all the other brands seem to bottom out at 310g for this design. Anyways, I've gone ahead and order a pair. Was quoted $290 shipped to the US. Will report back once I receive them.

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.