Elite Wheels / Aliexpress / Trace Velo

[Queen of Skulls]

Got my alix elite wheels... ent with the xweave... woot.. in great condition... question are they supposed to have one hole on one side of each of the wheels? its my first carbon set so I am asking.

[MovinMamba]

Got my alix elite wheels... ent with the xweave... woot.. in great condition... question are they supposed to have one hole on one side of each of the wheels? its my first carbon set so I am asking.

Yea its to allow water to get out of the inside of the rim

[Fat Larry]

As commented already, unless their packaging is too weak, it is not really Elite Wheels fault.

Nah that's not how it works. I see this attitude a lot buying stuff from China. Its just the seller shifting the shipping responsibility to the buyer in an effort to keep their money. The seller is the client of the shipping company. Its on them to make sure it gets to the buyer and in usable condition. Not the other way around.

Someone buying something for money is supposed to receive that thing in working order and the thing is supposed to do what it says it does to a high degree. That is the essence of an honest market transaction. Anything else is chicanery.

On another tack, i've had my negative reviews disappear from Ali. I bought a steerer extender that in no way was up to the task it was supposedly designed for and would have been dangerous to use. Left a review stating as such and it was gone in a few months.

[Fat Larry]

Sorry been away for a few days just saw this comment. I am speaking out to help the community not just bash someone. Update on my situation is Paypal now requires you to ship the damaged goods back to Aliexpress despite the cost coming out of your pocket. So Elite Wheels said not our problem its Aliexpress's problem and Aliexpress gave a lowball offer to keep the $505.03 wheels or me pay on my dime to return the destroyed wheels back to China. Paypal* said the same thing so I started a Visa chargeback today as I'm not losing a dime to poorly packaged/shipped items.

No problem here it is.

Good. If you're in a country with proper consumer laws you should get your money back no problem.

[Tijoe]

I started purchasing from Aliexpress in 2011.  I have complete over 200 purchases from Aliexpress (At least $15K in items, not all Bicycle related, but the majority).  Over the years I have had 6 total "bad transactions" and only one where I lost money.  3 of the bad transactions were where the seller never shipped the items, and I had to have Aliexpress cancel the transaction and refund my money.  2 were claimed to be lost packages, and the seller shipped out a new order.    The worst transaction was with "Trifox" about a year ago.  I purchased a 29er carbon fork from them, it took about a month for them to ship the item, and 6 weeks for it to be delivered.   This was during Covid times.    The box arrived beat up, but the fork appeared to be intact.   Upon inspection, I saw that the fork tube was defective and had a big gouge in it right where the lower bearing sits. 
I was told they would send me a replacement when I sent the defective one back.  (Shipping to China was going to cost more than I paid for the fork.)  I complained to Aliexpress, and they offered a $40 credit.   I ended up taking the credit and ate the loss.   I use the fork now for test riding bike builds before putting on a suspension fork.

Regarding Elite Wheels.  I have purchased wheel sets from them without any problems.  (They used to have great sale prices before Covid.)   My Brother purchased a set from them a year ago and the box arrived beat to *hit, but the wheels were not damaged.

I stopped purchasing from Elite Wheels because they told me they were back-ordered on the wheels I wanted, so I purchased from CLANNAD for basically the same wheels/rims.

[jonathanf2]

I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!

[Takiyaki]

Sorry about your experience OP. Just wanted to report another positive experience with Elite Wheels. I bought a pair of 60mm rim brake clinchers on Amazon. They look and work great, no issues so far.

[1Sigma]

I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!

Yea, where possible,  I always buy direct from the company if they have a site,  like Elite.  Even better if you can get from a local distributor who can handle warranty claims #shamelessplug

[autumnarch]

You are offering nothing in this thread.

Im super late to this thread, but dang it made for an interesting read over coffee this morning.  But I actually think VeloVelo's feedback to you is pretty spot on; he was offering a pretty good hot take on your issue with Trace Velo. 

It seems like your beef is with Aliepress/Elite/Paypal...leave Trace Velo out of it.  Even if he isnt directly sponsored by Elite, its obvious his Youtube channel is there to make some money.  He will probably have a harder time getting those sponsors if his comment section is filled with negative anecdotes. 

Kudos to VeloVelo for putting in the effort to push back on this.  I think its fine if Boost3782 wants to write about his experience with Elite...but what the eff does Trace Velo have to do with any of it?  His comment section is not the place to air your grievances, and he should delete your comments if he feels it clashes with his business plans.  And at the end of the day, it sounds like Boost got their money back (or at least most of it?)...but is still out there throwing shade on Trace Velo for something that had nothing to do with the youtube channel.  It really does seem like a childish response.  Keep your feedback directed to the players involved in the transaction and you would have been fine.

[carbonazza]

...His comment section is not the place to air your grievances, and he should delete your comments if he feels it clashes with his business plans...

Kind of sad realisation for the naive me that  comments on YT could be deleted.
An editor who wants only happy people, can turn the comments off.

Unless someone is trolling the thread. Shouldn't a negative comment be eventually neutralised by counter comments but not deleted?
So a reader can judge.
If there are only a few negative ones. Or they seem inappropriate. They won't have an impact.
I've seen many videos with negative comments that were debated.

[Queen of Skulls]

It seems like your beef is with Aliepress/Elite/Paypal...leave Trace Velo out of it.  Even if he isnt directly sponsored by Elite, its obvious his Youtube channel is there to make some money.  He will probably have a harder time getting those sponsors if his comment section is filled with negative anecdotes. 

My only beef with trace velo is that he is dishonest with a few things like the cost of the bikes. Well I guess its not dishonest that it was his cost in 2019 but it is imply that its the cost  of the bike now... If he is dishonest about that. what other things is he dishonest about... He needs to be full clear about how much things cost. then and now. if you say something is 100 but in reality its now 150... you need to be using current prices at filming and editing. I know its not a big thing. But it bothers me. and I am kinda turned off to him because of it. As a reviewer you need to give good honest results/ cost/ opinions. So he is now with a grain of salt. a big grain.

[coffeebreak]

Has anyone been able to replicate the costs like he says? I am always surprised at the prices in his videos. They are quite low as opposed to what you have to shell out in real life. I see his $1500 build, go to AliExpress only to find that the same build will cost me 2k+ :S His gravel build using ICAN frame he got for GBP530 ($640~) is actually $850. Same for other components and this is not even 2019. The gravel video is from May of 2022.

[juckts]

I read this thread in one go and it really makes me sad how some users "attack" the OP.

He had a bad experience and he wanted to make other people aware of something shady going on. He has proof of it. This takes a lot of effort/ mental energy and we should thank him for the courage. It´s even more remarkable to stand up for it multiple times. There is nothing to personally gain for him. If everybody in the world would act with this integrity there would be much less fraud.

What is wrong with your morals? People (Influencer) who pretend to be honest but are proven to be dishonest have to be blamed. Period. Good behavior does not legitimate bad behavior. What happens on TraceVelo youtube channel is called censorship. It happens onedirectional in favour of a presented brand. It makes me sick to see how people got blinded by capitalism and call it childish behavior if someone stands up for the right thing. It´s not "the internet" and it´s not "aliexpress". It is always people who act behind it. And they must be called by their bullshit.


After all, aren´t you here because you´ve been pushed away from the mainstream bike industry with bought reviews and poor magazine articles?
The same is happening now with many influencers. Wake up.

During the years I have followed many people on instagram and youtubers growing their presence. Some from 100 followers to 100K. Building a business. And when they make the move and quit their day job and start living the dream many throw their morals overboard. Changing the opinion like the flag in the wind.

Of course one can do whatever he wants on his channel as long as it is legal and compliant to platform policies. Still it is consumer deception if someone markets products and does not disclose the affiliation.

I watched almost every TraceVelo youtube video and I really liked his stuff. I always was astonished by his cost rundowns and tried to reproduce his cost. Never got close to it. Never saw any real negative comments on the videos. I was skeptical but just left it that way.


Huge disappointment.

[jonathanf2]

I recently had an issue with my front disc carbon wheel and I contacted Elite Wheels via Amazon (where I bought them). I sent pictures and the serial number. Since my wheels were still under the 1000 day warranty coverage, they said they would send me a new front wheel. Unfortunately it seems their production is backed up and they're shipping wheels as they get built. So there's a 12-14 day wait. I probably won't see the wheel until next year, but I'm wondering if buying through Amazon made them more responsive regarding warranty coverage? I'm a bit paranoid buying wheels from AliExpress and I'd rather pay a little extra and get my wheels within the same week from a local distribution warehouse. Anyways, crossing fingers I get my new wheel!

UPDATE: I just want to respond to my own customer service interaction with Elite Wheels. I eventually received a replacement rim with no hub or spokes. I was hoping to get a new front wheel and thankfully my old hub+spokes were still good. I had to go to my local LBS and luckily they cut me a discount for the hub+spoke transfer to the new rim (I noticed my friend's bike in the shop and mentioned I was the one who referred her). Anyways, they followed through with their warranty service, but they should have asked if my hub/spokes were still in working order. I'd rate their service probably an 8/10 with room to improve. Though, I'm wondering if they were more prompt to respond since I was an Amazon customer versus an AliExpress customer?

[abedfo]

I read this thread in one go and it really makes me sad how some users "attack" the OP.

He had a bad experience and he wanted to make other people aware of something shady going on. He has proof of it. This takes a lot of effort/ mental energy and we should thank him for the courage. It´s even more remarkable to stand up for it multiple times. There is nothing to personally gain for him. If everybody in the world would act with this integrity there would be much less fraud.

What is wrong with your morals? People (Influencer) who pretend to be honest but are proven to be dishonest have to be blamed. Period. Good behavior does not legitimate bad behavior. What happens on TraceVelo youtube channel is called censorship. It happens onedirectional in favour of a presented brand. It makes me sick to see how people got blinded by capitalism and call it childish behavior if someone stands up for the right thing. It´s not "the internet" and it´s not "aliexpress". It is always people who act behind it. And they must be called by their bullshit.


After all, aren´t you here because you´ve been pushed away from the mainstream bike industry with bought reviews and poor magazine articles?
The same is happening now with many influencers. Wake up.

During the years I have followed many people on instagram and youtubers growing their presence. Some from 100 followers to 100K. Building a business. And when they make the move and quit their day job and start living the dream many throw their morals overboard. Changing the opinion like the flag in the wind.

Of course one can do whatever he wants on his channel as long as it is legal and compliant to platform policies. Still it is consumer deception if someone markets products and does not disclose the affiliation.

I watched almost every TraceVelo youtube video and I really liked his stuff. I always was astonished by his cost rundowns and tried to reproduce his cost. Never got close to it. Never saw any real negative comments on the videos. I was skeptical but just left it that way.


Huge disappointment.

I actually bought some Siroko bibshorts based on "his glowing reviews". Unfortunately they were absolute dogshit because the cuff around the thigh was baggy like a pair of Hawaiian shorts. I posted a critical comment on one of his videos saying the shorts arent that great......i just checked back to see if the comment is there and no it isn't !

I like Luke and often have conversed with him on youtube and I dont think he is a dishonest guy. Obviously he/someone feels that in the interests of the companies who pay the bills they should be protected. It is what it is.