Concept 50mm Carbon Clinchers

[hdp_gmx]

I still have a huge smile on my face from my ride yesterday through the cradle

 

Lets start at the beginning, I was looking for a nice set of wheels to put on my recently completed Bianchi and i was looking at quite a few options from high-end Alloy clinchers (Campy Shamal's which i have ridden) to second hand Zipp's (i have ridden the pre-firecrest 404s and though they were nice) I had a look on the hub and saw the wheels that CCD were offering and of the local options available they looked like a good choice. I phoned CCD on Saturday (5 Jan) early afternoon and asked him if he had a set of his 50mm clinchers that i could take out for a test ride through the cradle on Sunday. He had no objections and told me that i could come pick them up a bit later the same day.

 

When i got there he handed me a brand new set of wheels out of the box, obviously i was very surprised, it does not happen often that somebody wil give you a set of wheels to test much less a brand new set no questions asked. The first thing that i noticed when i took the wheels out of the sleeves was the build quality - superb! I have seen "Big Name Brand" wheels that did not have the finish these wheels had. The decals are under the clear-coat and the clear-coat itself had no blemishes or inconstancies.

 

The hubs are very good quality and the rear wheel has oversized flanges that will stiffen up the wheel significantly, the freehub ratchet sound is prominent, just the way i like it reminds me of the Hope hubs i had on my MTB. The spokes are bladed J bend which is nice as they will not rotate with the nipples like my mavics (which irritates the cr*p out of me) and you end up having spokes that slowly twist and go from aero to 4mm wide rotating air brakes The rims had rim tape fitted and he also handed me a set of skewers and pads to use.

 

I put the stuff in a my boot and had a look at the MTB frames he also does and I must say they are very nice; chunky great finish and the geometry is spot on! Going to be building up an MTB again soon and i know where i am getting my frame Next i asked if i could see his road frames and even though he had lots of guests over had no issue taking the extra time to show it to me. Same went for the road frame very nicely made geometry is also a winner and the part that really got to me was the fact that his bike weighed almost as much as my Bianchi but cost half Mental note - WE are forking out way too much cash just for a name

 

CCD had no issue with me leaving with a brand new set of his wheels without even as much as a deposit, all he had to say was that i should enjoy them and to let him know how it went. When i got home i mounted some tires, swapped the pads and did frequent trips between the bike and living room as they really did look great on my bike. That unfortunately had to come to an end when my wife started complaining that i should "sit still now" heheh

 

Next morning i headed out to the KFC by BA and hit the road... First thing that i noticed right off the bat was how smoothed the wheels felt and how nicely they rolled, i had to hold back a bit just to get the legs warmed up. The climb up Cedar would be their first real test to see how they react on the steep and they felt great; didnt feel sluggish at all. I kept my power under 350w and there was no sign of flex in the wheels, so far so good

 

By now i was itching to see what they would do at sustained higher speeds (getting a hint on the Cedar downhill i definitely picked up speed more quickly than with my Mavic Elite's) and on the section after the chicken farm upto the t-junction i got them whirring nicely. Would say i started feeling the aero benefit from around 32 - 35 kph and i could definitely keep the speedo at 46 - 50 with less effort than the Mavics and having ridden the pre-firecrest (alloy braking surface) Zipp 404s i would say on par with those at least.

 

My next test would be to gauge flex with high in seat power with a slight step up when standing over one of the rolling hills going west in the cradle. I pushed 700w seated keeping my speed above 40kph and no brake rub stood up and increased the wattage to around 860w still no issues things were really looking good! My mavic elites had rub issues at those wattages plus me weighing in at 86kg didnt help the cause either.

 

Next test would be to see how they do up a longer climb and i headed up sterkies to the robot at the top, again they did not disappoint, not once did they feel sluggish and to be honest i could not feel much of a difference up there between them and my Mavics to back this up the watt <-> speed relation i did up there looked pretty much the same between the two sets. Chalk up another point for the Concepts

 

My final test would be to see how they handle mid climb accelerations and as i headed up the climb going back east through the cradle just after the white tiger i accelerated from 17kph halfway up to 30kph and kept that till i reached the top, the wheels responded instantly and picked up speed very quickly, quicker than the 404s (pre firecrest alloy braking surface) to me they felt sluggish with sudden changes of pace, with the Concepts i felt none of that.

 

Only thing that did not score 100% was the braking (nothing major), although the stopping power was great - initially there was a bit of inconsistency in feel (grab, let go, grab) but that seemed to get better as the ride progressed and it is not uncommon for carbon clinchers to feel like that. I am going to try a set of Reynolds Cryo Blue pads to see how they feel, will report back as soon as i have done so.

 

I was sold on the Concepts; little or no flex, 2 year warranty​ as oppsoed to the one year the other guys offer, great aero performance and as an added bonus they look quite nice on the Bianchi. when i got back to the car i sent CCD an SMS asking for his bank details

 

Great wheels and at the price, IMHO, a much better option than a tired 2 or 3 year old set of Zipps; you play less, they perform just as well, plus you have a two year warranty... No brainer really

[Jakkals.]

good feedback.

[LOOK695]

Would be interesting if you could get a loan Firecrest set and do a comparison ride. Nice review. What is the weight limit of the wheels?

[hdp_gmx]

Would be interesting if you could get a loan Firecrest set and do a comparison ride. Nice review. What is the weight limit of the wheels?

 

That would be interesting yes as i believe the firecrest is a nice step up i.e an 404 'crest is = 808 in pre-'crest i read somewhere. The Concepts can handle a 120kg rider and CCD has such a rider using them so its not a theoretical limit

 

Limit details last point listed:

http://www.conceptcycles-sa.com/wheels.php

[LOOK695]

 

 

That would be interesting yes as i believe the firecrest is a nice step up i.e an 404 'crest is = 808 in pre-'crest i read somewhere. The Concepts can handle a 120kg rider and CCD has such a rider using them so its not a theoretical limit

Have they got different stickers that are more "stealth"

[divernick]

It was a lekker ride, pity I forgot to get the group photo - you looking all pro and me in my MTB kit and vintage steel SS....hehe

[hdp_gmx]

Have they got different stickers that are more "stealth"

 

He can do them for you in whatever you like it will just take a bit longer

[hdp_gmx]

It was a lekker ride, pity I forgot to get the group photo - you looking all pro and me in my MTB kit and vintage steel SS....hehe

Hehe indeed we can take one next time

[Cheese]

I also have a set of these and agree with everything although I must say not sure I put out 860W.

 

My Decals look a bit different though.

Will put picture up if I know how to.

[hdp_gmx]

I also have a set of these and agree with everything although I must say not sure I put out 860W.

 

My Decals look a bit different though.

Will put picture up if I know how to.

 

Just click 'more reply options' and there will be a button for you to choose a file

hehe, I can reach 1200w-1300w if i sprint for a few seconds but my legs were still singing to me from the ride i did on Saturday so i didn't go completely flat out

[Cheese]

Just click 'more reply options' and there will be a button for you to choose a file

hehe, I can reach 1200w-1300w if i sprint for a few seconds but my legs were still singing to me from the ride i did on Saturday so i didn't go completely flat out

[LOOK695]

Just click 'more reply options' and there will be a button for you to choose a file

hehe, I can reach 1200w-1300w if i sprint for a few seconds but my legs were still singing to me from the ride i did on Saturday so i didn't go completely flat out

Let us know how the wheels sing once your legs start talking again

[hdp_gmx]

Let us know how the wheels sing once your legs start talking again

hehe cool will do

 

@cheese - those decals look quite nice too

[Leonard]

Thanks for the review and feednback. Much appreciated.

 

P.S. hdp_gmx, you have the 2013 logo/decals on your wheels.

Cheese has the previous generation decals.

Both are available and can be customized to your needs.

[Leonard]

Have they got different stickers that are more "stealth"

 

Hi Look695

 

I can customize the logo for you.

Drop me a PM if you are interested.

[hdp_gmx]

P.S. hdp_gmx, you have the 2013 logo/decals on your wheels.

Cheese has the previous generation decals.

Both are available and can be customized to your needs.

 

Great thanks CCD, i like the 2013 logos