All Reviews

Hi all,

After a bit of a delay, I’m finally sharing my first impressions of a prototype gravel wheelset from XM Carbonspeed. I had a chance to chat with Peter from XMCS at Eurobike and received the wheels at a discounted rate in exchange for providing honest feedback here.

Unboxing & Initial Impressions
• Finish: Matte satin surface, golden water-transfer logos, raw titanium spokes, black hubs and nipples – very clean, high-end look.
• Rim profile: 42 mm outer / 33 mm inner width. Looks massive at first glance, but pairs surprisingly well with 40–45 mm tires and creates a smooth aero transition.
• Build quality: Excellent. The internal finish is flawless – no carbon debris, resin residue or visible imperfections.

Measured Weight (kitchen scale)
• Front: 615 g
• Rear (HG freehub): 720 g
• Total: 1,335 g

The XDR version is ~3 g lighter. Very impressive numbers for such wide rims with titanium spokes. XMCS claims T1100 carbon – which could explain the low weight, assuming durability holds up.

Tubeless Setup
• Tape: Buckless 35 mm
• Valves: Buckless aluminum
• Sealant: Schwalbe Doc Blue (60 ml front / 65 ml rear)
• Tires: Tufo Gravel Thundero – front 40 mm, rear 44 mm (both used)

Setup was straightforward – both tires seated immediately with a Tyre Booster.

Measured Tire Widths (@32 psi, compared to Zipp 303s)
• Front: 39.6 mm → 43.6 mm
• Rear: 43.3 mm → 47.6 mm

Next Steps
I’ll be testing them further on my custom titanium gravel bike – visually a perfect match. Ride impressions to follow soon.

If you have any questions or want specific feedback, feel free to ask!

I love the light blue jersey which fits just perfect and feels quite nice. All the other Spexcel clothes i tried didnt fit at all.

Unfortunately some of the chinese brands are not for taller and bigger people.
I havent tried Cheji yet as they dont even list my heigth as possible in their specifications.
Spexcel also tends to be too small. But some items fit just perfect.

I love the light blue jersey which fits just perfect and feels quite nice.

All the other Spexcel clothes i tried didnt fit at all.

Sharing my recent experience with Tagoola, ordered two wheelsets from them through AliExpress:

Aeroraptor ALL ROAD, 24mm internal, 32.6mm external, 40mm deep with CX Ray spokes:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005008351886354.html
Weight came in at around 1460g with rim tape, if I recall correctly - seems in line with the 1430g advertised (without tape)
The wheels are mounted on my Waltly custom all road with 38mm supple tires and TPU tubes.
Shaved off almost 600g versus my previous aluminum wheels with durable tires.
Asked for no decals, shipped with tubeless valves and two spare spokes.
Rim bed has holes, which is fine for me and is covered with Kapton like tape.
Wheels are true, excellent ride feel for an all road bike.
After some vouchers and with the seller's shipping method that includes delivery & tax for shipping to Europe, Germany, I paid slightly below 400 EUR.
At this price this is an excellent set of wheels for all road and gravel bikes.

Aeroraptor RP PRO, 23.5mm internal, 31mm external, 45mm deep
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005009041517854.html
Opted for the steel bearings, weight is 1177g (with rim tape) vs the 1160g advertised without tape
Wheels are mounted on a BMC Roadmachine and shaved off almost 400g over my previous 50mm carbon wheel with steel spokes (Scribe Aero, 4 years old).
Same as above: requested no decals and spare spokes (2 shipped), rim bed with holes and covered with Kapton like tape.
This is my first carbon spoke wheelset (spoke width 3.5mm), I would not say it is a harsh ride feel, but it feels less compliant as steel spokes.
On the other hand, because of less weight and the stiff spokes, the wheels feel more stiff when accelerating and more lively when riding and cornering compared to my previous wheelset.
After vouchers and with seller's shipping method (including delivery & tax to Europe, Germany) these were <600 EUR.

Can not speak much about crosswind performance or long term relaibility, only done a few rides on each of the wheels.
Communication with Matter and the team was excellent and prompt.
Hard to believe there are better wheels, most definitely not at this price point - clear recommendation from my side.

Sharing my recent experience with Tagoola, ordered two wheelsets from them through AliExpress:

Aeroraptor RP PRO, 23.5mm internal, 31mm external, 45mm deep
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005009041517854.html
Opted for the steel bearings, weight is 1177g (with rim tape) vs the 1160g advertised without tape
Wheels are mounted on a BMC Roadmachine and shaved off almost 400g over my previous 50mm carbon wheel with steel spokes (Scribe Aero, 4 years old).
Same as above: requested no decals and spare spokes (2 shipped), rim bed with holes and covered with Kapton like tape.
This is my first carbon spoke wheelset (spoke width 3.5mm), I would not say it is a harsh ride feel, but it feels less compliant as steel spokes.
On the other hand, because of less weight and the stiff spokes, the wheels feel more stiff when accelerating and more lively when riding and cornering compared to my previous wheelset.
After vouchers and with seller's shipping method (including delivery & tax to Europe, Germany) these were <600 EUR.

Can not speak much about crosswind performance or long term relaibility, only done a few rides on each of the wheels.
Communication with Matter and the team was excellent and prompt.
Hard to believe there are better wheels, most definitely not at this price point - clear recommendation from my side.

I also use the XXX (paid 16euros for a couple some years ago) and they scuffed my bottle. But I never lose a bottle!

Not super light 17-18gr but holds the bottle perfect and they are strong, its easy to get the bottle in and out wile biking.