Hambini - AliExpress's Carbon Wheels - What's the Compromise? Superteam H2 vs 9Velo

Description

Welcome back you glorious wheel sniffing degenerates. In this episode, I’m putting the Superteam H2 wheels under the microscope (and the abuse) to see how they stack up against the 9Velo CD Wide set.

Superteam are the kings of “looks fast, costs £500,” while 9Velo sit a few notches up the Chinese food chain with tighter tolerances, titanium bits, and QC that doesn’t look like it was done by a hungover intern.

We’ll cover:
• Rim design, sharkskin aero gimmicks, and whether they actually do sod all
• Hub quality, spoke fit, and why half a millimetre of run out makes your bike buzz like a washing machine
• The “engineering breakdown by Hambini aged five” including glorious PowerPoint diagrams and mild profanity
• Why cheap doesn’t always mean crap, but usually still means “not quite round”

Expect graphs, ranting, swearing, and the sort of brutal honesty that gets me banned from Facebook groups.

👉 Full aero data, vibration plots, and Patreon only nerd charts: https://www.patreon.com/hambini

👉 Follow the chaos on Instagram: @Hambinieng www.instagram.com/hambinieng

👉 Follow the chaos on Facebook: @Hambinieng www.facebook.com/hambinieng

👉 Merch and titanium bottom brackets: https://www.hambini.com

Superteam Wheels https://superteamwheels.com/discount/HAMBINI

DISCOUNT CODE: HAMBINI Gives you 5% off

NOTE THE ABOVE IS NOT, I REPEAT NOT AN Affiliate Link.

#SuperteamH2 #9Velo #ChineseWheels #AliExpress #Cycling #Hambini #WheelReview #Engineering #AeroTesting #BudgetVsPremium

Bike part mentions in this video

9Velo 2025 Road Disc Carbon Spoke CD Wide Series 20H/20H (24mm inner wide)

Created: November 05, 2025

The reviewer discusses the 9Velo CD Wide Series wheels as a premium Chinese alternative to budget wheels like Super Team. They describe these wheels as having excellent mechanical integrity, superior hub design with complete spoke retention, cross-lacing on both sides for stiffness, titanium freehub, and better aerodynamic spokes than competitors. The reviewer states these are the best wheels around and considers them worth the higher price point due to unseen quality differences.

AI-Summary

Pros

  • Excellent mechanical integrity
  • Superior hub design with complete spoke retention
  • Cross-lacing on both sides making them quite stiff
  • Titanium freehub that shows no wear after extensive use
  • More aerodynamic spokes than competitors (30-40% wider)
  • Better fit between bearing and hub
  • Zero run-out at the hub periphery
  • Minimal inherent vibration

Cons

  • Higher cost compared to budget alternatives

Key Points

  • Carbon spokes that are 30-40% wider than Super Team spokes
  • Cross-laced on both sides front and rear
  • Titanium freehub with ratchet ring on the inside
  • Complete spoke retention system prevents spokes from popping out
  • Uniform rim section without ripple pattern
  • Metal nipples
  • Better bearing-to-hub fit
  • Used as benchmark for premium Chinese wheels
ACTIVE
9velo.com
🇺🇸
$1,289.00
Rating there:
5.0 (4 reviews)
Last checked:
21 days
ago

SUPERTEAM S-ALL Carbon Ultra H2 D30-50 Disc Brake Special Edition

Created: November 05, 2025

The reviewer provides a detailed analysis of the Super Team H2 wheels, which appear to be the same product as the SUPERTEAM S-ALL Carbon Ultra H2 D30-50 Disc Brake Special Edition. They state these are cheap Chinese wheels available from AliExpress, Alibaba, and the Super Team website for around £500-£800. The reviewer went into the analysis expecting them to be garbage but found they were actually decent for the money. The wheels feature a wavy rim profile similar to Princeton Carbon Works, a shark skin texture for aerodynamics, carbon spokes, a 54-tooth ratchet hub with lightening holes, and come with a quality control certificate, spare spokes, and valve extenders. While not perfect, the reviewer concludes most people would be pleased with them.

AI-Summary

Pros

  • Cheap/affordable (around £500-£800)
  • Decent for the money
  • Good specification
  • Aerodynamics are good
  • Comes with quality control label and inspection chart
  • Includes spare spokes, manual, and valve extenders
  • Not heavy (739g rear, 613g front)
  • Pretty decent for the money
  • Most people will be pretty pleased with the wheels

Cons

  • Chinese to English translation in manual is poor/comical
  • Shark skin aerodynamics are unproven/overexaggerated
  • Hub has mechanical run-out causing inherent vibration
  • Spoke retention in hub is poor - spokes can pop out with minimal movement
  • Rim tape is rubbish and folds over when mounting tires
  • Rim bed profile may not allow tubeless tire use
  • Not the absolute lightest wheels
  • Spokes are narrower than premium alternatives (30-40% less aerodynamic)
  • Spoke positioning not as wide as it could be
  • Higher spoke tension makes wheels stiffer and influences critical speed/wobble

Key Points

  • Wavy rim profile similar to Princeton Carbon Works
  • Shark skin texture on rim surface
  • Carbon spokes
  • 54-tooth ratchet hub mechanism
  • Hooked rim
  • Radially laced on non-drive side, cross-laced on disc brake side
  • Weight: 739g rear, 613g front
  • 33mm wide
  • Includes quality control documentation
  • Hub has lightening holes cut out
  • Ceramic no-name bearings
  • Prices on Super Team website include all taxes
ACTIVE
9velo.com
🇺🇸
$1,289.00
Rating there:
5.0 (4 reviews)
Last checked:
21 days
ago
ACTIVE
superteamwheels.com
🇺🇸
$1,019.15
Last checked:
21 days
ago