carbon – Zacksunsang

I was looking forward to selling my previous Lun Hyper wheelset so I could invest in something new. While many overseas companies are fully aboard the carbon-spoke trend, I wanted a more traditional wheel with steel spokes paired with a modern, wider rim. Light Bicycle offered the customization I was looking for—without an overly exorbitant price tag.

The Custom Order

When ordering the wheels, Light Bicycle had a nice interface to show the order status as well as who was working on each stage. The feedback from the point of contact via email whenever a question or concern was raised was very quick.

The order was placed August 7, 2025

It was shipped September 30, 2025

It was delivered October 20, 2025

The Custom Wheels

HUB-F DT SWISS 240 EXP Black 12 / 100mm straight pull Center lock 24H
HUB-R DT SWISS 240 EXP Black 12 / 142mm straight pull Center lock 24H EXP 36 Shimano Road 11S Alloy
Sapim CX Ray
Sapim Brass Black nipples
WR50 disc Standard Hook UD Paintless Disc 24H External Hole With Drain Holes No Access Holes 5 Years
WR50 disc Standard Hook UD Paintless Disc 24H External Hole With Drain Holes No Access Holes 5 Years
Centered (Traditional)

+4 additional spokes

+10% discount for the 14 year anniversary sale

+free 14 year anniversary backpack gift.

$1,223.40

NOTE: Oversees shipping was done via MTS-Sea (Multimodal Transport Service) and UPS handled the delivery upon arrival at the port of Los Angeles. I did not have to pay any additional import tariffs.

The rims look to be very solid. The fairing is solid and no imperfections could be found on the outside. There are some wheels in which you can feel how thin the side of the rim is. That is not the case for these. The holes that were drilled look to be very clean. These rims were not drilled for nipple access holes. Even though it will make nipple replacement a little more challenging, the rim will be just a little more stiff. The finish is also a unique carbon shimmer.

Tires

The tires are GP5000 S 30mm on the rear and GP5000 AS 28mm on the front. The front tire looks like it could have been a little narrower for a more aero rim profile.

Tires measured 32.67mm rear and 30.58mm front with a digital caliper.

Reservations

This wheelset is full custom, with the rim being made to order and then built up. After all this time and energy and money spent, the freehub came with a defect. When the wheel is installed and the axle threaded in, the freehub becomes seized and does not rotate in either direction. The wheel spins smooth otherwise. Turns out the shim/spacer in the freehub was undersized. It rattles when shaken as shown in the picture. This would explain the seizing issue. With the axle threaded, it would compress the freehub due to the gap made by the undersized spacer.

Light Bicycle was unable to provide any input or assistance. DT Swiss however was able to confirm the issue and agreed to send a new freehub body. Just need to wait a little bit longer.

Additionally, with the DT Swiss ratchet patent expired, other companies are already making improvements to the design. For instance, Elite has new hubs with a conical ratchet. DT swiss also has their DEG hubs but this technology has not trickled down into road hubsets yet.

I was also curious why the rear hub lacing was not done perpendicular to the hub for a more tangential and direct torque transfer. Perhaps the increased spoke length was an issue. Or the angled spoke might give the wheel more spring.

Lastly, the rear hub axle is anodized for added durability. However, the front hub axle is not. Light Bicycle was unable to provide any explanation on this.

Update

While waiting for a new freehub to arrive from DTSwiss, I reached out to a local machine shop to see if they could help in sorting out a new spacer of correct dimensions. After sizing everything up, the owner was able to get one made on the spot. The one installed was about 1/8″ too short.

It’s amazing that places like this still exist, albeit they’re under a lot of pressure of being phased out. Once installed, the wheel worked. Support your local industry.

The HB017 is a carbon fiber aero frame and fork. The lines and design of the frame and seatpost are clean; there are no awkward bends or curves. It is what one might think a straight-forward modern aero frame would be. As with other modern aero framesets, the assembly is fully integrated, meaning the cables are all hidden inside the frame and this can easily lead to assembly issues, particularly when building a non-brand bike.

With internally routed aero bikes, the cables from the levers run inside the frame as do the cables from the derailleurs. The one-piece handlebar and stem component that is compatible with the frame was purchased separately. However, it did not fit my geometry nor was it at an aesthetically pleasing angle. The angle of the stem was 6 degrees, and I was going for a zero degree stem. The aftermarket for building integrated bikes is limited. Bike companies like specialized, Willier, Cannondale, and any other commercial brands have their own designs that are not cross-compatible. There are after-market options but these are often hundreds of dollars, far more than I was willing to spend.

With the limited availability of compatible parts, I decided that the BMC integrated stem would work, as it is available in different sizes and for a reasonable price. The details of this build are described below.

The Frameset

The frameset was purchased from Aliexpress. The geometry was acceptable. The frameset included all parts, including seatpost, stem, and handlebars.

Aero Cockpit

I intended to build an aero bike with the fully integrated handlebars and ordered the handlebars that were compatible with the frame.

The stem angle of these bars was higher than I wanted. Something visually unpleasing and less aero. Due to the nature of the internal routing through the headset, using a different stem is simplified if the headset hardware, including the spacers could still be reused. Fortunately, I found out the BMC stem has a similar cross section at the steerer as the existing headset. The BMC stem also has a better stem angle, 12.5 degrees. This matches the slope of the top tube which is aesthetically pleasing.

There are additional benefits of having a separate stem and handlebar: handlebar mounting accessories for round cross-sections, adjustable handlebar pitch, and the option of changing the stem. I used a generic carbon road handlebar and routed the cables from the outside of the bar, under the stem, and through the spacers, into the frame.

The Complete Bike

Tag: carbon

Light Bicycle WR50 Wheelset