I was looking around on eBay, and noticed a whole lot of cheap no-name carbon wheelsets from China and Taiwan. These sets are like $3-500 with Novatech hubs. Just curious if anyone has tried these and if they are any good. I'm not talking about Zipp quality, but at least far better than stock boat anchor aluminum clinchers that come with most new road bikes. I was thinking about maybe trying a set in a few months, or getting a used set of HED Jets or Topolinos or something. Mostly I would like something that is more aero and with a smoother ride than my Mavic CXP22s.

I'm using a generic 50mm tubular on the rear for racing. So far so good. I asked some other buyers before I bought and the few I talked to were quite satisfied. Not a big sample, I admit.

If you are talking about carbon clinchers, I would recommend you search Velonews for their discussion about a month or two ago about this topic (I believe it was in Leonard Zinn's column). The problems with braking and delamination with the heat from braking were addressed by someone from Zipp, and it would make me very leery of wheels with uncertain provenance
You are probably OK with tubulars, but even then I would be reluctant to go there. One good high speed crash will use up your savings in copays in short order.

Once you go boyd, you never go back

You don't say?!?!

Aren't a lot of the brand name carbon rims made in Taiwan? If I recall, Taiwan has a very strong CF industry.

J.

I'm thinking hard about disc hubs in tubulars lately...

Search function will give you a few threads about this. I remember asking about eBay wheels when I was in the market. Glad I waited for a good deal, ended up with a pair of zipps at a great price.

https://velobuild.com/

There is a very long tread on WW about this. Most had good luck, there was one that boiled the resin on the braking track. IMO carbon should be left for the pros that can afford to throw them away.

Buy them, buy carbon specific pads, ride them, enjoy them. They won't explode unless you overheat them. And you won't overheat them if you know how to properly brake on a descent. (Short pulses, NOT long sustained grabs.)

exactly. carbon fiber is well understood.

J.

Zipp fixed the problem more with their brake pads than with their rims. I'm using Zipp pads on my Boyd carbon wheels.

"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

I have had good luck with mine. Get some good tires and good brake pads.