A customer brought in a pair of front and rear wheels with carbon spokes from a brand called Nepest
a model called NOVA.
The rim heights for the front and rear wheels come in 35/35mm, 45/45mm,
55/55mm, 66/66mm, and
45/55mm combinations, but
this wheel set is 45/45mm.
According to the customer, this wheel set was purchased
because influencers were recommending it left and right,
but it doesn't roll well at all—a shocking discovery.
The poor rolling performance isn't just "that's how it is"—
they're concerned that maybe they got unlucky with spoke tension,
or there's something actually wrong with it,
so they wanted me to check it out. They came in directly from quite far away
(outside the Kinki region) to drop it off.
I asked them to elaborate a bit more on the rolling performance,
and they said:
"On flat ground it doesn't accelerate at all. Even though the rim should be light,
on climbs I don't feel the speed either.
Also, I have a Fulcrum Wind 42,
and even though the rim height differs by only 3mm,
this wheel gets knocked around by crosswinds way too much."
Up to this point, I hadn't said anything to lead them toward this answer.
The crosswind issue alone I think comes down to the rim being light
(at least lighter than the Fulcrum).
Also, quite a while back I checked a Bora with rim brakes at this shop,
and at the customer's request I adjusted it in the direction of tightening beyond trueing,
and apparently it rolled noticeably better after that.
But according to them, this Nepest wheel rolls far worse
than that Bora did before the adjustment.
So I checked it. Starting with the rear wheel.
2:1 laced Ж (Zhe) pattern, 21H.
Built with carbon spokes from a brand called VONOA,
↑using this nipple lock tool
you press down on this notch in the rim hole
while turning the nipple from the outside.
It was already perfectly centered out of the box.
I did minor lateral truing,
but beyond that it doesn't seem to go—can't tension further.
I don't know if that's actually what's happening,
but there's a feeling as if high-strength threadlocker was applied to the spoke threads,
then the wheel was built before it cured,
and now the nipple can't turn anymore.
There's a similar pseudo-internal-nipple setup on the Bora Ultra WTO,
and while those nipples are stiff for re-adjustment too,
they're not this stuck.
Next, the front wheel.
Same as the rear wheel: 2:1 laced Ж pattern, 21H.
This one's also perfectly centered,
with only faint lateral runout.
I can't tell if the runout was there from the start
or developed from some use.
It can't be tensioned further either, same issue.
In short, the front and rear wheels as they are
have no precision issues in their hanging state.
Well... sorry, but there's not much I can do about it.
"That's just how it is."
Actually, I've inspected Nepest Nova wheels several times in the past
and even took photos for articles,
but I didn't feel they had much value as a post,
so they ended up in the archives.
↑photos taken back then
But back to this wheel set—
the story of the "final push" that made the customer buy it
was seriously sketchy.
I debated whether to write about this here... but,
after registering personal information like their email address
on the manufacturer's official sales site and leaving the wheel in their cart
for a while without buying, Nepest sent them an email saying:
"You've got a wheel sitting in your cart—you not gonna buy it, eh?
If you decide right now, we'll give you a coupon code for
XX% off (I heard the number but obviously can't write it down)!"
To think Nepest has mastered all three things:
nimble footwork on sales opportunities,
casual handling of personal information, and
a lightweight wheel...
Nepest is terrifying.
Afterword: Later, I heard Nepest was running a sale during Black Friday,
so the customer thought "I hope I didn't overpay"
and checked the manufacturer site—
and found the price higher than what they paid.
Because of this article, there might be an increase in Japanese people
leaving wheels in carts on Nepest's official site,
but please don't blame me for that.
a model called NOVA.
The rim heights for the front and rear wheels come in 35/35mm, 45/45mm,
55/55mm, 66/66mm, and
45/55mm combinations, but
this wheel set is 45/45mm.
According to the customer, this wheel set was purchased
because influencers were recommending it left and right,
but it doesn't roll well at all—a shocking discovery.
The poor rolling performance isn't just "that's how it is"—
they're concerned that maybe they got unlucky with spoke tension,
or there's something actually wrong with it,
so they wanted me to check it out. They came in directly from quite far away
(outside the Kinki region) to drop it off.
I asked them to elaborate a bit more on the rolling performance,
and they said:
"On flat ground it doesn't accelerate at all. Even though the rim should be light,
on climbs I don't feel the speed either.
Also, I have a Fulcrum Wind 42,
and even though the rim height differs by only 3mm,
this wheel gets knocked around by crosswinds way too much."
Up to this point, I hadn't said anything to lead them toward this answer.
The crosswind issue alone I think comes down to the rim being light
(at least lighter than the Fulcrum).
Also, quite a while back I checked a Bora with rim brakes at this shop,
and at the customer's request I adjusted it in the direction of tightening beyond trueing,
and apparently it rolled noticeably better after that.
But according to them, this Nepest wheel rolls far worse
than that Bora did before the adjustment.
So I checked it. Starting with the rear wheel.
2:1 laced Ж (Zhe) pattern, 21H.
Built with carbon spokes from a brand called VONOA,
↑using this nipple lock tool
you press down on this notch in the rim hole
while turning the nipple from the outside.
It was already perfectly centered out of the box.
I did minor lateral truing,
but beyond that it doesn't seem to go—can't tension further.
I don't know if that's actually what's happening,
but there's a feeling as if high-strength threadlocker was applied to the spoke threads,
then the wheel was built before it cured,
and now the nipple can't turn anymore.
There's a similar pseudo-internal-nipple setup on the Bora Ultra WTO,
and while those nipples are stiff for re-adjustment too,
they're not this stuck.
Next, the front wheel.
Same as the rear wheel: 2:1 laced Ж pattern, 21H.
This one's also perfectly centered,
with only faint lateral runout.
I can't tell if the runout was there from the start
or developed from some use.
It can't be tensioned further either, same issue.
In short, the front and rear wheels as they are
have no precision issues in their hanging state.
Well... sorry, but there's not much I can do about it.
"That's just how it is."
Actually, I've inspected Nepest Nova wheels several times in the past
and even took photos for articles,
but I didn't feel they had much value as a post,
so they ended up in the archives.
↑photos taken back then
But back to this wheel set—
the story of the "final push" that made the customer buy it
was seriously sketchy.
I debated whether to write about this here... but,
after registering personal information like their email address
on the manufacturer's official sales site and leaving the wheel in their cart
for a while without buying, Nepest sent them an email saying:
"You've got a wheel sitting in your cart—you not gonna buy it, eh?
If you decide right now, we'll give you a coupon code for
XX% off (I heard the number but obviously can't write it down)!"
To think Nepest has mastered all three things:
nimble footwork on sales opportunities,
casual handling of personal information, and
a lightweight wheel...
Nepest is terrifying.
Afterword: Later, I heard Nepest was running a sale during Black Friday,
so the customer thought "I hope I didn't overpay"
and checked the manufacturer site—
and found the price higher than what they paid.
Because of this article, there might be an increase in Japanese people
leaving wheels in carts on Nepest's official site,
but please don't blame me for that.