Before going any further, it should be noted that EIE Carbon is a leading Chinese company. If you don't know, that's normal, because, like many of its competitors, its main activity is to produce wheels for other brands, in complete discretion. Its production of rims is therefore plethoric: they can be wide, high or low, light or solid depending on the fashion of the moment. At the same time, it is these experienced manufacturers who set the tone for the quality expected by customers, while offering comfortable margins to the big brands, without ever overshadowing them
In this discreet and lucrative market, a few rare producers have undertaken to emerge from anonymity, without giving up their mass production. EIE Carbon is one of them: decided to have it both ways, subcontractor on the one hand, and a true "Western" brand on the other.
If their marketing remains modest, their strategy is very offensive. The products offered are very attractive, with specifications similar to those of the most prestigious brands
Of course, the offer does not stop at the rim, but goes as far as the complete wheel, fitted, with the most popular hubs and spokes on the market (DT Swiss and Sapim). Finally, if their brand image remains to be built, the online sales platform (and configuration) allows the Western customer to buy the products in a clear and reassuring way, which also includes shipping and customs clearance costs.
But back to our “A29C26D18”
For this discovery test, we have configured a typical XC wheelset. We will not use the term avant-garde, because although available in 30mm internal width, we preferred the internal width of 26mm, in order to fully play the card of lightness, and above all of a report probably unique weight/price!
The selected rim responds to the sweet no of A29C26D18… marketing that is still a bit raw from formwork, but which indicates the presence of a 29-inch rim, 26mm internal width and 18.5mm height.
In the chosen version, EIE also offers two fiber options, the “XC” in Toray T700, and the “SL”. For $50 more, the latter mixes T700 and T800 fibers for an advertised gain of 40 grams per wheel, ridiculous in absolute terms, but in line with the objective set, and which makes it possible to advertise a cross-country rim at 320 grams!
Let's add that the rim is also asymmetrical, with a 3mm offset to improve wheel shelving.
The rest of the setup is pretty straightforward, since the only hubs available are DT Swiss. We ignore the expensive 180 to “settle” for the 240 EXP Straigh Pull, with centerlock binding.
The choices were more numerous for the spokes, but we didn't take any risks, since EIE has the good taste to offer CX-Ray Sapim spokes, thus completing its wheels with European components which are also the undisputed world references, in terms of performance and reliability.
On the configurator, the set is displayed at $1100 for 1252 grams: a very good compromise, since the DT 180 hubs save another 32 grams… at the price of $320.
