In the 'ride experience' section you will note we miss talking about "Stiffness" independently. This was due to some audio connectivity issues for a minute or two, so we cut that section out. Ironic, considering this was one of the bikes assets. You will see stiffness in our rating system though. Finally, keen to hear your feedback on this style of review below. Cheers, Cam
we extend our heartfelt thanks to Cam and Neil for your thorough and insightful review of the Yoeleo R12. We are grateful for the time and effort you invested in evaluating our bike, providing valuable feedback from two distinct rider perspectives. Your detailed analysis, covering build quality, design, specs, geometry, and personal riding experiences, offers potential customers a comprehensive understanding of what to expect from the Yoeleo R12. We appreciate the constructive criticism and the praises alike, as you serve as crucial indicators for our continuous efforts to improve and innovate. Our mission is to provide high-quality, performance-oriented bicycles that meet the diverse needs and preferences of riders worldwide, and feedback like this is instrumental in guiding our development process. We are particularly thankful for highlighting the aspects of the bike that stood out, such as the frame quality, ease of assembly, and the adjustable seat post feature, which we believe are testament to our commitment to quality and rider satisfaction. We acknowledge the points of improvement mentioned and will consider them closely in our ongoing and future design and development efforts. Thank you, Cam and Neil, for your honesty and professionalism. We look forward to possibly collaborating again in the future and to continue receiving feedback that helps us grow and serve our cycling community better.
I have one. The geometry is perfect for me once it's built. The few times I've had problems with Yoeleo stuff they have made it right, it sometimes takes them awhile. But in the end the did everything I could have possibly asked for, and then some. It is not super light but neither am I. I love the ride feel. I found it incredibly comfortable and I am heavier than Cam and also ride with not a lot of seatpost exposed. But I run 28 mm Pirelli tires which plump up to 30 mm on Elite 50D at 65 psi. I love the seat clamp design. I am not a huge fan of the seat wedge design. $1590 for frame in US. I will soon be building up an R11, which is their light weight frame.
Super interesting to actually see this done. I've had similar conversations with riding buddies about bikes. I'm the racer/lightweight guy, and some of the fellas are more average pace riders with more kg on their frame. They say that a lot of the expensive/race frames are too stiff, but I'll ride them, and they feel fine to me. I suspect the carbon is engineered to flex and dampen at higher speeds than mortals are holding, so they get this chattery ride feel all the time.
I have this bike in XL and over all happy with it. Regarding comfort there is close to no meaningful compliance in the frame like most other aero bikes with long seat tube and deep section seat post. However, I do think it is comfortable as it fits wide tyres. I run it with 30 mm wide tyres (measured) and I am replacing them with 32 mm tubeless GP5000 as there seem to be plenty of space. The sliding adjustment of the seat requires taking of the saddle if it does not have a cut out or via the rails. The angle indexing on the saddle clamp has big jumps which is annoying. That clamping mechanism is actually the only thing I am worried about long term.
Happy to see your guys take on the R12. Very much in line with my experience of the R12. Even years in i still enjoy the bike a lot. Its a fun good allrounder that i even once took out on a gravel ride with thick tires 🫣
This is the first time for me I have seen this type of platform bike review and I absolutely love it 👍💪👏 honest to goodness review I think you guys are on to something here….awesome job, great video….more please 🙏
Great format and seems like an open transparent honest review ! As a consumer my concerns would be the same as you were saying at that price point, being along the lines of some of the "bigger" brands it would give me more of a sense of security to be aligned with LBS support. As always great video !
Its ashame that Yoeleo discontinue the R21 last year. It is definitely faster than this R12. I own both. Im not as versed as you guys. I did a review on both of them. Yoeleo sent my R21 in less than 7 days when they had my size on had. The R12 was longer during the pandemic fiasco. Your review is spot on. Thats why i prefer the R21.
I have this frame and I like it. I have mentioned on multiple comments that Yoeleo really screwed themselves on the price! I bought mine factory direct for $1760 just before Australia got locked out of buying direct. For this one reason I'm not recommending this frame. It's too bad because it's actually really good!
Neal appeared far more comfortable on this bike. Why, I don’t know. Did I miss Neal offer his eternal love for disc brakes? Now, all you need to do is add an old geyser over 55 or 60 to your team. That would be even more fun. Great effort here guys.
When I hear frame size, I also want to hear the height of the rider riding the bike. Especially when the seat is slammed forward as on this bike. (Cam looked a bit big and a little cramped) Just curious. I ride both 54 and 56cm bikes and at 5'10" I need the seat as far back as I can get it on the 54 and almost all the way back on the 56. The 56 gives me more room that I seem to need but when I straddle the bike with my shoes on the ground, there is no room between my testicles and the top tube. It's not comfortable. The 54 cm gives me just enough room. It's like I need a 55 cm.
Yes, good point we missed rider height. We're both similar I believe, 179cm. I just have a longer upper body it seems. I also appear crammed because I've my upper girth, I believe.
before the brands figured out carbon layup matters in ride feel, even the mainstream brands like Giant had thicker carbon layups. I think that's why alot of older carbon bikes are sought after. I'm pushing 200lbs and my 2014 TCR was made for world tour but it still rides great. It's even been crashed a few times and never cracked.
Be interesting to order a frame for the show (they know who you are) and anonymously buy one and compare frame build quality. Clearly that might upset the builder, but are you for the buyer or the seller?
Yes, I did attempt that in the last project but it was a messy sequence. That was explained upfront in this video. Keep in mind, the entire Ad revenue from the three video series has been less than $400 USD. Yes, the frame + groupset + wheels were given to the channel, but Neill is keeping the bike. Yoeleo have not paid us anything direct. So forking out $3000 personally for a frame and making extra content becomes counterintuitive from a commercial standpoint. Yes, you can sell the frame afterwards, but that adds more work to the process and I'd say you'd be lucky to get $2000 back. Plus, these Chinese frames are hard to sell.
I thought it would be complicated and expensive. What are the warrantees like on Chinese frames? I’ve heard that a large part of the price of the big brand light frames is the warrantee due to the increased risk of breakage of the delicate frames. The Chinese frames are more robust (heavier) to protect against failure and thus warrantee issues??
Thank god they haven't dropped the seat stays. If one more bike looks like a bloody SL7/8 the wheels are comin off this cart, and they'll be a calamity. I would consider this bike, the Yeoleo based on the silhouette.
Possible to bring in female riders perspective into testing bikes and frames? Would really help reviews from also a female perspective. A lot of women too that watch this channel. Again another great video made :)
Is there an advantage to buying through Lichtbike (who I assume are the AUS distributor) rather than direcrt from Yoeleo? Buying direct seems to save you about $500 AUD at the moment and pulls it back down to the sort of price range that you'd expect.
For less the than 3000$ for the whole bike with Di2... I would choose Reacto 6000 or the Gusto Evo Cobra, Pogacar used to ride one before signing with UAE.
Unfortunately Yoeleo bike frames are hit and miss... there is no quality control on their products. In the past their frames were made by an OEM company. Not sure if this is still the case but the quality is all over the place. I had ordered one in the past in a red/black colour combination. The bike arrived as a faded red and black bike. Thankfully Yoeleo did pay for me to have the whole bike repainted but it just shows that the quality control is off. Also there can be huge delays in getting frames delivered. Some people have waited well over 6 months to get their frames
I have had a R12 for over a year. to be honest Its just ok bike. Im now turning it into a light off road use machine. it has good tyre clearance. if you buy do not expect it to ride like a top end bike.
On the 5% chance you're willing to understand,...the channel has made less than $400 Ad revenue from this entire three series project. Yes, the bike is given to the channel, but in this instance, Neill is keeping it as his bike. So the expectation is that I spend $3000 on an anonymous frame, and then spend an additional 20-30 hours creating a piece of content about an anonymous frame scan. Yes, I'll most likely get $2000 back, once it sells. But keep in mind these Chinese brands are hard to sell and it's extra work trying to sell them...it's simply not commercially viable or something I want to continue investing my time into.
@@CamNicholls thats a far better explanation and reason for not doing it. I was more concerned as it sounded like you were being pushed away from doing it as it was creating friction and hurting relationships with your sponsors and vendors due to the results being unfavourable for the manufacturers/sponsors
Yoeleo’s customer service is still among the worst in the business and I honestly hope I would not have to deal with these guys ever again. Imagine ordering something from them, paying for it and then them sending it not only to a different city, but entirely different country in Europe..😂😂😂 And then insisting I should take care of the customs clearance. In another country. 😂😂😂 Total joke. Don’t buy anything from these guys until they replace the totally inept people from their customer service.
Totally agree, the biggest challenge of any review is to try and make it relatable to the millions of different riders and riding styles out there. Having two experienced riders at different ends of the spectrum is a great concept. Well done lads, would love to see something similar on the new Giant TCR (I'm looking at you Giant Australia 😘)
Loved the perspective of two different riders. Also the great explanation as to why it felt different ie. lower seat, more air in tires, heavier rider so harsher, stiffer feeling. Thanks!
Love the new format - you are really starting to create a new benchmark for what this kind of content can be. Always highly informative and very entertaining!
Just finished watching your review, and as an owner of the Yoeleo R12, I couldn't agree more with your insights! I've had mine for 7 months now, and it's been nothing short of fantastic. The comfort and all-round capability of this bike are exactly as you described. Also, shoutout to Yoeleo's customer service team they've been incredibly supportive every step of the way.
12:15 RIP headphone users... 😅 I agree with most of the points you said, although I have the previous generation (this one should be a bit stiffer). If YOELEO had kept a better eye on quality control and not shot themselves in the foot, I believe they would have had more success with the R12. I, for example, have a slightly misaligned rear wheel. 🤷♂Another annoying thing is the loud hub of the SAT PRO wheels. It is definitely not for everyone, and sometimes I have to soft-pedal to not annoy others. 🤣 On the other hand, I appreciate the ability to choose the exact stem length and handlebar width and the affordable custom paint. The "ice-crack" pattern really looks amazing in person.
I love the loud hub! The R12 was not their best bike. They discontinued their best bike foolishly enough the R21. I have the last R21 they made and the latest R12.
format neatly illustrates the subjectivity of ride quality and experience and the effect of height and weight - well done - this admitted beefcake is keen for more
Great to see old mate in any of your videos! Strongly encourage you to do more of this type of projects as the big cycling manufacturers are just screwing cyclists financially. China Cycling is a great channel for Chinese products and people generally think of Chinese products as cheap and nasty but there are passionate Chinese cyclists and companies wanting to make a genuine product. Thanks Can and Neil !
I only have experiences with Yoeleo and their stock system. I bought their Sat C60 wheelset in December and it took until early March for them to arrive. The main excuse was the Chinese New Year but after that they would not answer questions or emails. Time will tell if the wheelset is any good. It was very easy to set up tubeless as they don't have access holes for spokes. GP5000's took very little effort to put on
I’d check to see if the bearings have been cleanly inserted. After our speed tests and video recording Neill went home and found that the inner sleeve was binding up against the bearings. This no doubt impacted the speed tests. Once Neill fixed up the bearings the wheels felt faster / smoother. According to him. I’d also grease that hub!
From my R12 build in December (2023 edition). Seatpost has slipped constantly, think I've got it good now but over-torqued with a lot of grip paste. BB tolerance not great with standard SRAM cups but a BBinfinite has resolved it. I run hyper D45s, 28/30mm. Comfortable with that tyre setup. Everything else in keeping with your review.
How does it compare to the Polygon Helios, which seems to be a much better value purchase? The frame is too expensive, much rather just buy a Giant frame or the mid spec Merida Reacto.
HAPPY Ending - Glad You stuck with the Project. GREAT Concept to have two different size riders and to hear different experiences. The Review was handled with a very balanced & clear way by two experienced riders coming from two distinct viewpoints. The SeatPost setback adjustment is Brilliant - As someone who rides a 0 setback, I'm tired of too may brands ie; Specialized who automatically offer 20 setback, won't swap for free & force customer to buy a Zero Seatpost for a Frameset purchase - getting stuck with paperweight or selling at a loss on eBay🤬 I was interested because Yoeleo was the first deep wheels I purchased about 5 years ago. NO problems whatsoever. Think their wheel lineup could use a refresh now = external & internal width, etc. Think they are a strong brand and it appears they deliver a solid product at a very reasonable price point - just like their wheels. Frame misstep - not unique to Yoeleo - every brand can have a QC issue, as we have all seen on YT. The true test is how they handle the problem and move forward. Congrats on another Quality & Entertaining Episode. Ride On😎
Fully undersatand why you don't want to do it from a business standpoint but if these companies don't want their frames scanned and exposed maybe they should actually produce better products?
Thanks for calling them out on price/ value. Beyond the fact that I wouldn't ride a branded frame from what is essentially not a brand (they're a broker not a factory), and having built 9 Chinese frames at lower price points, there is absolutely nothing telling me these frames are better, so as far as I can tell, they're just more expensive because they're on the radar of more people.
Not exactly true, I have first had experience. Not to be confused with Dengfu R12. If they are a broker show the exact same geo frame elsewhere please.
The relationship with BMC means I can't really review mainstream bikes. I think that's fair and I don't mind this space. The next one coming is very exciting.
I love this method. I think it’s a great way to contrast different ride styles and allow the bike to succeed in a niche. Fair play on the carbon issue. I think the carbon stuff only needs to happen if the brand doesn’t provide warranties or the warranty could be hard to get.
I'm like Cam's weight (and much taller) and have a rather stiff TREK Emonda ALR aluminium frame (lightweight & great value) and have compensated frame stiffness with 32mm tyres. Excellent in comfort now and I see no speed / efficiency impact from the wider tyres.
I can concur that my experience is similar. I was a dealer for 2 yrs. Fast but not the fastest out there. Comfortable... absolutely. I personally prefer the R11 made from T1000. Fast but also lighter and had a snappier feel to it. I enjoy it more to ride even though it's not as relaxed in the stack height.
Nice one. The Chinese brands are doing well but I agree they're position in the market are good quality frames for $1000+ cheaper than mainstream western brands. If the Chinese makers start to creep the price up, people will choose to have Giant on the side of the frame.
This is terrific how you both describe the nuances of the ride and feel, from two perspectives (stockier and lighter guys, to cover the spectrum). Others on YT barely go one third into this area, yet we bike riders want to know about this (not '6% more aero'). Great video guys!
First time a bike review been done with two people. I think this was a great way to go. I have respected Cam the ones you have done on your own. But having Neil involved. Has taking it to another level. would be interesting to do one with two others from the RCA family and you just host the pod cast. Keep up the awesome podcast.
Great review! I took a while to watch as I’m not interested in buying this particular bike, but I really enjoy this content and will watch and comment on every one hopefully with the mention on Nero, this video will do a bit better.
Respect to you for being honest to your viewers first and not hiding bad reviews (elves video) for the sake of the relationship to the manufacturer or dealer. Not many youtube channels are able or willing to do that. What a breath of fresh wind.
Just stopping by to remind everyone who created structured training using intervals. Ohh and i wouldn't ride theses gravel bikrs on the road even if you gave it to me for free .
