few months ago I picked up a performance 12-speed carbon group set from the internet for 300 quid
I'm just on a bike ride with Jimmy and today's episode is going to be a comprehensive review
because now I've put some good miles on it I'm writing it today in the rain in the Northeast
what do you think of the weather of today or of your group of my sick group said oh Jesus
so this is a sensor Empire Pro 12 speed is this potentially a 105 killer it's the same kind of
weight but it's a hell of a lot cheaper you can find this group set and group sets like
this on AliExpress which is a Chinese business to Consumer platform functions just like a normal
online shopping website you order the stuff and then it turns up usually a few weeks later
because most of the stuff does come from China I initially bought this root set for just over
300 pounds and I've only made one change to it since I bought it in the first place which was
the brakes because my road bike is uh disc brakes I had to get the disc brake version of the group
set and it comes as a package with these nut calipers they turned out not to be very good
so I only had them on for a few days and switched them to the junetech f1s which is a very popular
break from China as well which is cable actuated but has a hydraulic Reservoir inside which makes
it much much stronger other than that everything else is from that package and it's gone on to my
Scott foil frame set I've now run this setup for over a thousand miles uh ridden it through Europe
all the way to Switzerland through four different countries and and not cleaned it at all so it's
had a pretty good test in this video I'm going to break it all down piece by piece and let you know
what I thought of each component I'd say the most surprising thing about this group set is that it
actually looks quite good actually of course it does yeah but you kind of expect it to be like
horrible the shifters are really comfortable they're really small and I thought they were like
unusually small when I first tried them but it's just because I've been using hydraulic shifters
with a reservoir inside and they all tend to be slightly bigger so compared to Dura Ace they're
about the same size the ergonomics are good they're very comfortable to use for some reason
my order came with two different materials for the hood so there's rubber on this one which is
like super smooth and then the rubber on this one you won't really be able to see it on camera has
got like a rougher texture to it now I actually contacted the seller on AliExpress and mentioned
that they were different and asked if I could have a replacement one and they said yes all you have
to do is pay one dollar to this link and then they were would post it to me I didn't end up
going through with it in the end but I imagine it would have just turned up in my house and
then I would have a matching pair so fair play to them customer service not bad at all it is really
quite rough isn't it it's definitely it's not like that's like smooth and silky and then that's like
very fine sandpaper don't think it works like that maybe it does I don't know you may have heard me
talk in previous episodes that there was a little spiky thing on the edge of the shifters which kind
of spiked your hand a bit it's one of the pivot Points and if you run your finger over it it kind
of catches and that was spiking my hands while I was riding since that video I've realized that
in actual fact you can just press it in and it disappears and then it starts poking out the other
side so I mean it's not good there is lever reach adjustment which is something we always talk about
in the bike fit videos there is a what does it say break in out very easy to understand so if you uh
get Allen key and you poke it into there you can then wind the lever in or out depending on how
big your hands are which is an excellent feature to be fair they have started introducing that in
the lower end Shimano group sets now right down to Claris but it's nice to see that it is also
a feature here they're definitely not uh scrimping on the features yeah spiking I think you've been a
little bit dramatic to be honest like how much do these shifters cost it's not like a piece of glass
no it's almost I'm not gonna cut you but people are comparing it to 105. how do you how do you
hold it for that to get in the way like doing this when you ride so I'm not even touching it
what are you doing testing it to the max in terms of Shifting performance it's very clicky and very
positive feeling I let my drivetrain get really dirty over the course of the last Thousand Miles
and there hasn't been any issues with the shifting at all to shift it you push the whole lever in a
long way to shift up and then one small click to shift down the other way when you're reaching the
limits of the cassette when you reach the biggest Cog you'll actually reach a stop so it won't force
you to shift back down like you would with the old SRAM group set it means you don't suddenly run out
of gears and then end up shifting back down the cassette into a harder gear so when you're on
a climb you don't get a nasty shock and end up in a big gear than you want to be in my opinion very
thoughtful for them to have put that in interlude this is Jimmy who's been helping me with today's
video he owns Atticus which is a kit brand some of you may recognize him from previous episodes
you may now have the next 30 seconds we have a summer sale right now 30 off on the website free
shipping in nearly everywhere in the world over a certain amount but most places we also have
a pop-up shop which we're doing stuff at which we're currently in right now should we have a look
at the end link Down Below in the description if you want 30 of some cycling kit 30 that's a lot
front and rear derailers what can I say there's not much to say which is a good thing the rear
one's 12 speed the front's a double it looks just like a derailleur should and it functions
just like a derailleur should same with the back this goes up to a 34 so you can actually run
quite a big cassette cage is quite long never needed indexing and uh worked the whole time
in terms of Shifting mechanical shifting I'm I'm well impressed how does that work
down enough it's very nice it's actually quite rare for um a front Mac trim to actually work
properly yeah it's got trimming it's like chili works there's a feature the front Mech has
trimming if you have insufficient cable tension if your cable is stretched if the you know the
ferrules have bedded in and you don't know how to adjust it you can usually just push the lever
a little bit more and it has about four positions of trim so you can make sure your front Mech is in
the perfect place and it doesn't rub so that you don't get a chain rub when you're in the big ring
as well Big Chain ring big tooth on the cassette then you could get away with it not rubbing which
in a race scenario is quite important that isn't great for the chain because it will wear more but
you can do it some you know if if you're caring less about the durability of the chain and more
about having good range for racing or whatever then it works I feel like it works it's going to
be the underlying theme of most of what we're saying today it works I really like that clip
it just sounds nice I don't know why feedback that's one of the buzzwords can we go with good
Train Set uh this isn't the actual change that this is a one by one of the same brand
so senso make the derailers and the shifters but in the package you get a senix crank set so this
is almost exactly the same just with one chain ring on it's SRAM dub fitting and it's a really
good crank didn't have any issues with it at all they're reviewed quite well they're all
just aluminum easy to find parts that fit it so because it's Ram dub you can just get us rammed
up bottom bracket which is what we put inside this bike this double that's on the bike is a
50 34 there are other options available if you wanted to go bigger you can get 5339 uh so all
standard sizes are in the options when you order one of these now this is a chain that comes with
a group set again different brand ybn or yaban I think is the full name for it now you're probably
thinking the same thing as me never heard of that brand am I going to be able to trust it
change a pretty important part of the bike and you don't want to be snapping while you're riding
but in actual fact there's a website called zero friction cycling zero friction cycling and they
are the people that wax change their specialists in it from what I've been told they exclusively
use ybn chains because they come without any packing grease whatsoever and then they can wax
them and sell them on for slightly more money I didn't have any problems didn't snap my chain and
it's been shifting flawlessly so very happy the ybn chain that came with this group set package
actually arrived with no packing grease whatsoever which is brilliant for waxing the second ybn chain
that I received from AliExpress in a different package did have packing grease on it so a bit
of inconsistency there I don't know exactly what you need to look for if you want the ones without
the pack in grease but there you go that is a problem with ordering stuff from AliExpress you
don't always know what you're going to get my first thought when you mentioned These Chains
I was just like I would not want to ride one but what I have on my side if I was to use one is the
fact that you've used one for quite a few miles now and it's been fine so that means you you've
done the uh the reviewing testing for me there you go thank you very much you survived I did
not much to say it worked really well this is a 34 actually looks massive uh they're heavy it's
nothing special it's uh basically one piece except for the last two sprockets comes with a lock ring
fits Shimano HG free hubs have you counted all the teeth to double check it's actually what
they've just printed 34 and it's not really a 34. 34. what about the next one on the whole cassette
was brilliant it's not worn and because it's quite a heavy one it's probably made out of decent stuff
you can get super like cassettes from AliExpress and I've actually ordered you one as a present but
they're made of aluminum and they just wear out super super fast so in my opinion I'd rather run
one of these or from a more known brand and you know it's going to last a little bit longer what
if you've ordered for me a super like I said from AliExpress why do you think Jimmy off
secret project top secret project BB so this is the one that comes with uh there are no options
or there wasn't any when I ordered this uh for a press fit BB they only give you a threaded one so
I didn't end up using it because this Frame set is press fit so if anyone wants a bottom break
do you want this bear that in mind you might have to Source your own BB if your bike is press fit
we talking brakes now the worst bit they look I really like the look of them they've got like a
big they've got presents lots of people who are running more entry-level group sets on their
bikes and they're cable actuated a running hybrid calipers so calipers that have a small hydraulic
Reservoir inside but they operated by a cable so you can use cable shifters with disc brakes
that are hydraulic this improves the stopping power significantly and that's why I went with
these they have got these are June Tech f1s and they've got a good reputation online they are
a massive upgrade from these which are just cable operated but on this Frame they're still not very
good I think the main problem with these brakes is that they're fitted to a frame which has internal
routing so the cable comes out of here round into the handlebars out of a tiny little hole
into the headset and then down into the fork and then down into the frame for the rear one
that's way too much twisty turny for it to be a nice smooth line and it they just end up feeling
really really spongy I would say they're safe to ride I rode a 25 kilogram bike all the way
to Switzerland and they worked they were safe but they weren't very fun to use they weren't
nice to use they're not a premium feeling product if you had a bike which was completely externally
rooted and you had much smoother lines for the cables I think these would be way more usable
and I would find it easier to recommend them but if you've got a frame where the cables run inside
I can't recommend them they're spongy and horrible so they still stop so if you're
on a budget it probably is a good solution if you can't afford full Hydro but you still want
a disc brake that works and you're willing to sacrifice the general like feel of that break
but it still work really well in all weather conditions it's a good option if you're in
the buying process I would actually recommend just go for a rim brake bike and you'll have
much nicer feeling brakes all around with alloy Rim services not carbon Services depends on the
carbon surface but yeah have you used what's it called compressionless funny you should mention
that Jimmy I have some right here I haven't opened it yet but I don't think even like with all the
twists and turns I think it's still going to feel crap this is going to be a future video
the other thing you could do to improve the braking performance of a system like this
is better rotors you can get floating rotors because these ones are just cheap steel rotors
they're a bit heavy also these futek f1s you can fit with Shimano mountain bike brake pads which
are a softer compound will probably improve the braking performance again I just wanted
to test them as close to stock as possible to give you an idea of how they work and I mean
you know like we've discussed it's good what do you think this is comparable to to conclude
it's it is a tough one isn't it everyone Compares it to 105. I actually think the
best thing it compares to is Rim brake mechanical 105 and I say 105 because it clearly functions
really well and it's incredibly good value for money this group set with proper Hydro brakes
is gonna be the Shimano killer we've heard rumors that that might be on the horizon I'm interested
to test out if if it does end up existing uh in terms of price it's basically half of a rim brake
105 group set so almost worth experimenting with I think that's my conclusion it's cheap
enough that it's worth trying I can't comment on the consistency of the parts you might have
a completely different experience from me if you're in the market for a group set that you
can race on the Harry Mack has been racing it in Elite crits in the UK with the peace of mind
that if he does crash and he smashes up some parts it's not the end of the world he can replace them
for you know a lot less than if he was running ultegra or something like that so on the whole
I'm happy let us know if you have any questions in the comment section down below big thanks to
Jimmy for helping me out with this video next up I think we should um we should make you something