Hand built wheels - price and weight ?

sophiad
sophiad Posts: 13
edited June 2007 in Workshop
Approx how much would a good set of hand built wheels cost ? Something with record hubs for example ? Would it be cheaper to get hand built rather than buying top factory wheels, like the Ksyrium ES ? How would the weight compare (ES are 1470grams)

Thanks

Comments

  • simmocp
    simmocp Posts: 203
    The thing with hand built wheels is that you can pay what you like and get the weight/durability you want. Plenty of people here will give you the the details of the best builders, but Paul Hewitt and Pete Mathews get mentioned. You could easly get a similar weight pair of wheels for less than the Mavics if that's what you want.
    I have some American Classic rimes on Tune hubs and Sapin CXray spokes that are 1250g and cost around œ430, but I don't pretend that they are bullit proof!

    simmo
    simmo
  • pjm-84
    pjm-84 Posts: 819
    I have a set of Open pro ceramic on Tune hubs which are pretty durable at around 1450grams. (I generally get around 4 to 5km on a rear rim before pulling a spoke through).

    I also have a set of Pete Matthew 36 spoke jobbies which are around 2000grams and sit unloved in the garage.

    Paul
    Paul
  • monty_dogcp
    monty_dogcp Posts: 382
    Weight of a pair of Record hubs is 380g, a pair of lightish 700c rims are 800g and 64 spokes would weigh 280g so giving an all-up weight of 1460g, so bang-on the weight of the Ksyrium ES. The only scope for weight-saving is in the hubs, so a pair of the aforementioned AM Classic hubs will save you about 90grammes - lighter rims are harder to come by - American Classic do a 350 gramme rim but it's pretty flexible by all accounts and so build quality is pretty critical.
  • knedlicky
    knedlicky Posts: 3,097
    About 5 years ago, I changed my Campa Omega wheels (with which I was never dissatisfied, so the change was really on a whim) for a set of hand-built wheels made by an enthusiastic, part-time wheel builder. The hubs are Ultegra with 20 spokes at the front and 24 at the back, though these asymmetric (16+8).

    They cost me about œ160 and in total weight for both wheels, I reduced only about 350 grams but I felt immediately pleased with the result, the sensitivity and the 'rolling' of the wheels, and continue to feel very pleased. It seemed to me at the time the price was better than anything I could get which was equivalent and mass-manufactured, and I also had the personal contact. He gave me spare spokes just in case, but I've never needed them.

    Nowadays the same bloke is offering similar wheels to mine for the same price but 100 grams less weight. In your case, I realise that weight-wise, this might still be 200 grams more weight than a Ksyrium ES set, but on the other hand the price is not much more than a quarter what is asked for Ksyrium ES (I think Ksyrium ES are about œ585, aren't they?)
    The same bloke offers a variety of superior wheels too, the most expensive (I think 18 front and 14+7 rear) weighing about the same as Ksyrium ES, but costing only around œ360.

    So, to answer your question, I think it well worth while going to someone who will do you a set of hand-built wheels.

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