HELP! Anyone got Shimano WH-550s ???

khumbu8000

I have just ordered a pair from Parker International and have since discovered bad press and problems with spoke breakages.

Could you let me know if you have had good or bad experiences.

Ed

georgee

no broken spokes, but they do love heading out of true, I am in the market for new wheels and always now have a spoke key in my saddle bag

nicknick

Are they the tiagra wheels? if so ive had mine over a year, trued them up myself after they bedded in but they have been great on my winter bike, no complaints.

woody-som

I have a pair of R550's, that are a year old, no broken spokes, and they are still true, 1 rear spoke needed a little tightening once but thats all. Nice fast and reasonable weight wheel for the money.

khumbu8000

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t362310.html after reading this and several others I have decided I might go for the Mavic Aksiums. A little bit pricier , heavier but more reliable.

I wouldnt be so bothered about spoke problems but I am doing Lejog in 7 days in ten days time and time will be a big issue. No time to fix awkward to repair spokes.

Anyone had experience of Aksiums???

adh038

Don't buy the 550's in my opinion. I have just converted to Easton circuits after multiple spoke breakages, truing problems and general poor performance. I think money could be better spent on other options.

khumbu8000

Phew! I did manage to cancel my order. Might try Aksiums.

priory

i too have been on tiagra wheels for over a year.No problems at all, and they cost less than 50gbp for the pair! At that price i was prepared to regard them as temporary, but they are fine.I have given them a hammering on road and rough tracks, even through Sherwood pines on a very rough afternoon.If they break now I will still be happy.these are I think the old fashioned looking type.I also have a rear wheel with the weird spokes on the hub(?550} not much used yet on a crosser.No probs yet.

TerryJ

fluff.

khumbu8000 wrote:

Phew! I did manage to cancel my order. Might try Aksiums.

Been looking for some cheap wheels for singlespeed (am going to use with singlespeed kit so I can put a normal cassette on if I need to at some point), considered 550s, didn't fancy trying to source a spoke should they break, Aksiums looked heavy, and Racing 7 reports weren't glowing. In the end decided to go for a standard hand built wheel, open pro & tiagra hubs, cheaper than Aksiums and more reliable imo.

bigdawg

havent read the article but have had mine on my winter bike since october, ridden every day commuting along a sea wall, and lately through sea water - had one broken spoke in December no problems since.

Id get another pairin a shot

Nine Stone Cowboy

Go for a pair of Axiums - The Malaysian built Shimano wheels are dire. Bearing races are as rough as arseholes too.

NSC

John C.

I'd recomend them ! They've taken some BIG hits and remained true and no broken spokes. The only slight down side is they are not as comfortable as my Mavic Cosmos, but then again they only cost half as much.

jpembroke

I have Aksiums on my cross bike. I regularly cane it down steep rock strewn cotswold tracks and they are still true and running smooth (although I did have to back off the cones a bit as they were a tad tight). They may be a bit on the heavy side but they are very well built, tough, and look the business. I echo the thoughts above with regards cheap shimano wheels: go out of true quite easily and hubs are rough, rough, rough. I also have some handbuilt wheels - MA3 wheels on Tiagra hubs - and they have to be the worst hub I have ever experienced: grinding straight out of the box!