Ribble hand built wheels

akcp

I was thinking of replacing the stock wheels on my commuter and decided on something simple such as Tiagra hubs on Open Pro (or OP CD) rims - 32 hole for strength (95 kgs and a bag as well). Was looking locally and LBS charge 25 labour plus the parts (cycle surgery in City, Brick Lane bikes etc).

Searching around I found what looks like a deal thats too good to be true from Ribble who does what I want for just under 100 a pair hand built. What's the opinion of members on hand built wheels from Ribble? (Ribble also doing 10% off and also a pair of wheel bags - useful to stow the old pair for emergency use or to play at building my own over time).

Would the reputable Harry Rowland or Peter Hewitt build such simple wheels (most thread I read are of the 400 GBP mark for racing - I just need strong fast commuting wheels).

colint

I bought a set of hand builts for tubs from Ribble for my cross bike. I raced on them last year and they performed perfectly, still completely true and I'm no lightweight at just over 14 stone.

I've had a set from Paul Hewitt for commuting which were good,but twice the price and needing adjusting every few months.

I bought from ribble mainly on price, but wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

maddog 2

I've had two pairs from Ribble and 3 pairs from Paul Hewitt

the Ribbles were okay, and cheap

the PH ones were excellent and more money

take yer pick....

I would only use PH now. The difference is worth the extra.

yakk

Ditto Maddog2; I have both. Both have been fine. Paul will build what you want and what suits you, but they will cost more.
Yak

JWSurrey

My OP CDs on Ultegra came from Condor - a short ride from "The Surgery" - but probably not as cheap.
The Ultegra hubs are designed to be strong enough for radial lacing at the front - probably overkill for commuting though, and having open cup/cone bearings, probably not ideal.
For commuting, I'd be looking for no-nonesense hubs with replacable cartridges - such as Mirage or Centaur (but that's Campag). Not sure if Tiagra are like that?
The Condor wheels are my favourite handbuilts - lovely and solid, though I think they use several builders.
They support my 85 ish kilos fine - straight gauge no-nonsense spokes.

I have DT RR1.1s on the other bike, however I would say that I only chose these for the wear indicators, as they're on the all-seasons bike and the Mavics have a better braking surface.
These were nicely built up at Cycles Dauphin, who gave me a lot of advice and changed over/cleaned up the cassette in the price.

Harry Rowland - I spoke to him a while ago, and he gets good reviews plus is rumoured to work for bigger shops. Nice chap and will give you loads of advice - In fact, he advised me to spend less!