It's official! I'm a handbuilt wheel convert

brit66

I poster here a while ago asking about recommendations for some new aero wheels I was considering, and which I intended using for training and even the occasional commute. Many replies recommended me saving my money and getting some handbuilt wheels instead. I though to myself "oh yeah" but it got me thinking and I did some investigation, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Strong, 'lightish', bombproof and cheap.... lets give it a go.

So, I ordered From Dave Hind some Open Pro Cd rims and Ultegra hubs, laced together with 32 shiny silver spokes. I got them over a week ago and immediately replaced my Ksyrium SLs and have been commuting on them all week.

I have to say they are almost as light as my Ksyriums and certainly don't feel any different when on the bike. The biggest surprise has been the ride feel - they just seem to soak up the bumps and don't jar as much as the Ksyriums seem to. I'm not sure if this is in my head or there is a technical explanation - but that's how they feel. It's also so comforting to know that if I hit a pothole I'm not going to damage a pair of £550 Ksyriums.

In summary, I've got a great looking pair of wheels (I love those silver hubs and anodised rims) which should be pretty much bombproof, they are comfortable - and they only cost me £150.00.

If like me you've never considered getting handbuilt wheels before then all I'll say is you should.

redddraggon

Dave Hinde?

Shadowduck

This is the first positive report I've ever read of any interaction with Dave Hinde... :shock:

I suppose he must get it right sometimes!

Glad you're happy with your wheels, brit66.

brit66

Yep, Dave Hinde.

I saw a post on here after I ordered my wheels saying he was unreliable and I though 'oh great'. But I got the wheels within two weeks of ordering and as stated on his website.

giant_man

Gosh you actually got the wheels for the money you paid them? Good grief! :?

meagain

And they LOOK so much better than those strangely spoked modern factory hoops.

Shadowduck

meagain wrote:

And they LOOK so much better than those strangely spoked modern factory hoops.

I'm quite fond of my strangely spoked modern factory hoops!* :P

*Ventos. I'm cheap.

meagain

Teks all sortz....

mab bee

I totally agree with your sentiments. Whenever I see fancy factory built wheels on a bike, I assume that the owner doesn't put in much mileage. If you are putting in anywhere near a decent mileage in both fair and foul weather, then you will need to change your rims at least on an annual basis. Since factory built wheels are not suited to frequent rim changes (you certainly can't do it yourself, and usually your LBS won't touch them either) then their owners clearly don't put in much mileage, QED.

Factory built wheels are just a fashion statement. The low spoke counts mean that extra weight has to be added to the rim, to stiffen it up. The wheels as a whole may come out a bit lighter than handbuilts, but since a greater portion of the weight is in the rim, the moment of inertia of factory builts will be greater.

handbuilts are easy to service yourself, spares are easy to come by, and you can often buy them singly (which is useful, since the rear hubs and rims wear out much quicker than the front, especially if you don't use mudguards).

redddraggon

mab bee wrote:

I totally agree with your sentiments. Whenever I see fancy factory built wheels on a bike, I assume that the owner doesn't put in much mileage. If you are putting in anywhere near a decent mileage in both fair and foul weather, then you will need to change your rims at least on an annual basis. Since factory built wheels are not suited to frequent rim changes (you certainly can't do it yourself, and usually your LBS won't touch them either) then their owners clearly don't put in much mileage, QED.

Or it could be that they have plenty of money and buy a new set of wheels when they need them.

Personally I use factory built wheels, but aiming to get some handbuilts for my winter bike.

Factory builts just look far better on the whole.

andrewgturnbull

mab bee wrote:

I totally agree with your sentiments. Whenever I see fancy factory built wheels on a bike, I assume that the owner doesn't put in much mileage. If you are putting in anywhere near a decent mileage in both fair and foul weather, then you will need to change your rims at least on an annual basis.

Hi there.

Sorry this bit is just unmittigated, opinionated bullsh!t. I've got 3 sets of 'factory' wheels, the oldest of which is at least 10 years old and they all have all their original parts, give or take a few ball bearings.

mab bee wrote:

handbuilts are easy to service yourself, spares are easy to come by, and you can often buy them singly (which is useful, since the rear hubs and rims wear out much quicker than the front, especially if you don't use mudguards).

This bit is true, and I also have a couple of pairs of wheels I've built myself. I've never worn out rims by breaking on a road bike though, mind you brake blocks tend to last me 5 years+ too.

Cheers, Andy

Shadowduck

mab bee wrote:

I totally agree with your sentiments. Whenever I see fancy factory built wheels on a bike, I assume that the owner doesn't put in much mileage. If you are putting in anywhere near a decent mileage in both fair and foul weather, then you will need to change your rims at least on an annual basis. Since factory built wheels are not suited to frequent rim changes (you certainly can't do it yourself, and usually your LBS won't touch them either) then their owners clearly don't put in much mileage, QED.

Factory built wheels are just a fashion statement. The low spoke counts mean that extra weight has to be added to the rim, to stiffen it up. The wheels as a whole may come out a bit lighter than handbuilts, but since a greater portion of the weight is in the rim, the moment of inertia of factory builts will be greater.

handbuilts are easy to service yourself, spares are easy to come by, and you can often buy them singly (which is useful, since the rear hubs and rims wear out much quicker than the front, especially if you don't use mudguards).

Or possibly I just bought the bike and that's what it came with.

When the time for new wheels comes I'll give some thought to handbuilts, but if the snobby "bikier-than-thou" attitude you display comes with them I'll pass, thanks. :roll:

andrewgturnbull

ps Just noticed the wheelset on my avatar - judging by that picture I must not do many miles?

shanexs

Yep I agree Factory built wheels should only be bought by flashy, show off fair weather cyclists who don't put in 'decent' mileage. Yeah those stiffer lightweight carbon rims with low spoke counts are rubbish! The designers and engineers of these lightweight, stiff carbon rimmed low spoke count factory built wheels don't have a clue how to design and engineer a decent set of wheels anyway!
Now I'm off to buy me a set of those flashy HED stinger 50's and go ride round the block! Oh 5 miles is such a struggle. Flash git!

Monty Dog

Wear a pair of rims in a year? Get your hands off your brakes man! I've just 'retired' a pair of Ksyriums after 4 years and about 20000 miles - ridden through out the year and in all conditions - a couple of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix sportives too and all I've ever had to do was adjust the wheel bearings....I build my own wheels, but it's pretty difficult to build a pair of wheels as light and stiff as many factory wheels for the same money.

shanexs

p.s.a pair of rims a year! Do you circumnavigate the globe, twice, every year!

Nuggs

redddraggon wrote:

Factory builts just look far better on the whole.

You are so Euro. Legend!

gkerr4

Nuggs wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

Factory builts just look far better on the whole.

You are so Euro. Legend!

he's right too!

Pirahna

When I was dispatching riding I'd do one front rim a year. That was on a fixed with front brake only, in all weathers and in excess of 10k miles a year in London. Town work means you're on the brakes the whole time.

As for handbuilt wheels, they may not look quite a funky as a factory set but they do ride nicely. Wifey got a new pair today, Record hubs, Open Pro's and DT Revs. Lighter than my Eurus, far better handing in breezy conditions and a lot more comfy to ride. She took them for their first spin this afternoon and can't stop talking about how nice they are.

aracer

So for doing dispatch riding in a city on a fixie, mad bee is right. For any of the rest of us he's well wide of the mark (I did used to wear out rims in a couple of years, but that was before I got discs on the mountain bike!)

Don't own a set of factory wheels - though I'd not be totally averse to the idea if push came to shove, and some are at least decent value now. Then again last time I was buying road wheels before my current set they weren't exactly prevalent - pretty much everything was handbuilt. Might have gone for factory's this time round to have something other than boring 32 spokers, but instead made myself some deep rim low spoke count handbuilts

markos1963

To paraphrase Mr Bugatti when asked why the brakes on his cars were so poor he replied " I build racing cars, what do I want to stop for?" The simple fact is if you are planning your riding and not too much of a wimp on the bends why would you want to wear out your factory rims anyway?

SteveR_100Milers

mab bee wrote:

I totally agree with your sentiments. Whenever I see fancy factory built wheels on a bike, I assume that the owner doesn't put in much mileage. If you are putting in anywhere near a decent mileage in both fair and foul weather, then you will need to change your rims at least on an annual basis. Since factory built wheels are not suited to frequent rim changes (you certainly can't do it yourself, and usually your LBS won't touch them either) then their owners clearly don't put in much mileage, QED.

Factory built wheels are just a fashion statement. The low spoke counts mean that extra weight has to be added to the rim, to stiffen it up. The wheels as a whole may come out a bit lighter than handbuilts, but since a greater portion of the weight is in the rim, the moment of inertia of factory builts will be greater.

handbuilts are easy to service yourself, spares are easy to come by, and you can often buy them singly (which is useful, since the rear hubs and rims wear out much quicker than the front, especially if you don't use mudguards).

Aaagh not that anachronism of just simply about "getting the miles in"?? I thought that even the most die hard beardy tourers had overcome that misguided belief (when I were a lad and all that...)

I think that 16 bladed spokes look sooo much faster than a conventional 32 spoke let alone 36 spoke wheel that just looks so CTC..... as for mudguards, what are they???

Shadowduck

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

*snip* ... as for mudguards, what are they???

Oh gods, now I'm totally confused... I've got factory wheels on, but I use mudguards 'cos I don't like having a skunk stripe. Am I some kind of FREAK?!

Then again, I don't mostly wear white socks either. *sigh* Guess I'll never be a real cyclist.

leonlikestrees

For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.

Handbuilt are nice though. I build all my own wheels, usually pretty conservatively. If I was to take up time trialling again though, I'd be off leafing through my catalogues for a nice set of wheels straight away (just after seeing if I still fit in my skinsuit!)

Monowai

it will be interesting to see how the wheels from Dave Hinde last - i've seen lots of mixed reports about reliability in short term and long-term. A reputable wheelbuilder is better than cheapest price and personally I'd avoid DH from what I've seen in the past.

azzerb

leonlikestrees wrote:

For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.

Handbuilt are nice though. I build all my own wheels, usually pretty conservatively. If I was to take up time trialling again though, I'd be off leafing through my catalogues for a nice set of wheels straight away (just after seeing if I still fit in my skinsuit!)

Who says hand built has to be un aerodynamic? :S Or am i getting the expression confused. I thought it meant building them up yourself.

Well, you could buy some Corima/Edge/Gigantux/Lew rims, Tune hubs and CX Ray Spokes, i'm pretty sure that that hand built combo will be V Aerodynamic. :twisted:

redddraggon

azzerb wrote:

leonlikestrees wrote:

For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.

Handbuilt are nice though. I build all my own wheels, usually pretty conservatively. If I was to take up time trialling again though, I'd be off leafing through my catalogues for a nice set of wheels straight away (just after seeing if I still fit in my skinsuit!)

Who says hand built has to be un aerodynamic? :S Or am i getting the expression confused. I thought it meant building them up yourself.

Well, you could buy some Corima/Edge/Gigantux/Lew rims, Tune hubs and CX Ray Spokes, i'm pretty sure that that hand built combo will be V Aerodynamic. :twisted:

On the whole, when people talk about handbuilts, they are talking about something like 32/36 spokes, OP rims and groupset hubs. The other handbuilts are largely in the minority.

allaction

I have a set of Paul Hewitt made open pro's with Ultegra hubs and they are fantastic. I had mine laced with black spokes and nipples which I think makes them look more 'factory' than silver spokes. I just prefer black, that wasn't my initial intention. The wheels were about £210 delivered, and have to say it is the best thing I've bought for my bike, no flex at all and seem bombproof. I'm just over fifteen stone so needed something to support my girth that wasn't going to snap!

fenlandplodder

I build my own wheels and have some factory built ones. I am often amazed how light a hand built wheel can be compared to more expensive factory built wheels. Incidently, the only wheel rims I have ever worn out are two Mavic CXP33 rims - both failed after about 8000 miles in weathers when used in front wheels.

aracer

redddraggon wrote:

azzerb wrote:

leonlikestrees wrote:

For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.

Handbuilt are nice though. I build all my own wheels, usually pretty conservatively. If I was to take up time trialling again though, I'd be off leafing through my catalogues for a nice set of wheels straight away (just after seeing if I still fit in my skinsuit!)

Who says hand built has to be un aerodynamic? :S Or am i getting the expression confused. I thought it meant building them up yourself.

Well, you could buy some Corima/Edge/Gigantux/Lew rims, Tune hubs and CX Ray Spokes, i'm pretty sure that that hand built combo will be V Aerodynamic. :twisted:

On the whole, when people talk about handbuilts, they are talking about something like 32/36 spokes, OP rims and groupset hubs. The other handbuilts are largely in the minority.

On the whole when people talk about factory wheels they are talking about something like Mavic Ksyriums which are also extremely non-aero (pretty comparable to a box section 32 spoker - R-Sys wheels are even worse than that). I'm not at all convinced that handbuilt/factory is at all a good way to determine whether or not a wheel is aero. In any case the original quote was "For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.", which is quite obviously wrong, as it's extremely straightforward to make aero handbuilts - it's just that most people don't.

redddraggon

aracer wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

azzerb wrote:

leonlikestrees wrote:

For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.

Handbuilt are nice though. I build all my own wheels, usually pretty conservatively. If I was to take up time trialling again though, I'd be off leafing through my catalogues for a nice set of wheels straight away (just after seeing if I still fit in my skinsuit!)

Who says hand built has to be un aerodynamic? :S Or am i getting the expression confused. I thought it meant building them up yourself.

Well, you could buy some Corima/Edge/Gigantux/Lew rims, Tune hubs and CX Ray Spokes, i'm pretty sure that that hand built combo will be V Aerodynamic. :twisted:

On the whole, when people talk about handbuilts, they are talking about something like 32/36 spokes, OP rims and groupset hubs. The other handbuilts are largely in the minority.

On the whole when people talk about factory wheels they are talking about something like Mavic Ksyriums which are also extremely non-aero (pretty comparable to a box section 32 spoker - R-Sys wheels are even worse than that). I'm not at all convinced that handbuilt/factory is at all a good way to determine whether or not a wheel is aero. In any case the original quote was "For aerodynamics, I think you'd be hard pushed to build a pair of comparible wheels to the various factory options.", which is quite obviously wrong, as it's extremely straightforward to make aero handbuilts - it's just that most people don't.

on the whole, I wouldn't buy Ksyriums anyway, they look rubbish.