who makes the best handbuilt wheels?
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It's not magic. There's probably a wheel builder near you just as good as the so-called stars people mention here. I know several who are perfectly competent near me who just work in the local bike shops. I stick with me. I'm a bit slow but, so far, I've been a satisfied customer - cheap too
GeoffOld cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster0 -
I'm with Geoff - my best handbuilt wheels are mine!
Wheelbuilding is not a mysterious artform, it's an engineering procedure. A true, round, stress-relieved wheel with the corrrect spoke tension is the same whoever builds it. Most good LBSs have mechanics who are perfectly competent. If you do buy locally, it's easy to get fixed if it does go wrong as well.0 -
A guy called Tony Young in Ripon Noth Yorkshire, cycling + tested one of his wheels from Spa Cycles in about May and gave it a 9 comenting on the high standard of build quality. If you want details send me a PM.0
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Paul Hewitt. Bar none.0
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Hi there.
You all beat me to it - my wheels are the best, and I don't need to go far to fix a broken spoke or retrue them either!
Cheers, Andy0 -
You need to find a good wheel builder local to yourself. Paul Hewit has a very good reputation but it's no good if he's 200 miles away.
I think I've found a good builder in Pete Spowage at J E James in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
He's now built me 3 pairs of wheels with no problems.0 -
As I expect that you're not wanting to start to learn to build wheels, then try the following, in no particular order:
Harry Rowland in Kent
Paul Hewitt in Leyland
Pete Matthews in Liverpool
Grant Young at Condor
Helmut at Sonic
Plus there will be some reputable builders around the country - ask around the local clubMake mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
Monty Dog wrote:As I expect that you're not wanting to start to learn to build wheels, then try the following, in no particular order:
Harry Rowland in Kent
Paul Hewitt in Leyland
Pete Matthews in Liverpool
Grant Young at Condor
Helmut at Sonic
Plus there will be some reputable builders around the country - ask around the local club
For those North of the border I'll add:
Big Al at Wheelcraft in the Campsies (nr Glasgow)
Cheers, Andy0 -
A question (genuine - not trying to stoke the factory vs handbuilt debate) for those who build their own:
Do you use your own wheels as a first choice, or do you use factory-built wheels as your primary hoops and then your own for training/winter?0 -
So-called factory wheels didn't really exist when I started cycling and the best wheels were always handbuilt. I taught myself to build and I use them from choice, I was always more interested in touring and a prime consideration was the ability to be self sufficient when far from home; handbuilt wheels give me that confidence.
Moreover, I find it difficult to believe that the very expensive and sometimes unrepairable wheels actually offer few if any advantages over good quality hand builts. They have their place but really only if there's a fleet of service cars following you with replacements. Their speed advantages are not so great and are probably more in the head than the actuality.
Jeff Bowler of Mercians once had a rim problem when touring in France with his wife on a tandem. He was able to overcome it temporarily by swapping the rims front to back at his hotel one evening. He was only able to do that because he had his own handbuilt wheels.
GeoffOld cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster0 -
I think I've found a good builder in Pete Spowage at J E James in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
He's now built me 3 pairs of wheels with no problems.
Built mine alsoRacing is rubbish you can\'t relax and enjoy it- because some bugger is always trying to get past.0 -
Yeah, Rob, Geoff, Andrew. Your (& my!) wheels are the best because a shop can't spend enough time when they're busy getting the tension really exact, they'd not make money. So, learn to build them yourself and take the time and you'll build almost indestructable wheels. I've only ever bent 1 wheel, and that was one that came with a bike. Using my own wheels, I've bent one frame in a head on (off road...), and snapped another, without any effects on the wheels. I'd gues about 95% of the strength of a wheel is in the build.0
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Are there any good books or online instructions to teach you how to buildi your own wheels?
Also what tools do you need?0 -
+1 Paul Hewitt
I've had LBS and Ribble ones and they weren't as good. Spec wasn't as well thought out and spokes broke eventually.
Obviously some LBSs will be fine but given the number of LBSs and the nature of statistical disttributions, some will be at the other end of the spectrum. My Dave Hinde wheels were awful for example.Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer0 -
OK, I build my own wheels too, but if I want something very light and stiff, then I'd look at factory-built wheels because they are built to higher tolerances and can use more 'engineered' parts than those available to your LBS / traditional builder - I'm talking the likes of Fulcrum 1 / Campagnolo Shamals / Mavic R-Sys and the like where you simply cannot buy hubs/spokes/rims matched for performance.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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I've noticed a sign in my local bike shop quoting about £20 for a wheel build.
Not sure how much bike mechanics earn, but I bet £20 doesn't buy you very much of their time once tax, holidays and sickness etc have all been covered.
I've built approximately fifteen wheels over the years for both road and mtb. A wheel build generally takes me a whole evening (whilst watching telly - like knitting you see), and I find it hard to beleive that a wheel builder can do a better job for such a small amount of money.
Also, I generally find it usefull to re-check the wheel after its first ride, but clearly your LBS doesn't do this.
Who makes the best wheels? Me. After all, even if I built a bad one (which I did recently), I'd never admit it to anyone, I'd just blame poor componentry!!0 -
i bought some open pro's on centure hubs from ribble last year and they have been superb
im really pleased with them.0 -
Cavemud, if you're a practised wheel builder you can do one in about an hour. In fact my mate who has been a mechanic for 10 years now has offered to show me (ie he does the rear whilst I make the front) and reckons that it'll only take about 45 mins to do properly.0
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I've built three wheels this year and that was a busy year. Doing even one a week will dramatically bring your time down. A competent mechanic should have no trouble doing it in an hour and that'd be a fairly leisurely pace. Cavemud, the lbs will stress relieve the wheel which is effectively what happens when you recheck them after their first ride. £20 quid sounds about right for an hour of a mechanics time with markup.
I've seen it done in under 20 mins but that was for a bet.0 -
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Usually I build my own but this year I bought a Hope Pro3 wheelset (front and rear) because it was cheaper than buying all the parts and building them myself.They're hand built locally.So far 3000 miles and still perfect,no truing needed.0
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I'll add my voice to the mass. I have built wheels according to "The BIcycle Wheel", and never had to touch one since. There is no art in it, it is a repetitive assembly process which demands patience above all. I would guess that all good wheels are alike: they are problem free until some component wears out. Anything less should be considered substandard, accidents and so on excepted, of course.
Professional builders must build wheels much quicker than me, or there is no money in it; they may also be able to advise on practical issues arising from certain proposed configurations, and they may be skilled from experience at saving damaged rims, and so on. There is no reason to think that their new wheels are preferred to those you may build yourself, however.0 -
Geoff_SS wrote:.
Moreover, I find it difficult to believe that the very expensive and sometimes unrepairable wheels actually offer few if any advantages over good quality hand builts. They have their place but really only if there's a fleet of service cars following you with replacements. Their speed advantages are not so great and are probably more in the head than the actuality.
Geoff
The fleet of service cars following is a bit OTT Geoff!!! I don't think it's really fair to compare handbuilts with something very speciallized such as Lightweights. There are other "factory built" superlight, aero wheels that use much more standard parts.
A more relevant comparison is between handbuilts (Open Pro, group hub, DT/Sapim spokes), and something like Campagnolo or Shimano wheels. I think in some respects the factory wheels have moved ahead of hand builts ... at least because some of the specialized parts (e.g. rims) are not available to wheelbuilders. And these factory builts are phenomenally reliable, though I entirely accept the point that if something does go wrong they are harder to fix.0 -
not totally unrelated but i didn't want to start a new post.
I got a trek 1.7 earlier this year. I'm looking to upgrade some stuff and I thought wheels first. I was looking at the fulcrum racing zeros but was wondering if it is stupid upgrading to such expensive wheels on a bike that costs nearly the same. The current wheels are nearly 2000g (came with the bike).
Before you suggest it, i don't need to loose weight myself as I am a skinny runt as it is. Infact I think i have put on weight since starting cycling due to muscle gains.
Any other wheel recommendations would be appreciated, but i'm but I am looking to get something light as I am better at hills than anything else so I want to focus on that.
I was thinking when I upgrade/get a summer bike I would probably swap the fulcrums onto that.
Height 5ft 9 ish, 9stone ish.Your'e never alone with schizophrenia.0 -
I've built a number myself but when I lived in London, I had one pair built by Hewitt with Phil hubs and Ambrosio Excellights which are really nicely made. Another pair for my single speed where built by Helmut Burns using Goldtec track hubs and Ambrosio Balance rims. Again, really well done. I did have a pair built by Condor and in truth, complete rubbish using Ultegra hubs and Mavic Opens. I had to rebuilt them myself as they were severly undertensioned. This was back in 2000 and Monty Young was not as involved as he had been in the past.
Now I'm in Shanghai and I'm again, building them myself. Campag hubs and Ambrosio Excellence rims with Sapim Race spokes. Roads here are crap so solid wheels are a must with replaceable spokes.i\'ve got limited minutes left in life, don\'t waste my time0