Who to custom build me a wheelset ?

182_blue

Ok, i recently bought a set of hand built wheels from eBay from who i now know to be Dave hinde racing :? :shock: , at the time i did not know it was him and his 'history' , he is using the name Fastpartsforbikes , anyway i bid and won a set of wheels (Hope evo2's with mavic 819 rims) for what i thought was quite a reasonable cost, well as we know from Dave hinde he has quite a reputation for problems, anyway it took 2 months for delivery and when they came parts were missing and then on the first ride i found they made a tinkling sound and when i checked alot of the spokes were loose, basically a crap experience.

I had opened a ebay dispute for the non delivery and when the wheels came 2 months later ebay switched the non delivery case to a not as described case, after reading about my problems eBay have given me my cash back + postage and the wheels are going back (ebay are even paying the postage to return them !), so the question is who do i use to custom build me a set of new wheels to the same spec as what i bought from eBay ?, or any other suggestions for a wheelset ?, i would prefer them to be proper UST wheels and of course trouble free and properly built

Thanks and sorry for the long rant

Monkeypump

Contact Merlin and tell them what you want. Not sure they're always the cheapest (although they're normally competitive), but I've used them for several wheelsets and never had a problem.

Solid build quility, normally quick delivery, great customer service.

Would highly recommend them.

Ghostt

Had a look round any of the local bike shops? Might have a decent mechanic who can sort you out what you want. Also much easier to sort any problems.
If you want Hope hubs, why not try the factory made Hope hoops? Build quality is supposed to be excellent, plus you might save a bit compared to buying the parts individually and taken them to get built.
Link: http://www.hopetech.com/page.aspx?itemID=SPG83

delcol

i would disagree.. i know i'm gonna get shot down here but i can only go from personal experience, so.

out of the 5 sets of custom wheels we got merlin are the only one that have caused problems in the end we had to get the wheel rebuilt.. crc (chain reaction) have always been fine and are still going strong nearly 4 years later..

had 4 pairs of custom built wheels of crc, for different bikes all still going strong to this day.

1 set of custom built wheels of merlin.. had to get the rear wheel repaired 3 times (spokes replaced) then had the wheel rebuilt in the end..

styxd

Is there any particular reason you want 819 rims? Stans rims can be set up tubeless, and are a bit lighter, a bit wider and a bit stronger than the mavics (the Flow rim is anyway)

These can be bought from loads of bike shops as part of the "Hope Hoops" deal - they will probably work out cheaper than custom built 819's

If you do want 819's, try Just Riding Along

182_blue

I guess i just want UST ones as my tyres are all proper UST ones

styxd wrote:

Is there any particular reason you want 819 rims? Stans rims can be set up tubeless, and are a bit lighter, a bit wider and a bit stronger than the mavics (the Flow rim is anyway)

These can be bought from loads of bike shops as part of the "Hope Hoops" deal - they will probably work out cheaper than custom built 819's

If you do want 819's, try Just Riding Along

mac_man

Just as support for buying the Hope Hoops... I have a set of Pro 2s on 717 rims via my LBS. Had them over a year with not a hitch. Can't fault their quality.

williambowland

I got a pair of Pro IIs on XM719 from the Sale Wheels sections at Merlin - which is a reduced menu from the full custom service that saves a few quid.

I could not have been happier with them! Very good build and good value IMO.

Dirtydog11

delcol wrote:

i would disagree.. i know i'm gonna get shot down here but i can only go from personal experience, so.

out of the 5 sets of custom wheels we got merlin are the only one that have caused problems in the end we had to get the wheel rebuilt.. crc (chain reaction) have always been fine and are still going strong nearly 4 years later..

had 4 pairs of custom built wheels of crc, for different bikes all still going strong to this day.

1 set of custom built wheels of merlin.. had to get the rear wheel repaired 3 times (spokes replaced) then had the wheel rebuilt in the end..

+1

I recently bought a set of Stans Crests on EVO 11s which arrived with a couple of spokes so loose I was able to tighten the nipples with my fingers, I had them re-tensioned and sold them on without ever using them .

I had a similar experience with a set of 719s which I bought from them.

In contrast I have a set of 321s on Pro 11s which I bought from CRC, these are my main wheelset and as such get a lot of use yet they have required no attention and are still running true after 4+ years.

I'm not impressed, I won't be using them again for wheels.

toastedone

I was under the impression that Merlin made good wheelsets.

Dirtydog11

toastedone wrote:

I was under the impression that Merlin made good wheelsets.

So was I which was why I gave them a second chance with the Crests.

toastedone

Odd considering the amount of great merlin reviews i have read, about 95% positive, 5% negative

delcol

Dirtydog11 wrote:

toastedone wrote:

I was under the impression that Merlin made good wheelsets.

So was I which was why I gave them a second chance with the Crests.

same here, hence why our kid decided to get some from merlin.. merlin is a local bike shop for us to.. problem was we were is whistler when the wheel foooked (was a new build only been ridden once) so had it fixed (3 new spokes) few days later more new spokes then the guy at the shop advised him to get it rebuilt as it would probalby continue to happen,
so thats what he did. it been fine since...

i guess all places that sell custom wheels will have a few things go wrong if they sell say 100 sets then a i guess they gonna have a few problems..
like i said no problems with the other wheels crc builds and the wheels we had built by the shop in whistler..