Halo Mercury vs Pro-lite Merano vs Mavic Open Pro/Ultegra

ctc

Hi All,

Building up my new Sunday best bike from 2nd hand and donated parts, and I've got roughly £200 to spend on wheels.
I'm roughly 90Kg, and the bikes going to be used for Sunday rides and sportives. I live in West Oxfordshire, so not many major hills, but a few lumpy bits.

Can't make my mind up about the wheels though. I've narrowed it down to:

1. Handbuilt wheels with Mavic Open Pros, Ultegra hubs and dt swiss spokes
2. Mercury Halos
3. Pro-Lite Meranos

I've got Mavic Sports and 105 hubs on the commuter, and have been very impressed with them so far, so am leaning towards the handbuilt route, but would love to hear from people about the Pro-Lites or Mercurys and their experiences.

Thanks,

g00se

I've for Mavic Open Pros (Hope hubs) on my road bike and they're very nice. My wife has Halo Mercury wheels on hers and they're just as good.

The Halos are a bit lighter and seem to spin better. Hard to say the difference in feel as the bikes are quite different. I'd have no qualms using either and they are comparable.

Must say, the Mercury's look nicer.

dodgerdog

I have P-L Luccianos as Meranos were out of stock and on a long lead-time when I ordered my Gran Fondo. I have been most impressed by them and can only assume that the Meranos perfrom likewise.

The look the dogs and are plenty stiff enough for climbing without any sense of any lateral give, roll really well and have stood up to about 1500 miles on Somerset's finest roads without any signs of wear or damage.

I hanker after a set of Bracciano's but need to stage them past SWMBO without drawing comment on how many pairs of wheels one bike needs (Turbo wheel and Kysriums already in place)

edindevon

I got a pair of the Pro-Lite Meranos for £115 when they had the 40% off deal at Ribble last year.

I've done about 1000 miles on them and can't fault them at all.

Edindevon

huuregeil

CTC,

Breaking it down, it's worth being away that the Pro-Lite and the Halo are essentially (if not in fact) the same rim - a 30mm rim from KinLin, which is available under a range of different names. You can buy them separately and have them built up yourself - in other words, there's nothing "magic" about the Halo or Pro-lite build, they're just different sets of components at different prices.

So, what's a good set of components for you. A 30mm rim is a good choice, but at 90kg, I'd suggest 24 spokes front and 28 rear is more suitable. Alternatively, something ~23-5mm deep woudl work with 28/32 spokes. Or a box section like an Open Pro with 32/36. Your call, there's not actually much difference for the kind of thing you're doing with the. What will make a difference is the quality of the hubs, Shimanos being excellent - for this reason alone, I'd favour a handbuilt, as you'd get a solid hub.

Regards

ctc

Apologies for re awakening the thread...
In the end got 105 hubs with open pro rim. 36 hole. Put. GP4000s tyres on from Rose biked for less than 200
They've been excellent. Rims are light enough to spin up quickly and the shimano hubs , while not the lightest run really smoothly. along with the contis they make for a fast smooth ride
very happy with the purchase

Donie75

Did you buy the wheels off Rose Bikes as well? I was looking at them a while ago on their German site and they looked like very good value.

ctc

Hi Donie75

I got both the wheels and the tyres from Rose. It came to about £190 which I think is a bargain for such a good combo