Hope hubs Mavic open pro's pile of C**p

banditvic

Purchased some Mavic open Pro's with Hope Hubs from Merlin Cycles after hearing good reports on them.
After opening the box and fitting wheels, both out of true by at least 3mm, gutted. I had to use them as I had sold my other Wheelset, re trued them and went out for a 50 mile blast, got home out of true again. I am not an expert at wheelbuilding but have tweaked many wheels before without issues. Rang Merlin who said if I sent them back they would have a look at them at my postage expence. Trued them again same happened again, two more rides later with similar outcomes they have now settled down and are ok.
Last week had a puncture in the front wheel,could find nothing in the tyre , so fitted a new tube and next morning found tyre down again, on further investigation found rim tape had hole in where spoke is, taped up and that was that.
Got up this morning found rear tyre down, quess what! rim tape has a hole in it.
Only put 100 psi in tyres what a load of s**t.

ugo.santalucia

Don't be put off by hand builts. These cheap hope hoops are notoriously badly built. Return them and get a full refund, not a replacement, as they are all badly built. Pm me or contact a reputable builder if you want the same but properly built. Price will be a bit higher though

essjaydee

I had a local wheel builder build a rear wheel for me using Hope hub, and mavic open pro rim, and it's run absolutely true and smooth as, for the last 500 miles 8)
I'm delighted with it, so your experience must be down to a poor standard of initial build

banditvic

Yes I think your right, the box comes from hope with the wheels in it, I presume the seller Merlin tune the wheels before sending out, still dosen't account for the crap rim tape.

waterford123

Were they bought as hope hoops or a merlin build? If they were the hoops maybe you could consider contacting hope and explain your dissatisfaction, if not the wheels don't seem to be doing the job that they were sold for.

banditvic

Described as Hope Hoops, have now contacted Hope.

ugo.santalucia

banditvic wrote:

Described as Hope Hoops, have now contacted Hope.

There is a weekly complaint on the shocking built of Hope Hoops on this very forum...

Bordersroadie

Another misleading kneejerk thread title - in fact the quality of Hope hubs and Mavic OP rims is very good.

I would only ever buy handbuilt wheels but would never get them from a mail order company. Anecdotally every time I hear from someone that's bought handbuilts by mail order is not satisfied, but 100% of people buying handbuilts from a local wheelbuilder are happy.

Cheaper handbuilts built locally by a wheelbuilder are arguably better than more expensive mail order handbuilts. Much of the wheel's quality is in the way it's built in addition to just the components used.

My local guy does a great job, will give a lifetime-of-rim guarantee of trueness (and will tweak as needed which is very rarely) and is happy to stick them on the jig whenever I want, like before a holiday or Sportive.

banditvic

Possibly, just saying whats happend to me.

styxd

I would only ever buy handbuilt wheels but would never get them from a mail order company. Anecdotally every time I hear from someone that's bought handbuilts by mail order is not satisfied, but 100% of people buying handbuilts from a local wheelbuilder are happy.

Cheaper handbuilts built locally by a wheelbuilder are arguably better than more expensive mail order handbuilts. Much of the wheel's quality is in the way it's built in addition to just the components used.

What are you on about? You dont make any sense. What if I ordered some hand built wheels from your local wheel builder? Would they automatically be badly built because he's not my local builder?

The fact is, Hope Hoop quality can be hit and miss. If you had asked Merlin to hand build you a set of Hope Hubs on Mavic rims then they would have been great (just a bit more expensive)

nferrar

Yeah stupid and misleading thread title - you just got some poorly built wheels, the parts of the wheels are fine yet you choose to focus on that?...

Bordersroadie

Styxd, I'm not quite sure why you need to be rude.

I'm just saying it how I find it, that any reference that I have read about mail-order handbuilts is invariably complaining about something, both on internet forums and from people I have met. This is a fact, it may not be your experience but it is mine.

I'm just suggesting that if you get your local guy to build wheels it may cost a bit more up front but you're likely to get a better job done, a higher quality end product and personal service for any adjustments etc.

A few weeks ago a mate of mine got Hope Pro 3/Mavic Open Pro "handbuilt" by an internet mail order company, at a great price. Ironically he's had them back several times to the guy who built my own wheels, for various adjustments. They've never run true and he's wasted a lot of time and extra money on them. In desperation he's having my local builder tie and solder the spokes, although I have a feeling that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. . .

So I stand by my main point, which is that, while I acknowledge your point that there are reputable companies making good wheels on mail order, if you want well-made hassle free handbuilt wheels, you have a better percentage chance of not having problems if you employ a local guy.

styxd

if you want well-made hassle free handbuilt wheels, you have a better percentage chance of not having problems if you employ a local guy.

Really? But what if your local guy is shite?

I think what you meant to say was: If you want a better percentage chance of not having problems with your handbuilt wheels, choose a reputable wheel builder (it really doesnt matter if you order them online or buy them from the chap the lives down the road).

ugo.santalucia

Bordersroadie wrote:

Styxd, I'm not quite sure why you need to be rude.

I'm just saying it how I find it, that any reference that I have read about mail-order handbuilts is invariably complaining about something, both on internet forums and from people I have met. This is a fact, it may not be your experience but it is mine.

I'm just suggesting that if you get your local guy to build wheels it may cost a bit more up front but you're likely to get a better job done, a higher quality end product and personal service for any adjustments etc.

A few weeks ago a mate of mine got Hope Pro 3/Mavic Open Pro "handbuilt" by an internet mail order company, at a great price. Ironically he's had them back several times to the guy who built my own wheels, for various adjustments. They've never run true and he's wasted a lot of time and extra money on them. In desperation he's having my local builder tie and solder the spokes, although I have a feeling that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. . .

So I stand by my main point, which is that, while I acknowledge your point that there are reputable companies making good wheels on mail order, if you want well-made hassle free handbuilt wheels, you have a better percentage chance of not having problems if you employ a local guy.

Tying and soldering is not a way to force wheels to stay true. The reasoning behind is that it shortens the effective spoke length "de facto" making for a stiffer wheel. There is little evidence of that being actually true, hence the practice is disused... it still looks cool and I would do it on my own 1980s wheels for the look, but it's not a remedy...
the remedy is to loosen all the spokes and retension... you only need to do it once, no need for several visits...

Bordersroadie

styxd wrote:

if you want well-made hassle free handbuilt wheels, you have a better percentage chance of not having problems if you employ a local guy.

Really? But what if your local guy is shite?

I think what you meant to say was: If you want a better percentage chance of not having problems with your handbuilt wheels, choose a reputable wheel builder (it really doesnt matter if you order them online or buy them from the chap the lives down the road).

Fair enough mate, I can't disagree with that - my local guy happens to have a great rep for wheelbuilding. My comments reflected the fact, perhaps, that we all hear more about problems than good experiences.