Off shelf or hand built wheelset?

[50000tears]

Decided to definitely upgrade my wheelset to something lighter and was going to go for the Fullcrum Racer 3 set which will be £350ish and I can get fitted for £15. However I have read that hand built are better and I know that my closest LBS does do hand builds.

Can anybody explain why hand built is better if they are. The Fulcrums would come in at 1550g weight. So would a typical hand built be a similar weight and performance for less money or is it something else.

 

[MontyVeda]

you can get hand built wheels with exactly the same components as an off the shelf wheel... you just tell the builder what rim, hub and spokes you want.... you'll pay more for the build, but in my view, it's money well spent (got mine delivered from Spa Cycles in Harrogate). I think i paid about £30 extra for the build of two wheels, as opposed to buying the components and building them myself (territory I'm yet to venture into). They're solid as a rock... far far better than any off the shelf wheel I've bought, and i didn't go for expensive rims or hubs or spokes (i think the components added up to about £120 for the pair)... the build is what makes them so solid.

The question for your local LBS is, do they do good hand built wheels? Not all wheel builders are created equal.

 

[50000tears]

you can get hand built wheels with exactly the same components as an off the shelf wheel... you just tell the builder what rim, hub and spokes you want.... you'll pay more for the build, but in my view, it's money well spent (got mine delivered from Spa Cycles in Harrogate). I think i paid about £30 extra for the build of two wheels, as opposed to buying the components and building them myself (territory I'm yet to venture into). They're solid as a rock... far far better than any off the shelf wheel I've bought, and i didn't go for expensive rims or hubs or spokes (i think the components added up to about £120 for the pair)... the build is what makes them so solid.

The question for your local LBS is, do they do good hand built wheels? Not all wheel builders are created equal.

That is the million dollar question. I have Googled my LBS and came up blank so have no idea. All I do know is that he is an ex semi-pro rider so hopefully at least knows what a good wheel should be like.

 

[AndyRM]

That is the million dollar question. I have Googled my LBS and came up blank so have no idea. All I do know is that he is an ex semi-pro rider so hopefully at least knows what a good wheel should be like.

Round.

 

[50000tears]

Round.

It is my preferred option.

 

[MontyVeda]

or you could get them delivered from further afield... I went to Spa after them being recommended on cyclechat, maybe someone can recomend one closer to home

 

[phil_hg_uk]

I got my wheels built by David at dcrwheels.co.uk after a few recommendations on here and I am very pleased, had a few chats over the phone as to what I wanted and I changed the spec a few times then he built them and shipped them to me and I got exactly what I wanted.

Spa Cycles are my LBS but DCR Wheels had a better range of options and more open to discussion in my opinion.

 

[jayonabike]

Harry Rowland makes some pretty damn fine wheels.

 

[MontyVeda]

...

Spa Cycles are my LBS but DCR Wheels had a better range of options and more open to discussion in my opinion.

Yes... I ordered the black rigida snyper rims from Spa Cycles because i liked the look of them... but the email reply i got was a bit "You don't want those, you want these instead" so i went back to their website, but didn't like the look of the recommended rims as much, so reinstated by email that I would still prefer the rims I'd ordered. Got a reply saying the snypers were discontinued, and i really do want 'these instead'... so back to their site again, the snypers are in stock, so i emailed back saying i really really like the look of those, and i'd like them... pleeeeease

On the one hand he was only trying to help. The alternative was the same price so it wasn't an 'up-sell'... but the more i asserted that i wanted what i'd ordered, they* did seem to get a bit shirty.

But all in all... i did end up with a cracking set of wheels, so can only recommend them A good wheel builder isn't necessarily a good 'people person'.

*when i say 'they', i mean the one bloke I'd corresponded with.

 

[50000tears]

One of the issues I have I guess is that I know nothing about what to ask for. Is it enough just to explain what you want out of them and your budget and leave them to sort out the rest?

 

[50000tears]

Harry Rowland makes some pretty damn fine wheels.

He does seem to come up on Google quite a bit so will look more into him for sure.

 

[jayonabike]

He built me a pair of Ambrosio Excelight on 105 hubs for my round town run about and work bike 2 years ago, never had a problem with them and they are as true today as the day I bought them

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Yes... I ordered the black rigida snyper rims from Spa Cycles because i liked the look of them... but the email reply i got was a bit "You don't want those, you want these instead" so i went back to their website, but didn't like the look of the recommended rims as much, so reinstated by email that I would still prefer the rims I'd ordered. Got a reply saying the snypers were discontinued, and i really do want 'these instead'... so back to their site again, the snypers are in stock, so i emailed back saying i really really like the look of those, and i'd like them... pleeeeease

On the one hand he was only trying to help. The alternative was the same price so it wasn't an 'up-sell'... but the more i asserted that i wanted what i'd ordered, they* did seem to get a bit shirty.

But all in all... i did end up with a cracking set of wheels, so can only recommend them A good wheel builder isn't necessarily a good 'people person'.

*when i say 'they', i mean the one bloke I'd corresponded with.

Yes well if I was to say that I only ever go in Spa when I know exactly what I want and I don't need to discuss it with anyone ........... enough said

I have to say david @ DCR was very helpful and I did change my mind twice . I got to a point where I was undecided between two configurations and he explained the difference and came up with an option that was best suited for me, which was what I wanted when I was buying an expensive set of wheels.

 

[MontyVeda]

.

One of the issues I have I guess is that I know nothing about what to ask for. Is it enough just to explain what you want out of them and your budget and leave them to sort out the rest?

a good wheel builder will be able to give the ideal hub/rim combo for your needs... be it racing, touring, MTB... they should be the experts... so to answer your question... yes, just explain and they should deliver.

 

[50000tears]

Thanks guys. Lots of food for thought.