# Good cheap wheelset?



## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

@cxwrench has advised me to repost this question here: I need to replace the worn-out wheelset that came with my 2013 Giant Defy Advanced. Trying not to spend more than $300, and I have a personal dislike of noisy hubs. I've seen a bunch of good notices about the Shimano 6800, which is now discontinued; current version seems to be the Shimano RS500, but at 195 pounds I don't know if the 16/20 spoke count is a good idea. Then there's the Vision Trimax 30, Vision Team 30 and Vision Team Comp 30 -- the latter has cup-and-cone hubs like Shimano, which would presumably be quiet. Any feedback? Thanks in advance!


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## robc in wi (Sep 8, 2011)

I recommend bicyclewheelwarehouse.com. They build great reasonably priced wheelsets. I would click on "road" and then "training " and you will find wheels in your price range with an option for 5800 hubs if that's what you desire. 24f and 28r for spokes, but most of the builds have options. Their Pure hubs are pretty quiet and roll well. My BWW wheels have about 6k miles on them and have been bulletproof so far.


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## mfdemicco (Nov 8, 2002)

RangerDD said:


> @cxwrench has advised me to repost this question here: I need to replace the worn-out wheelset that came with my 2013 Giant Defy Advanced. Trying not to spend more than $300, and I have a personal dislike of noisy hubs. I've seen a bunch of good notices about the Shimano 6800, which is now discontinued; current version seems to be the Shimano RS500, but at 195 pounds I don't know if the 16/20 spoke count is a good idea. Then there's the Vision Trimax 30, Vision Team 30 and Vision Team Comp 30 -- the latter has cup-and-cone hubs like Shimano, which would presumably be quiet. Any feedback? Thanks in advance!


Wrong on the Shimano wheels. I weigh 195 pounds and have two sets of 6800 wheels and have been riding them for a number of years with lots of miles. They are very durable wheels and I wouldn't hesitate buying them again. Compare that to crap Bontrager wheels that crack after a year of riding.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Yep it's tough to come close to BWW wheels for price, options and build quality for N.American made wheels.


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

A bit over your price range, but these are awesome wheels...

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Hunt/Race-Aero-Clincher-Wheelset/FVOM

They've gotten great reviews as has the newer "wide" version that's available on the Hunt Wheels website. Much wider than the Shimano wheels which give you greater comfort (can run lower pressure), better cornering, tubeless compatible, etc. IME, it's tough to find reasonably priced, wide aluminum rims. 

As a bonus, I know of 3 sets that have been ordered from Sigma and you we all got them in like 2 days from the UK for $12 shipping!


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

I found a like new set of RS81 Shimano wheels for $150 on Craigs list - highly respected wheels. If you live in a community of reasonable size Craigs list would be a good place to watch daily to see what pops up.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

I found your wheels here. Hand built DT460s laced to Shimano 105 5800 hubs. $130 for the front, $160 for the rear. Great components at a great price. I am assuming if they are hand built, they will be stress relieved properly:

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...8&category=245

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...7&category=245

If you want to take a chance with Velomine, you can get the same DTR460 rims laced to Ultegra 6800 hubs for $229. But as I mentioned earlier, these are machine built and aren't stress relieved. So you will eventually need to have them re-trued - grovel to your local bike shop that you bought them online and not from them. The good news is that a bike shop will usually only charge you around $25 for this service:

DT Swiss R460 Rims Road Bike Wheelset 8-11 speed 32h Ultegra [741463] - $229.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike


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## FasterStronger (Jun 6, 2014)

robc in wi said:


> I recommend bicyclewheelwarehouse.com. They build great reasonably priced wheelsets. I would click on "road" and then "training " and you will find wheels in your price range with an option for 5800 hubs if that's what you desire. 24f and 28r for spokes, but most of the builds have options. Their Pure hubs are pretty quiet and roll well. My BWW wheels have about 6k miles on them and have been bulletproof so far.


Whats not to like about that?

I bought some custom made wheels that cost about 1500 CAD all in which suffered a broken spoke with less than 1500 KM on them.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

Lombard, you da man. I will remember you in my will (though as you can tell from my wheel-price range, that won't amount to much).


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

The problem with a lot of aluminum hoops out there (including Shimano, which is a mystery to me) is that they have narrow-by-current-standards bead and external width. This is a real problem in terms or aerodynamics and cornering performance with the current trend toward wider tires. Both Hunt wheels I mention above are some of the very few affordable options that are considerably wider.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

RangerDD said:


> Lombard, you da man. I will remember you in my will (though as you can tell from my wheel-price range, that won't amount to much).


LOL! Glad I could help.


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

robc in wi said:


> I recommend bicyclewheelwarehouse.com. They build great reasonably priced wheelsets. My BWW wheels have about 6k miles on them and have been bulletproof so far.


I also have BWW wheels with over 10K miles, no problems. 
These Pure Aero are now on sale for $249
These are very nice hand built wheels done right. Look at the little details - 24/28, double butted spokes, etc. The Velomine stuff is machine built with 32/32 single butted spokes, and will likely need to be stress relieved and re-tensioned, agreed. Also will be a lot heavier. 
I know, I also have a similar set of wheels from Velomine, they are made in a huge volume wheel factory. 

Pure Aero 700c Wheel Set 1600g


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Z'mer said:


> I also have BWW wheels with over 10K miles, no problems.
> These Pure Aero are now on sale for $249
> These are very nice hand built wheels done right. Look at the little details - 24/28, double butted spokes, etc. The Velomine stuff is machine built with 32/32 single butted spokes, and will likely need to be stress relieved and re-tensioned, agreed. Also will be a lot heavier.
> I know, I also have a similar set of wheels from Velomine, they are made in a huge volume wheel factory.
> ...


These are great if you don't mind that they are only 14mm internal width wheels. That being said, we rode on 14 and 15mm wheels for years before wider rims became all the rage. I did notice a feeling of more stability when I went from 15 to 17mm rims, though I can't say for sure whether that had to do with width or the fact that my newer wheels have a higher spoke count.


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

Lombard said:


> These are great if you don't mind that they are only 14mm internal width wheels. *That being said, we rode on 14 and 15mm wheels for years before wider rims became all the rage*. I did notice a feeling of more stability when I went from 15 to 17mm rims, though I can't say for sure whether that had to do with width or the fact that my newer wheels have a higher spoke count.


Those 14 and 15 mm internal wheels were OK for a 30+ years. Wider wheels are better, but iyou can also run wider tires 
I also have Archetypes, HED C2. For $249 you won't get everything. I guess it depends on what you are willing to concede. 

I would take the handbuilt, 24/28, DB spokes and much lighter weight, over a lesser wheel in all those regards that was simply wider. But it's not my choice, just making a suggestion. 

Mostly because I've owned wheels from both sources (BWW and Velomine) Velomine also sells much more expensive handbuilt stuff, but the lesser $ wheelsets are machine built and not fully stress relieved.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

Another thumbs up for BWW. I've got 3 sets. A MTB set. Pure Podium. And Blackset Race. All great wheels. I've never had to true any of them.
You'll be hard pressed to find cheaper, lighter, stronger wheelsets.

$400 for a 1388g wheelset hand built with 24/28 CX-Ray spokes.
Blackset Race 24 700c Wheel Set


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Z'mer said:


> Those 14 and 15 mm internal wheels were OK for a 30+ years. Wider wheels are better, but iyou can also run wider tires
> I also have Archetypes, HED C2. For $249 you won't get everything. I guess it depends on what you are willing to concede.
> 
> I would take the handbuilt, 24/28, DB spokes and much lighter weight, over a lesser wheel in all those regards that was simply wider. But it's not my choice, just making a suggestion.
> ...


RangerDD,

I don't think you would go wrong with either of these two options. Either of these will be better than the stock wheels you are replacing. The BWW wheels will be around 300-400g lighter than the wheels I linked to. And 24/28 spoke count is plenty for your weight. Their wheels have a reputation here for high miles and reliability.

That being said, unless you race, you probably won't notice much difference. The lighter wheels may spin up faster from a stop and therefore feel faster (granted that feel is an important part of enjoyment on the bike), but once up to speed, it's a wash. Also, unless you consistently ride at speeds of 20+ mph, less spokes will not give you any aero advantage Your average speeds will not be significantly different.


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## QuiQuaeQuod (Jan 24, 2003)

Lombard said:


> I am assuming if they are hand built, they will be stress relieved properly


I would hope for that, but I would not assume it to be true. Seen too many cases where it was not.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

QuiQuaeQuod said:


> I would hope for that, but I would not* assume* it to be true. Seen too many cases where it was not.


I should have known never to assume.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

How quiet are the Pure hubs?


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

How quiet are the Hunt hubs?


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

RangerDD said:


> How quiet are the Hunt hubs?


They are pretty quiet, not loud at all. But not totally silent like Shimano. Like any other typical cartridge hub, you need clean / redo lube when they start to get noisy, maybe every 2000-4000 miles, or less. Very easy to take apart and clean though, unlike Shimano which basically you never take apart (unless you are very brave).


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Z'mer said:


> They are pretty quiet, not loud at all. But not totally silent like Shimano. *Like any other typical cartridge hub, you need clean / redo lube when they start to get noisy*, maybe every 2000-4000 miles, or less. Very easy to take apart and clean though, unlike Shimano which basically you never take apart (unless you are very brave).


The noise has nothing to do whether the bearings are loose ball cup and cone or cartridge. The noise comes from the freehub. Generally, the more points of engagement, the noisier the freehub. More pawls each making the same noise. Shimano freehubs only have 18 points of engagement. Some hubs have as many as 48.

Lubing a noisy freehub may work for awhile, but the noise will come back after not too long.


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## Finx (Oct 19, 2017)

I was nosing around our corporate perks discount site and noticed a 20% off for backcountry.com. They have the Shimano Ultegra WH-RS500 wheels for $299 (not including the discount).


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Finx said:


> I was nosing around our corporate perks discount site and noticed a 20% off for backcountry.com. They have the Shimano Ultegra WH-RS500 wheels for $299 (not including the discount).


I have to correct myself. In the other identical thread I misstated that the WH-RS500 was an entry level wheelset. I was confusing the older WH-RS501 which is an entry level wheelset and didn't get good reviews. I edited my post over there.

The WH-RS500 however is the newer version of the Ultegra WH-6800. This appears to be the same Ultegra wheelset as before. I really don't know what marketing people at Shimano were thinking when they decided to give this wheelset an alpha numeric designation only one digit off from one of their inferior wheelsets. Shimano newest version of the Ultegra group set is 8000, so you would think they would have a WH-8000? I guess not.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

That Backcountry discount only works on full-price items, and the RS500 is already on sale for $299 (in lots of different places). But especially in light of Lombard's revised quality update, looks like maybe it's back to square one and pulling the trigger on this wheelset. Many of the specs are near-identical to the Pure Aero pair on sale at BWW for $249, though I'm not sure those are tubeless ready (sent them that question but no response yet). All in all, Shimano's track record (and quietness) is a powerful enticement despite the general popularity of BWW.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

RangerDD said:


> That Backcountry discount only works on full-price items, and the RS500 is already on sale for $299 (in lots of different places). But especially in light of Lombard's revised quality update, looks like maybe it's back to square one and pulling the trigger on this wheelset. Many of the specs are near-identical to the Pure Aero pair on sale at BWW for $249, though I'm not sure those are tubeless ready (sent them that question but no response yet). All in all, Shimano's track record (and quietness) is a powerful enticement despite the general popularity of BWW.


The BWW Pure's aren't tubeless. But the Blackset are. Their website isn't all updated yet, but they do have tubeless rims in all the Blackset sizes. I just spoke to them a couple weeks ago about it.

BWW usually answers emails within a day. They're really helpful with answering any questions you have.


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## mfdemicco (Nov 8, 2002)

RangerDD said:


> That Backcountry discount only works on full-price items, and the RS500 is already on sale for $299 (in lots of different places). But especially in light of Lombard's revised quality update, looks like maybe it's back to square one and pulling the trigger on this wheelset. Many of the specs are near-identical to the Pure Aero pair on sale at BWW for $249, though I'm not sure those are tubeless ready (sent them that question but no response yet). All in all, Shimano's track record (and quietness) is a powerful enticement despite the general popularity of BWW.


My son just bought a set of these wheels. They are nice. Also, they have no spoke holes in the rim bed, so no tape or rim strip is required like other so called tubeless rims. Much easier and more reliable to set up tubeless, if you want to go that way.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

I checked out the Blackset wheels, which aren't recommended for riders over 195 lbs. (my weight exactly).


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

RangerDD said:


> I checked out the Blackset wheels, which aren't recommended for riders over 195 lbs. (my weight exactly).


They are hand built 24/28 with CXray spokes. They'll be significantly stronger than the machine built RS500 16/20 wheels. 
If you're concerned about the Blackset, you should run away from the RS500.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

I'm so confused...!?


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

tlg said:


> They are hand built 24/28 with CXray spokes. They'll be significantly stronger than the machine built RS500 16/20 wheels.
> If you're concerned about the Blackset, you should run away from the RS500.


The RS500s have a max weight rating of 220lbs. Ordinarily, I'm not a fan of low spoke count wheels and the RS500s are 16/20. However, Shimano is generally on top of their game. Lower spoke count wheels will generally have heavier, more robust rims to compensate for the greater forces on each spoke hole.

I don't think you would go wrong with either these or the BWW Pure mentioned earlier in this thread. The Blacksets are indeed a good wheelset, but they are at the limit of your weight, not to mention $100 more than you want to spend. Then again, buying those wheels could be an incentive to lose weight.


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

"Then again, buying those wheels could be an incentive to lose weight."

Right, in the same way that noisy hubs are an incentive to keep pedaling...


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

RangerDD said:


> I need to replace the worn-out wheelset that came with my 2013 Giant Defy Advanced.


How did the old wheels wear out? 
How were they built - # spokes?
Do you really ever plan to run tubeless? How many flats do you get a year?


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

Z'mer said:


> How did the old wheels wear out?
> How were they built - # spokes?
> Do you really ever plan to run tubeless? How many flats do you get a year?


1. Dent in front rim; cracks in rear rim at every spoke on drivetrain side
2. 18 front/23 rear
3. Now running tubeless on another (CX) bike
4. Several, including two on one recent ride.


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## OldChipper (May 15, 2011)

Z'mer said:


> They are pretty quiet, not loud at all. But not totally silent like Shimano. Like any other typical cartridge hub, you need clean / redo lube when they start to get noisy, maybe every 2000-4000 miles, or less. Very easy to take apart and clean though, unlike Shimano which basically you never take apart (unless you are very brave).


Yeah, this pretty much. Way quieter than Mavic, a little quieter than DT Swiss, not quite as quiet as Shimano. Freewheel noise generally doesn't bother me at all though so I might not be the best judge.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

RangerDD said:


> 1. Dent in front rim; cracks in rear rim at every spoke on drivetrain side
> 2. 18 front/23 rear


And now you're considering a wheel that's 16/20.


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## mfdemicco (Nov 8, 2002)

tlg said:


> And now you're considering a wheel that's 16/20.


Rim strength is way more important than the number of spokes, in my opinion. Shimano rims are reinforced at the spoke holes so they are resistant to cracking. I've had a number of 32 spoke rims crack and break spokes as well while these Shimano wheels have outlasted them. YMMV


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

RangerDD said:


> 1. Dent in front rim; cracks in rear rim at every spoke on drivetrain side
> 2. 18 front/23 rear
> 3. Now running tubeless on another (CX) bike
> 4. Several, including two on one recent ride.


How many miles before you noticed the cracks in the rear wheel?


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

7,000+


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

RangerDD said:


> 7,000+


Well that's not as bad as my old Bontrager Race wheels which cracked at 4,000 miles. But rims should not crack at 7K miles. Giant's self-branded stock wheels are low end.

As the saying goes:

1) Light
2) Durable
3) Cheap

Pick two.

We already know you want cheap.  So which is more important to you - light or durable? In other words,would you rather have a 1600g wheelset that lasts only 10K miles, or a 2000g wheelset that lasts 20K miles?


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

Since I only ride this bike some of the time (I have multiple others), it's gonna take a long time to put 10K on it. Among all wheelsets we've been discussing, I'm not sure what the durable alternative would be. Performance sells a "Wheelhouse" set with Ultegra hubs and 36-hole Mavic Open Pro rims, but some people in this forum have been badmouthing the Mavic OP (as obsolete, it seems).


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## mfdemicco (Nov 8, 2002)

RangerDD said:


> Since I only ride this bike some of the time (I have multiple others), it's gonna take a long time to put 10K on it. Among all wheelsets we've been discussing, I'm not sure what the durable alternative would be. Performance sells a "Wheelhouse" set with Ultegra hubs and 36-hole Mavic Open Pro rims, but some people in this forum have been badmouthing the Mavic OP (as obsolete, it seems).


Open Pro rims are not durable. I cracked one in 6000 miles, and had eyelet breakage and creaking at the joint on others. They recently came out with a new Open Pro, so I don't know about those.


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## Z'mer (Oct 28, 2013)

RangerDD said:


> Since I only ride this bike some of the time (I have multiple others), it's gonna take a long time to put 10K on it. Among all wheelsets we've been discussing, I'm not sure what the durable alternative would be.


Some people are just harder on wheels, as demonstrated by their past problems. This tends to go up as weight goes up, but not always. 

Usually, "durable" means, above all, properly built. This means proper tension, and equal tension on all spokes. Both are very important. 

After that, usually more material in the rim, deeper rim, and more spokes makes a wheel more durable. 

Also a consideration is repairs. If you break a spoke, is a replacement easy (same day, cheap), or a major headache (custom order, weeks delay, expensive). 
If a wheel uses common spokes, it's easy, proprietary spokes, headache. BTW, Shimano wheelsets use proprietary spokes. 

If you can afford the bike downtime, buy whatever strikes your fancy. If it was a daily commuter, or you put 5-8K /yr on the wheels and wanted 3-5+ years from them, you would need to be more careful, likely spend more $ in the 2nd case.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

RangerDD said:


> Since I only ride this bike some of the time (I have multiple others), it's gonna take a long time to put 10K on it. Among all wheelsets we've been discussing, I'm not sure what the durable alternative would be. Performance sells a "Wheelhouse" set with Ultegra hubs and 36-hole* Mavic Open Pro *rims, but some people in this forum have been badmouthing the*Mavic OP (as obsolete, it seems)*.


Mentioning Mavic Open Pro and durable in the same sentence doesn't usually happen. Mavic OPs are known for spoke hole cracking. Durable alternative - NOT.

Stick with these three choices:

Shimano Ultegra RS500 (220lb. weight limit)
BWW Pure Aero (220lb. weight limit)
Hand built DT460s laced to Shimano 105 5800s:

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...8&category=245

https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...7&category=245 

You won't go wrong with any of these.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Z'mer said:


> Usually, "durable" means, above all, properly built. This means proper tension, and *equal tension on all spokes*. Both are very important.


Unless you meticulously build your own wheels, this will not happen. I don't think I have one single wheelset I didn't build myself that had equal spoke tensions. That's certainly not happening with machine built wheels.


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

Lombard said:


> Unless you meticulously build your own wheels, this will not happen. I don't think I have one single wheelset I didn't build myself that had equal spoke tensions. That's certainly not happening with machine built wheels.


HA! 

And I will leave it there.


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## leapfrog (Apr 1, 2018)

I've been impressed with quality and customer service -- and value -- from John Neugent, now operating as Home. The wheels are well designed, precision built and super durable.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

leapfrog said:


> I've been impressed with quality and customer service -- and value -- from John Neugent, now operating as Home. The wheels are well designed, precision built and super durable.


Interesting the detail they have on building. Though I didn't find any info on what brand of rims and hubs they use.


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## JerryLook (Dec 3, 2017)

+1 on Neugent wheels. I got a set last year for around 400$ shipped. They weigh just over 1400 grams and are holding up great. He has some lower priced wheels as well. 

Hand built in California. And its nice to know if I ever need them rebuilt, I can just mail them back to John for a rebuild. 

John also helped me pick out the correct wheels for my weight, and intended use. Great customer service.


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## November Dave (Dec 7, 2011)

Kinlin


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## RangerDD (Aug 6, 2012)

Yow! Neugent seems too good to be true!?


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## JerryLook (Dec 3, 2017)

John Neugent is the real deal. If you have any questions about the wheels, he usually answers via email within 24 hours. I asked a bunch of questions before I bought my wheels from him. 

Looking at a set of his 50mm deep carbon tubular wheels for my next set.


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## carlosflanders (Nov 23, 2008)

mfdemicco said:


> Open Pro rims are not durable. I cracked one in 6000 miles, and had eyelet breakage and creaking at the joint on others. They recently came out with a new Open Pro, so I don't know about those.


What am I doing wrong? I have 4 wheels (3 rear, 1 front) built with Open Pros and they've been superb. The lowest mileage one has about 10,000 mi and the highest 25k miles - the brake track is starting to ovalize so is due a replacement. Have yet to see a cracked Open Pro rim built in the last 12 years. Built with Ultegra hubs they need a little truing care once or twice a year. Spent a couple of minutes checking the trueness and dish of my oldest set yesterday and went out for a brisk 50 miles. Felt better than ever.

That said, I now usually build with wider Kinlin Rims. Great value for money.

Riding a rear wheel with only 20 spokes is asking for trouble. Make sure you have a source for replacement spokes identified.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

carlosflanders said:


> What am I doing wrong? I have 4 wheels (3 rear, 1 front) built with Open Pros and they've been superb. The lowest mileage one has about 10,000 mi and the highest 25k miles - the brake track is starting to ovalize so is due a replacement. Have yet to see a cracked Open Pro rim built in the last 12 years. Built with Ultegra hubs they need a little truing care once or twice a year. Spent a couple of minutes checking the trueness and dish of my oldest set yesterday and went out for a brisk 50 miles. Felt better than ever.


What can I say? You must either be very light or your Open Pros have a 36 spoke count. Thought I have to say, unless you ride 5000 or more miles per year, I think having to true wheels every year sounds like they were built poorly.


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## mfdemicco (Nov 8, 2002)

Open Pros can't take a lot of spoke tension. You shouldn't exceed 100 kgf unless you want the rims to crack much sooner. 100 kgf on the drive side means much lower tension on the nondrive side and the nipples unscrew. A low strength Loctite (222) on the NDS spoke threads works for that.


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## carlosflanders (Nov 23, 2008)

Lombard said:


> What can I say? You must either be very light or your Open Pros have a 36 spoke count. Thought I have to say, unless you ride 5000 or more miles per year, I think having to true wheels every year sounds like they were built poorly.


5.5k miles per year for last 10 years. 75 kg. Ride lots of crappy roads and bunny hop potholes. 20-30 races per year. Build all my own wheels. 32 spokes on OPs . The 25k mile one has 28 spokes. They're light rims so careful not to overtension. Only monor but regular truing needed. I have several 24 spoke wheels on stronger rims and they need similar attention. I also really like the brake tracks on the OPs.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

mfdemicco said:


> Open Pros can't take a lot of spoke tension. You shouldn't exceed 100 kgf unless you want the rims to crack much sooner. 100 kgf on the drive side means much lower tension on the nondrive side and the nipples unscrew. A low strength Loctite (222) on the NDS spoke threads works for that.


Open Pros have a max 90kgF rating while most other rims are specced at 120kgF. On an 11-speed freehub, 90-100kgF on the DS will give you quite a low NDS tension.


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## terbennett (Apr 1, 2006)

Neugent Cycling is a good place too. Most know John Neugent's former brand Neuvation. Customer service was second to none. He continues that same support with his company Neugent cycling. Handbuilt wheels with quiet hubs. Check these out:

Specifications


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## Ventura Roubaix (Oct 10, 2009)

I'm a clyde with a history of nipple holes cracking on rear rims , until I built a set of wheels with the H Plus Son Archetype's rims, If you havn't bought a set yet look at some of these below, I can't vouche for some of the hubs but research them, The Shimano hubs are solid.


https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....TRS0&_nkw=h+plus+son+archetype&_sacat=177830


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## dirt farmer (Jun 7, 2016)

I just bought a new set of wheels this last week. I was considering Neugent, November, and Psimet. 

I weigh 220, and wanted a strong yet lightweight 24/28 set. They all offered want I wanted at reasonable prices (my budget was a bit more than what the OP wants to spend.... $500-600). 

I went with Psimet. For $479, I got a nice 1465 gram set for my weight.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

Ventura Roubaix said:


> I'm a clyde with a history of nipple holes cracking on rear rims , until I built a set of wheels with the H Plus Son Archetype's rims, If you havn't bought a set yet look at some of these below, I can't vouche for some of the hubs but research them, The Shimano hubs are solid.
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....TRS0&_nkw=h+plus+son+archetype&_sacat=177830


All great solid components on these, but read what I posted earlier in this thread about Velomine. They don't stress relieve their wheels, so they will need re-truing after a few rides.


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## scott967 (Apr 26, 2012)

I needed a cheap set and just got a pair of Vision Team 30 rim brake clinchers from Merlin in the UK. Ordered on the 4th and received here in Hawaii on the 9th (no idea how they do that?) $231 shipped. Out of the box I measured axial /radial trueness at about +/- .002". Ping test on the flat spokes (20/24 drilling) was pretty even except a couple on the rear. "Vision" branded hub, don't really know anything about it other than cartridge bearing. Did a 20 mi shakedown today and it is a pretty quiet hub. There's some sort of anodizing on the brake track that seems kind of grabby (I have been on carbon tubs for the past year so it might be relative). I don't have a scale and these wheels don't seem like the lightest I have seen (claimed is 1920g), but for the intended purpose of backups should be OK. 

scott s.
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## terbennett (Apr 1, 2006)

Ventura Roubaix, Were you riding Mavic Open Pro wheels before? That issue was not uncommon with them.


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