# (not so) Quick Review - Prowheelbuilder.com and Velocity A23



## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I was looking for a wider rim which is all the rage these days. I also wanted a sort of "classic" look for my new/old Sannino bike that I built up this summer. This means, I wanted silver rims of fairly low profile (not 30mm), silver hubs and silver, round spokes. Aside from wanting the aesthetic of round spokes, I have a probably unreasonable bias against bladed spokes because the only wheels I've owned with bladed spokes are horrible in crosswinds and when descending (feeling unstable- buffeted), which to me negates any aero advantage I might get from them. Since I actually dislike the look of bladed spokes, unlike a lot of people these days, round makes sense for these wheels.

I will also say I'm a mild weight weenie, but not incorrigible, but am not particularly strong, heavy, or hard on equipment. That means that I've had absolutely no problems ever with low spoke count wheels (20 / 24) and was looking for something around 1500 grams.

Finally, I'm fairly price sensitive and don't really have strong opinions on "quality" in that I have never had quality issues with the medium-priced factory wheels I own. The rims hold true, the hubs work very well enough for my perceptions and needs. I really don't care if the hubs are the type that are so good I could pass them on to my kids. 

All this is to say, I probably would have been perfectly happy with the well-recommended moderately priced wheels from places like Boyd, Williams, Soul, Neuvation, Mavic, Reynolds, BWW, etc., etc. BUT - I couldn't find any of these offerings in the magic combination of all silver, round spokes, wide, low-ish profile rims.

So I started cruising the custom shops recommended and found a few very reasonably priced options. I liked the sites with online building and pricing tools as it was just easier to use than email correspondence - for me. I focused on the Velocity A23 rim because it's fairly low profile and available in silver.

That led me to prowheelbuilder.com They have an excellent online tool which allows you all options for components they have on their site and gives ratings such as "recommended" "approved" "not approved" for various configurations you might come up with. In the end, your wheel is priced with an estimated weight (based on manufacturer's specs - which aren't necessarily accurate, but within 5-50%). Very efficient shopping tool.

They also have excellent customer service - returning emails quickly and clearly and articulately explaining things.

So I bought a set of wheels using the Velocity A23 rims (OC for rear), DT Swiss Competition spokes (20F 24R), and the Velocity Race hubs.

There was a couple days delay on the build from original estimation, but I got a personal phone call a few days before due saying the wheels would be delayed 2-3 days and giving me a firm delivery date - which they beat by one day. I think it was about 2.5-3 weeks total after ordering them, including shipping time, which I was satisfied with.

There was a miscommunication with the rear wheel - I would honestly say it was mostly my own fault. I "assumed" that the rear rim would be the OC version even though looking back at my order, it did not say OC. I assumed that because I thought that all A23 wheelsets were built with the OC rear. But I did not clarify with them the fact that the build tool did not offer the OC option - I should have asked why and if I could get it. On the other hand, a glitch in their website caused me not to see it as an option.

I contacted them by email immediatly when I receive the wheels, and they got back to me within a couple of hours. Recognizing that it was mostly my own mistake for not clarifying it ahead of time, I thought the solution they offered was very fair, and I am very happy with it. I paid shipping one way (happily, cheap), and they rebuilt and returned to me without additional cost. They also offered me a generous discount on future purchase if I chose not to go to the hassle of returning it for re-build. That would have been a good option had I absolutely needed the wheel right then. I also feel - after reading about it online- that I would probably have been perfectly happy with the non-OC rim, had I not known about it. Some actually prefer it. The replacement went very quickly.

Anyway, the wheels were very reasonably priced and the service was excellent.

The build? The wheels arrived perfectly round and true. The spoke tension - roughly plucking them - seems even. I've ridden them about 200 miles, and have actually hit a couple of nasty potholes and the wheels are still great. The Velocity hubs are very smooth and the freehub is on the quiet side (which I prefer). The Velocity A23 rims are often compared unfavorably to the other wide rim options, but they look really good to me! Plus, as far as I could tell, they are the only commonly available wide rim in silver and a low height.

Bottom line - consider this vendor for custom or semi-custom wheels. I am very happy with what I got for the price I paid.


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## Andy STi (Sep 13, 2009)

Nice review. Thanks for that. Always good to hear about options


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## farva (Jun 24, 2005)

Right on. Sounds like a great wheelset. I laced up a set of velocity A23s with bike hub store hub/spokes & I've been really happy w/them. I recently switch them over to tubeless. So far so good. Wish I'd gotten the OCR rear rim like you did but they were not available when the A23 first came out. 

I was thinking their claim of "tubeless" ready was somewhat BS since they don't have a sealed rim bed, but since taping them & installing tubeless tires they do seem to lock into the beads well & in general work better than other "traditional" rims I've tried to switch to tubeless


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## SystemShock (Jun 14, 2008)

Camilo said:


> The Velocity A23 rims are often compared unfavorably to the other wide rim options, but they look really good to me!
> 
> Plus, as far as I could tell, they are the only commonly available wide rim in silver and a low height.


Not exactly. Look at the Pacenti PL23s and H+Son TB14s. Wide, low-profile, and available in polished silver.

Very nice review otherwise.


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## SprinterX (May 21, 2012)

Thanx for taking the time Camilo to do the review of PWB and your build spec. I also have a custom wheelset coming from them that I ordered during their "Tour de France" sale. Pacenti sl23, WI T11 laced with 24/28 CX-rays. Should be arriving any day now.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

SystemShock said:


> Not exactly. Look at the Pacenti PL23s and H+Son TB14s. Wide, low-profile, and available in polished silver.
> 
> Very nice review otherwise.


Thanks. I'll be looking for another set of similar wheels. It's always interesting to me - and probably why I have problems pulling the trigger on stuff like this - when I think I know what I'm looking for, I find out there's other options!


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## echo7 (Sep 7, 2010)

SprinterX said:


> Thanx for taking the time Camilo to do the review of PWB and your build spec. I also have a custom wheelset coming from them that I ordered during their "Tour de France" sale. Pacenti sl23, WI T11 laced with 24/28 CX-rays. Should be arriving any day now.


same build but 20/24... in transit for 7 buss days now..hopefully it arrives before weekend so I can try em out


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