# Prowheelbuilder.com experience



## mjfink (Jul 20, 2013)

Just wanted to post my experience with PWB in case others are interested and/or would like some feedback. I ordered 4 wheels from them, 2 for me and 2 for my wife. Both wheels were built up from Velocity rims, mine DeepVs, my wife's A23s using Chris King hubs and DT Swiss Aerolite and CX Ray spokes. 

The website said that the wheels would be ready to ship about 3 weeks from the order date, they shipped 1 day early from what was estimated. I had to make 2 changes to the order after I placed it, both were very easy and no complaints at all.

The wheels arrived today and they are, in a word, perfect. We used alloy nipples (because we wanted colors) and there's not a single scratch that I can find anywhere on the nipples, spokes, rims or hubs. The wheels came out of the box incredibly true, my old wheels, even after a few professional turings, I don't think were ever this good. The spoke tension feels uniform all the way around the wheel, all the bladed spokes are oriented correctly and installation was very straightforward and easy. 

I spoke with one of the principals at PWB and e-mailed them several times during the build process, they always got back to me promptly and were a pleasure to talk with on the phone. 

The wheels came in 2 boxes (2 wheels per box) and were packed very well; you could chuck those boxes off a moving truck and not damage anything. 

Basically, if you're looking to have a wheelset built up, I can't see any reason not to go with these guys; there prices were very good, they had an incredible (some would say overwhelming) selection of rims/spokes/hubs to choose from and they were great to deal with. The end product is everything that I could have hoped for.

Here are some pictures of the wheelsets, hope that others enjoy them!


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## rochrunner (Jul 11, 2006)

Nice! Are those spokes white? Which brand are they?


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## mjfink (Jul 20, 2013)

Yes, they are white. My wife had to have white. They cost a fortune (like 150/wheel, IIRC). They are DT Swiss Aerolites. The blacks on the other bike are CX Rays (about 1/2 the cost per spoke, but.. They don't come in white)..


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## miataeric (Jun 4, 2013)

Great write up! I've been pricing a set of wheels from PWB with King hubs and H Plus Son rims and Sapim X-ray's. Come tax return time, if money provides, that will be my build!
The pics look great!


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## dcb (Jul 21, 2008)

I bought a set from PWB a couple of years ago and have nothing but positive things to say about them as well. They were a pretty basic set with 30mm IRD's, Formula hubs and straight guage spokes and they stayed true throughout their life. My bike, along with the wheels was recently stolen, so they're gone for good I guess..............kinda hope they fail dramatically now but I doubt the will.


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## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

Nice write up, PWB is a good group to deal with, I recently had to replace a rim, they were the only folks to have the specific rim in stock. They were quick with emails and shipping.


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## willstylez (Sep 15, 2011)

I just placed an order for a mtn bike wheelset from them last night....Hadley Hubs / Velocity Blunts / Sapim Race (32 F&R). Their website is easy to navigate as well.

Thanks for the review MJFINK, as I can rest at ease now!


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## jct78 (Dec 12, 2011)

also a satisfied custy here. 

i had them build up some HED C2/white/sapim cxray wheels. clydeproof.


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

Interesting how you, in the same day, start a thread about how happy you are with your new wheels, then start another asking why they are so flexy.


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## mjfink (Jul 20, 2013)

T K said:


> Interesting how you, in the same day, start a thread about how happy you are with your new wheels, then start another asking why they are so flexy.


I specifically put that in another thread because I suspected (and seems correct) that my impression of "flexy" was in fact "normal" for light rims. The rims that I was riding before were tanks, they had very little flex, but were a lot heavier and probably also a bit harsher on the road than my new wheels. This thread was intended to be a review of Prowheelbuilder, who, in my estimation, did a beautiful job building up the wheels and delivering them on time exactly as ordered. I didn't want to cloud review with subjective things that may/may not actually be an issue. I've ridden about 100 miles on the new wheels now and can tell you that the flex does not seem to have any negative impact at all on the wheels, they don't hit the brakes and don't feel "loose" or unstable at all. 

I stand by my review, Prowheelbuilder did a great job putting my wheels together; the fact that I'm too inexperienced to tell the normal amount of flex in lighter wheels has nothing to do with them or their build quality.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I had an excellent transaction with PWB last summer. Totally, unreservedly satisfied with the quality, price and customer service. I had an issue where there was a "miscommunication" between their website/wheel build program and me. I wanted the rear A23 offset rim, and for some reason thought I had ordered it. (I hadn't, but the website was a little confusing at the time). They cheerfully took the wheel back and returned it to me within a week (express) rebuilt with the offset rim. Original order was a couple of days late, but they notified me by personal phone call about a week before that to make sure it wouldn't be a bad problem.

I'm looking there first for my next wheels.


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## Samfujiabq (Jul 3, 2013)

PWB is in the process of building my wheels,I have asked a couple of questions along the way and I have been extremely pleased with both their quick responses and their customer service.Im expecting my wheels the first week of March and looking forward to seeing their work first hand.


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## mjfink (Jul 20, 2013)

Sam/Camilo

Thanks for bumping this thread back up, figured I take a minute and update my experience. 

I've now put about 2000 miles on both sets of wheels. I am still thrilled with the result. All 4 are still true/round and look great. There are a few things that I wanted to tell others, in case they wondered, about the builds that I had done.

The white spokes (which cost a fortune) look really awesome, those wheels get comments all the time. Unfortunately, the white color is fragile. There are a few spots on some of the spokes where the color has rubbed through. If you get white spokes, prepare for some ongoing maintanance if you want to keep them looking great. Same for the white rims; they look great when they are clean, but it's a more constant battle than with other colors to keep them looking good.

The DeepV rims have a "tick" in them where the hoops are bonded together. You can feel this when braking. It doesn't drive me crazy (as it apparently does some people) but, if I knew it was there, I probably would have gone with something else (DT 585s probably). However, that said, the DeepV is not at all as bad in the wind as I expected (crosswind), it's a little worse than a standard rim but not at all difficult to deal with.

The Chris King hubs are awesome. The sound they make after a few 100 miles is intoxicating. They look great, they sound great, and everyone comments on them. I really love the blue hubs; they aren't "over the top" but, whenever we are out with other bikes, it catches attention from those "in the know" to ask about the hubs. I've had to adjust the hubs 2 times now (tighten/add preload as they are wearing in), it's a very easy procedure.

Hope others find this helpful, please feel free to ask any questions you'd like about my builds/experience!


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## SprinterX (May 21, 2012)

Great experience for me with PWB also. Ordered mine last year during the TDF sale for some additional savings. Great, prompt communication, fast build and delivery time, totally satisfied. Wheels going strong.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## jct78 (Dec 12, 2011)

i have a set of white hubs with HED C2 and cx ray spokes.

they have around 2000 miles of mostly road and some mixed terrain/singletrack.

the rear rim had a slight hitch in it so i took it in. very minor. i weight 210lbs too. 

have no fears with PWB.


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## Samfujiabq (Jul 3, 2013)

Samfujiabq said:


> PWB is in the process of building my wheels,I have asked a couple of questions along the way and I have been extremely pleased with both their quick responses and their customer service.Im expecting my wheels the first week of March and looking forward to seeing their work first hand.


Update,,I was just checking on the progress of my wheels and Richard Craig was still waiting on Enve(no fault of PWB)and Richard felt bad about the delay and is now going to overnight the wheels,and threw in a pair of titanium skewers for any inconvenience.
Absolutely great company to work with!!!


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## RIL49 (Apr 27, 2012)

I've been using my PWB built wheel set for one year now. Great wheel build, no complaints. Velocity A23 rims with White Industries hubs.


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## sgasperich (Feb 8, 2012)

+1 for ProWheelBuilder from me, too. I love my Easton EC90s. They're beautiful, although the hubs are not the greatest. PWB re-built the rear wheel with a White Industries T11 hub and Sapin CX Ray spokes. Nice work from them; it's been almost a year and I haven't had any second thoughts.


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## Burnette (Mar 25, 2013)

*Wath'em Work*

I went to NAHBS (North American Hand Made Bike Show) that was held in Charlotte, NC this year with the clear intention of hitting as many wheel booths as possible.
Walking down an isle at the show, a guy truing a wheel called out to me and asked me if I had any questions. Of course I did, he sized me up, guessed my weight right on the spot and put the rims in my hand that I had been looking at. 
Confident, competent, knowledgeable, friendly, the guy was Preston Hooten from Pro Wheel Builder.
My time horizon for buying wheels is some time away (going custom build this time). Had I been buying now, hard to say which way I would go. I got to talk with Boyd of Boyd Cycling Wheels (offering just rims in the future? cool!), Rolf reps, Reynolds reps, Fulcrum reps, Shimano reps, so many good choices, this is an great time for cycling.
There are many good off the shelf wheels, many good importers of wheels of their own design and many good wheel builders. Being able to meet some of them was awesome. Saw this thread and just wanted to say that from my time spent with Preston, I can say that for myself, he seemed like he knew what he was doing, they kept him busy building wheels at the show, great guy, and very helpful to me.


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## GiddyHitch (Jul 31, 2013)

Another satisfied PWB customer here. Pacenti SL23s on White Ind T11s, the RBR wheelset du jour in a lot of ways.


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## jct78 (Dec 12, 2011)

jct78 said:


> i have a set of white hubs with HED C2 and cx ray spokes.
> 
> they have around 2000 miles of mostly road and some mixed terrain/singletrack.
> 
> ...


update: i did finally break a spoke in my rear wheel a week or 2 ago. it broke in middle near the nipple and could have been from some sort of impact. 

anyways, got the spoke replaced and my LBS commented that the wheel was very well built. 

just though i'd share.


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## NoahD (Jan 21, 2003)

Also very satisfied. After I made my online purchase I was contacted to make sure I wanted such a light build for a cross wheelset. Haven't put that many miles on them yet but they've taken some heavy abuse and are still perfectly round and true.


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