New Wheels - factory or Custom?

the-waves
Posts: 106
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:41 pm

New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby the-waves » Fri Feb 15, 2013 9:15 pm

Hi all,

I am on the verge of getting a set of new wheels, the choice is between:

1. Hand Made with Pacenti SL23 rims & White Ind \ Chris King hubs

or

2. Dura ace 9000 Tubeless

I am leaning towards the handmade as I can specify a higher spoke count and I think they will be more durable, but I would love to have peoples opinions!

jaffaman
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:30 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby jaffaman » Fri Feb 15, 2013 9:25 pm

Hand made. Something nice about specing up something different to what everyone else has.

petal665
Posts: 1595
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:42 am
Location: Red Hill, Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby petal665 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 7:25 am

Handmade, although the DA wheels are very good.
I'd also go White Ind over CK. The CK hubs are also very good but the WI have a titanium freehub as opposed to alloy, plus everyone is using CK hubs these days.

dontazame
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:09 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby dontazame » Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:29 pm

Bought custom / hand made wheels about 2 months ago. During that time some rear spokes lost all tension. Fortunately, I had the tools, research and an interest in wheel building, otherwise I would have regretted purchase.

petal665
Posts: 1595
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:42 am
Location: Red Hill, Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby petal665 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:33 pm

dontazame wrote:Bought custom / hand made wheels about 2 months ago. During that time some rear spokes lost all tension. Fortunately, I had the tools, research and an interest in wheel building, otherwise I would have regretted purchase.
That's just a poor build.

dontazame
Posts: 75
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:09 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby dontazame » Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:46 pm

That's just a poor build.
...from a well known US based wheel builder. Good luck.

jamesn184
Posts: 461
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:54 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby jamesn184 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 3:50 pm

dontazame wrote:
That's just a poor build.
...from a well known US based wheel builder. Good luck.

We might have had the same wheel builder it seems, as my back wheel died when a spoke snapped off. Was later told it was due to a bad build..
That and the 4 times I had them re-trued
Image

petal665
Posts: 1595
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:42 am
Location: Red Hill, Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby petal665 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:00 pm

dontazame wrote:
That's just a poor build.
...from a well known US based wheel builder. Good luck.
So, spokes lose all tension and it's not the build? What is it then?

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby trailgumby » Sun Feb 17, 2013 4:05 pm

petal665 wrote:
dontazame wrote:
That's just a poor build.
...from a well known US based wheel builder. Good luck.
So, spokes lose all tension and it's not the build? What is it then?
Poor build.

My take on what he's saying is that hand made is no protection against a poor build.

And that would fit with my experience. The supposed local wheelbuilding guru who is, incidentally, the principal of the LBS closest to where I live, got the dishing wrong by 5mm. :roll: To be fair, has been good since then - and I have given it some abuse over some terrible pavement.

User avatar
foo on patrol
Posts: 9008
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:12 am
Location: Sanstone Point QLD

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby foo on patrol » Sun Feb 17, 2013 6:00 pm

Factory wheels I think are pretty good these days as far as specs and tolerances go. I only ever had hand built when I was racing but that was 35yrs ago and the builders back then were old school. :wink: Hand built if you want a miss match of hubs and rims and spoke setup. :idea:

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

the-waves
Posts: 106
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:41 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby the-waves » Sun Feb 17, 2013 10:50 pm

Ha!

You have all have me worried now, I was thinking of using Zen or Ergott in New York, any problems with these guys. ? any builder recommendation would be very useful.

I have to say, if I could get the Dura Ace 9000 in a 24/28 spoke count there would be no competition, the new freehub body is also titanium as I understand it...

sdnelson19
Posts: 203
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 9:45 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby sdnelson19 » Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:00 pm

talk to Greg Ryan at twe wheels, you can't go wrong.
Image

User avatar
biker jk
Posts: 7001
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby biker jk » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:12 am

I would go with a custom wheelset. The Pacenti SL23 has good reviews (it's actually 24mm wide). I have a wide rim wheelset (23mm) and the ride and handling is excellent (you can run 10psi lower). The Pacenti rim will be stronger than the Dura-Ace C24 because it's deeper and wider. A WI T11 hub is better value for money than the CKs (and as mentioned you get a titanium freehub like the Dura-Ace hubs). You can also get the spoke count that is appropriate to your weight.

Crawf
Posts: 2004
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 9:20 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby Crawf » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:28 am

the-waves wrote:Ha!

You have all have me worried now, I was thinking of using Zen or Ergott in New York, any problems with these guys. ? any builder recommendation would be very useful.

I have to say, if I could get the Dura Ace 9000 in a 24/28 spoke count there would be no competition, the new freehub body is also titanium as I understand it...
Surely you can find a recommended local builder?
Source the parts and get it done locally.

petal665
Posts: 1595
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:42 am
Location: Red Hill, Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby petal665 » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:30 am

That's got to be cheaper.

bomber
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:49 pm
Location: Land of the Young and Free

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby bomber » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:46 am

I have two custom build wheels from one of the premier US shops and they have been faultless. Based on CK hubs which I don't have enough words of praise for. In the long run I would only choose a builder I trusted and would never go back to off the shelf wheels again.

Just my opinion though.
Image

the-waves
Posts: 106
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:41 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby the-waves » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:10 pm

I'm in Perth so will start chasing up some opinions, bomber who do you use?

User avatar
Dan
Posts: 3289
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:32 pm
Location: Vegas, baby

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby Dan » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:18 pm

Talk to velo13 - he just built wheels for me and I'm extremely happy.

User avatar
Dan
Posts: 3289
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:32 pm
Location: Vegas, baby

New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby Dan » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:22 pm

Edit: tapatalk Doppelgänger post

User avatar
Metor
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:24 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby Metor » Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:45 pm

Factory, the level and quality is the same.
Expect, mentioned before, if there is a mismatch rim/hub. You can have a personalised wheelset which is great! But the builder is important and you have to know and trust him.
I have factory and handmade, factory is my preference!

User avatar
jacks1071
Posts: 3068
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:47 pm
Location: Mackay, QLD
Contact:

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby jacks1071 » Tue Feb 19, 2013 1:27 am

Does everyone realise that most the better factory wheels you can buy are handmade?
Our Website is: http://www.kotavelo.com.au" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Find us on Facebook by searching for "Kotavelo"

petal665
Posts: 1595
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:42 am
Location: Red Hill, Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby petal665 » Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:13 am

And they generally have low spoke counts and are not customisable.

bomber
Posts: 231
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 8:49 pm
Location: Land of the Young and Free

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby bomber » Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:56 am

the-waves wrote:I'm in Perth so will start chasing up some opinions, bomber who do you use?
PM sent
Image

User avatar
Dave R32
Posts: 773
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:12 pm
Location: North Lakes - Brisbane

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby Dave R32 » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:24 am

From my experience, go custom however you need to ensure the builder knows what he or she is doing.

For hubs, White Industries or Dura-Ace would be my choice.

Cheers
Dave.
Avanti Vivace = Sold | Trek Madone = Cracked | '12 Caad10 = Sold | Pinarello SDG3K | '14 Caad10 & Bianchi Pista

User avatar
cyclotaur
Posts: 1782
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:36 pm

Re: New Wheels - factory or Custom?

Postby cyclotaur » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:28 pm

jacks1071 wrote:Does everyone realise that most the better factory wheels you can buy are handmade?
I bought a set of Fulcrum CX Quattro wheels online which came with a handwritten label attached with the builders or QA guy's signature on them. Good enough for me and they have been fine - and for less than $400, the most cost effective upgrade I could make on a bike that was around $1600 new 18 months ago.

For a more expensive bike you might consider custom built ... I guess .... but I figure if a guy sits down and makes N sets of wheels every day of his working life and they are properly QA-ed then they should be pretty good.
2023 Target: 9.500kms/100,000m
My old blog - A bit of fun :)
"Riding, not racing...completing, not competing"

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users