[Goose5]

I have read that some prefer hand built wheels over factory wheels. I was in Colorado Cyclist yesterday talking wheelsets with one young salesman. I bought a bike back in May and I am considering upgrades. Starting with wheels. When I bought the bike it was weighed and it came in at 19 and a quarter pounds. So, I need a wheelset that will at the very least take off a 1/2 pound over the Mavic Aksium set I have now.

Can this be achieved with Colorado Cyclists inventory of hand built wheels?

The salesman brought out a custom set from the back. DT Swiss rims with Dura Ace hubs and weight them without skewers. 1800 grams. I am shooting for 1500 to 1600 gram range. I am 50 years old, six foot even, and weigh 186 pound. And I don't intend to race.

[Poolie]

Check out the Blackset race 11 wheelsets from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. They weigh in at 1495 grams and the price is hard to beat.

I just installed a set yesterday morning and have about 80 miles on them so far. Love um.

[ibisman]

I have 3 pair of wheels made with XTR hubs straight laced to Bontrager vantage rims coming under 1450grams for rimbrakes, front 28 spokes radial laced ,rear radial laced non-drive side 3 cross drive side 32 spokes and 2 pair of WTB Lazerdisc light hubs laced to mavic 317 disc rims 32 spokes coming under 1500 grams for disc brakes.

[Weav]

+1 on what Poolie said.

[ibisman]

the spokes would not pull through if the rims have eyelets. cheap rims with just holes drilled in them are junk. K-mart quality.

[Zozzie]

Originally Posted by Poolie

Check out the Blackset race 11 wheelsets from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. They weigh in at 1495 grams and the price is hard to beat.
I just installed a set yesterday morning and have about 80 miles on them so far. Love um.

What Poolie said. The BWW BSR are the best bang for the $ out there considering weight versus cost. Mine, with Sapim CX-Ray spokes, weigh 1410 grams. I've had them for two years and thousands of miles and they're still perfect. If you don't judge wheels by their fancy decals, these wheels are for you.

[salvage_bikes]

I built a few wheels and I like them better than stock wheels. I don't know if they are really any "better" but I haven't had problems from them and it makes me feel proud to ride them. The price of spokes and components from shops is usually insane, so you will likely have to use online spoke calculators and order your things online. You may have to buy more spokes than you need if they come in packs of 20, but you'll have spares for the future. I liked using the long nipples and "aero" rims.

[Industry_Hack]

If you've got money to burn, just get the 1,085g wheelset from Mad Fiber. I saw them at Interbike, and they are crazy light.

[Merlincustom]

I've only ever had one set of factory wheels, the Rolf Vector Pro of some years back. The rear failed when one of the paired spokes pulled through the rim 2 months out of warranty. A hundred bucks to fix, and then about seven months later the same wheel failed when a spoke pulled through the hub. Before and since I 've been on handbuilts, most recently Mavic Open Pro with Chorus on a road bike, and Ambrosio Nemesis with Record on a fixed gear.

[synack]

I've been doing a lot of research on Williams, Boyd, Revolution, Neuvation (spelling?). So far for service and quality Boyd seems to be winning out. I think I may pull the trigger on a set of Vitesse after some email correspondance with Boyd. http://www.boydcycling.com/vitesse-alloy-clincher/