Hand Built wheels

E@gle.

Have Been thinking of getting a pair of Hand built wheels for the winter bike. Want something Strong and something that will last a few years.

Is the Mavic Open pro still the best option. Ambrosio Rims have been suggested to me but i cant seem to source the Rims. Thinking of DT swiss double buted spokes on Ultegra Hubs.

Anyone have any other suggestions or previous experiences with this Build?

blorg

I have Open Pros on Ultegra and they roll very nicely. Needed quite a few tuneups but then I have been using them for loaded touring on probably too narrow tyres for the load (700x25.)

For winter trainer wheels the cheap but respectable entry level ones from the big manufacturers would also be fine (e.g. Mavic Aksium, Fulcrum Racing 7, Shimano RS-10 or whatever.)

rottenhat

E@gle. wrote: »

Is the Mavic Open pro still the best option. Ambrosio Rims have been suggested to me but i cant seem to source the Rims. Thinking of DT swiss double buted spokes on Ultegra Hubs.

Here's a couple.

My experience with handbuilts is limited - two pairs, both Open Pro rims, DT Swiss spokes, one with DT Onyx hubs (36h), one with Phil Wood track hubs (32h, I think). I decided to retire the rear of the DT Onyx pair in the summer after seven years, but will probably have the hub rebuilt into a new wheel. I replaced it with a 32h Ultegra laced to Open Pro, not sure about the spokes but I imagine DT Swiss - it has a couple of thousand kilometres on it so far so too early to talk about durability. The Phils have run fine for four or five years now but don't get much use any more - I've replaced the bearings on the hubs once or twice.

You won't go wrong with Open Pros and DT Swiss - the hardware issue is going to come with the hubs, and then the build is going to be the biggest factor. I would have a quick look through the Knowledge forum on YACF to see what the verdict is on current Ultegra hubs and maybe post an enquiry about Ambrosio rims there. There's a lot of people there who put in ridiculous miles and will have a fair notion of what lasts and what doesn't.

Karma

Mavic CPX33 &22's are good. 33's better than the 22's.
DT Swiss spokes are what the doctor ordered.

E@gle.

rottenhat wrote: »

Here's a couple.

cheers for the link. Always forget about total cycling.

@Blorg I have Mavic Aksium at the moment and thye don't cut it for me. (live in the country side lots of bad roads etc) have to get the wheels trued constantly .

Have an experienced whell builder to build the wheels up for me just need to get the parts for him

redmaxi

wheelsmith.co.uk, I think 'twas blorg who recommended these fellas. I was going to build my own set but these boys can do it cheaper & better.
I'll be getting Niobium road rims on record hubs with ACI butted spokes, (cx rays would be nice though).
I reckon if you're not racing as i'm not the above wheel set is more than enough.

blorg

Fair enough but for what it's worth I have had Aksiums myself and they stayed a lot more true than my Ultegra/Open Pros. The latter certainly felt nicer and were a touch lighter though. My general experience with factory wheels has been 0 need to true them. The build is probably the most important thing with handbuilt wheels.

bbosco

redmaxi wrote: »

wheelsmith.co.uk, I think 'twas blorg who recommended these fellas. I was going to build my own set but these boys can do it cheaper & better.
I'll be getting Niobium road rims on record hubs with ACI butted spokes, (cx rays would be nice though).
I reckon if you're not racing as i'm not the above wheel set is more than enough.

+1 on wheelsmith.co.uk. I posted about my experiences with them on here before. Basically, I'd recommend them if you're going for handbuilt. They also stock Ambrosio rims, which again, I can recommend.

biker_joe

I would highly recommend Mavic Open Pro on Ultegra Hubs, Dura Ace if you are loaded and a weight weeny !

I bought a set of these about 4/5 years ago and raced them most of the time, this Summer I had them rebuilt by Humphries cycles and put them on my training bike, they roll so well, pretty bullet proof and are light !
I just bought a new set with latest Ultegra hubs again on Mavic open pro for 250 blips which are even lighter than the last set ! These are in bags waiting to go on the race bike ....
If your thinking cheaper for training have them built on Tiagra which will do for a couple of winters, I would n't recommend CXP rims as the nipples tend to get noisey over time ...I have had a set of them built on various hubs which I have used over the winters .....
the great thing about these wheels is that you can have then rebuilt time after time and get the hubs serviced etc .... not always a runner with factory built sets ..... ( which I do like aswell ! )


Biker Joe