I am a big believer in getting wheels build up by a shop from rims, spokes and hubs. The thinking behind this is that if something breaks (rim bends, spokes snap etc.) I can get it fixed and obtain the spares I need, so all is not completely lost.

Who else follows this view? And what are the experiences of people who buy and then damage pre-built wheels such as mavic, easton, shimano or american classic?

Just wondering really.

Thats nice for you, and the LBS’s you support. In reality, the cost of a ‘factory’ built wheel mean that if there are any problem you can take it to your local bike shop and get it repaired (a couple of time) and still not have spent as much as you would buying from the LBS.. it sucks but it reality.

BTW I’ve had a number of ‘factory’ built wheelset over the years and never suffered any issues due to poor build quality.

Always use factory built wheels on my commuter and road bike. Never had any issues with them.

I’ve got pre-built hope hoops on two of my bikes, on both occasions I brought them from the local bike shop. That way I have the backup of the shop if something goes wrong. They come with spare spokes (the pro3s are straight pull so I guess might be harder to get hold of if I get through the 2 spares supplied).

I went into the shop with the intention of getting a wheel built, but the guy said for what I was after they were the best value, and he had them ready to go there and then.

I’m with you short, tried factory wheels and spares are just such a PITA, good handbuilt set will last much longer as a result (in a Trigger’s brush kind of way). Some of the posher factory wheels have to be returned to the factory for a fix, OK when in warrenty, but still results in a lot of downtime.
Only factory wheels I have now are the disc and 4-spoke on my TT bike and they are pretty much indestructable.

Depends on what you mean really.

z1ppy appears to be talking about things like Hope Hoops, machine built wheels made up of ‘normal’ constituent parts, but far cheaper than the sum value of said parts.

The OP, I assume, is talking about things like Crossmax which use proprietary parts and force you to get spares through them?

IMO the latter have nothing going for them. More expensive than a set of custom built wheels and rarely have any other meaningful benefits. I’d always custom build a set of wheels (or get something like Hope Hoops) rather than a product where you pay over the odds to get spares, then wait months for the pleasure.

agree with the lack of spares and poor service from manufacturers,

had a XT wheelset and the bearings dead on the rear hub, resulting in scoring into the bearing shells, cannot get a replacement hub, even from the importers

also destroyed a Hope Hoop XC6 front wheel in a crash, despite Hope offering a service via mail option, they were not willing to rebuild the wheel with a new rim, instead I had to order a rim through a Hope dealership and get someone to build it,

sorry yes, as per Njee’s comment, I’m talking about Hope hoops and the like.

I took ‘factory’ to be things like Crossmax, rather than ‘machine-built’ like Hope Hoops. Nothing wrong with machine-built as they avoid the issues of ‘factory’ wheels.

some Hope Hoops are “factory” wheels, as they use 24 hole hubs and rims, which Hope will not sell on their own and the rims are not available through the rim manufacturer

amt27 you can get most replacement cones from sjs.