With MTB it certainly was always best to have handbuilt wheels to get the best quality.

With Road bikes is it the same? and what factors should affect whether or not to get them built or too buy campag or shimano wheels off the shelf

Depends upon what you want. I use both, just got some nice ambrosio rims on record hubs built up and delivered today – lighter than the Neutrons I'm also using but less aero.
It's up to choice and confidence in your wheel builder – I've known mine for nearly 20 years.

IMHO, yes worth going for handbuilds-IF they're built well.
If you think it's worth it for the MTB, why not for road as well?
I've got Mavic Aksiums on mine at the moment, but as soon as funds allow I'll be having a nice pair of decent handbuilds.

the reason i wasnt sure was because no racers use handbuilts as far as i know in the road riding world where as mtb they do (as far as im aware).

Im no armstrong, but i want a lightish, reliable wheelset and my only guide really is what the pros ride (probebly not the best because their needs/budget are obivously different from my own)

Mostly comes down to sponsorship + there's more aero advantage on the road for deep section wheels, for Paris-Roubaix though a lot will use handbuilts. I'd also guess that the spoked 'factory' wheels like Zipps are probably rebuilt by a pro mechanic rather than just taken out of a box and stuck on a bike.

FuzzyWuzzy speaks the truth.

Also, lots of factory/aero wheels only really have an advantage at quite high speeds, below this they could feel harsh. The advantage of handbuilts are that they can be built just right for you as for MTB.

AFAIK you need pre-built wheels to get the weight low.

But to call the factory-built is a bit of a misnomer – they are hand built to high standards.

I'm in the factory camp, I'd only go handbuilt for looks on a steel bike.

For a given price factory ones are lighter and more aerodynamic, yes spares are harder to come by, but not impossible, and I've never broken spokes on road wheels that weren't 30+ years old!

Wheelbuilding isn't rocket science, if you believe that robots cant build properly, just stick them in a jig and add 1/4 turn to each spoke and true it again, takes 15 minutes tops and add's a little more stiffness too.

With MTB it certainly was always best to have handbuilt wheels to get the best quality. as long as they're built by some-one who knows what they're doing…I've seen some pretty shoddy 'hand made' wheels in my time.

I've no issues with 'factory wheels' these days, quality is pretty universally good esp Mavic, Fulcrum etc etc

AFAIK you need pre-built wheels to get the weight low

bobbins. Have a look at some of the build options here:-

http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

yes, and the prices…………

You could get a similar weight factory set and a spare set to aleviate the ireplacable broken spoke paranoia.

Handbuilt all the way. A lot of factory wheels are deep section with a strong/stiff rim and low spoke count. OK, so you get good aero and low weight that way, but also quite a harsh ride and if you do break a spoke the wheel will go very out of true. Plus spares and repairs are more difficult.

I'm going to get rid of my factory Ultegras and go for handbuilts. Even if you buy modestly priced handbuilts it is pretty easy to give them a going over with the spoke key – relieving spoke stress, re-tensioning/truing, repeat. And weight is pretty much comparable.

Road bikes tend to come with complete groupsets (eg full Ultegra), even if you're custom building from a frame + parts whereas MTB's are commonly built with a whole mish mash eg mix of Shimano and SRAM, Hope brakes etc etc.

The wheels thing just carries on from that, buy a complete set off the peg. They're so good and there's such a range now there's no real reason not to.

cp – Member

AFAIK you need pre-built wheels to get the weight low

bobbins. Have a look at some of the build options here:-

http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

Are those lighter per £ than factory wheels?

Those IRD rims are only 35gm lighter than open pros

EDIT Come to think of it though, when the stans 700c rims come out…. ooh 340gm

Campag seem to be forcing you to buy factory built wheels – they aren't really making many hubs on there own these days unless you want Record.

Personally I like handbuilts but I've used pre built too and they are fine. Pinged a couple of spokes in some factory wheels once due to rushing to chuck bike in back of car so I could help mate who'd had an accident – LBS sourced and fitted new ones in days.

I'll be getting a set with the new Alpha road rims Stans
1275g for £637 cannot be beaten by any factory wheels I know of.
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