thinking this other day as im truing my wheels on ss,built by stif 8 years ago,used to be on full suss then hardtail now the ss,but still in good nick..
321’s on bulbs,been a good set indeed.

my own obviously hand crafted by an expert fettler. all my wheels are sefl build
Any decent set should last once you remove the braking surface and use disc IMHO. [ dings fubars aside]

Had some Merlin built ones that never needed any attention. Sold after good 4.yrs use.

Had Merlin and Stif, both excellent wheels. Mind the Stif ones were 16 years ago and were knicked with my Orange Vitamin T.

321’s on Hope Big’un hubs. Took all the punishment that I gave them over 5 years and remained true. Wish I still had them 🙁

The front on the tandem. Dunno who built it as it was on the bike when I got it but despite a lot of abuse its still virtually round. Hope big un hub, rynolite rim, 48 spokes

ztr olympic wheel build from freeborn a few years ago has been faultless and some a woods and goldtech hubs with stans 29er rims built by goldtech have been brilliant

anything built by myself or my former boss at the bicycleworks.

717s on Hope XC. Built by CRC for £160 in 2002. Still going strong on a mate’s bike. Not necessarily the best wheels in the world but reliable.

Xm819’s on hope pro 2’s
never give em a second thought 😛

All my wheels are either factory (American Classics on the road and track bikes) or self build.

Got some Hope XC hubs on 717’s that are still going strong after god knows how many years of riding in the Lakes, Peaks and Scotland and a similar set up for my CX bike, Hope hubs on Mavic Open Pros. Lasted through 3 Three Peaks and any amount of other riding. Rims are wearing a bit now though, probably bin the rims after this years Three Peaks and rebuild the hubs onto new rims.

29er Salsa Semi on Pro 2 hubs and Crests 29er on Pro 2 hubs.
Both great so far!

I build all my own MTB wheels and only one’s given me any problems. I foolishly built one with DT Revolution spokes and alloy nipples and a couple of weeks ago I found that the head had popped of of one of the nipples while the bike was hung up in the garage. (Brass nipples for me from now on).

I use a set of 521 DT’s and Bulbs built by Roger Musson

Good wheels.

RaceScene in Barnsley, DA/ChrisKing and Ambrosio Excellight rims, still true after 3 years, unlike my Hope/Stans from JustRidingAlong that are out of true after 3 months (smooth cross country use).

Stan’s Arch on XT hubs by JRA-excellent, never needed a tweak whilst the factory built wheels on my other bike have been a constant pain.

Just recently got rid of a a pair of Hope XC’s on Mavic XC717’s built by Merlin and they were excellent. Like a trusty mate they were

Had a couple of sets of Hope / Mavics from LifeCycles in Bolton and they’ve been superb. Literally never needed touching.

I’m presently running some 719 on Pro II that I bought 2nd hand off here ages ago and they’ve been top drawer, but I haven’t a scooby who built them.

All the wheels I’ve had start to lose spoke tension and the rim moves closer to the stays.
I reckon this is due to disc brakes twisting the hub from the one side.

Kato – Member

Just recently got rid of a a pair of Hope XC’s on Mavic XC717’s built by Merlin and they were excellent. Like a trusty mate they were

Is that how you treat trusty mate’s 🙁

I had a front wheel built by Rich at Bikescene in Guisborough 10 years ago now, 519 on a Hope Bulb, I’ve never had to go near it with a spoke key. Had a big crash on Wednesday (landed front wheel first on the flat of a tabletop and went over the bars) and it’s still arrow straight, has now been moved to the growing pile of parts that I’m building to justify a second bike. Really hoping the new wheel holds up half as well (Hope hoop, Stans flow on Pro II evo SP).

the front wheel im currently still using is a 10 year old mavic 321 on a bulb hub that was built by ian at julies cycles in leicester and has never needed re-truing. its done a season in the alps and has been on 5 different bikes. it has no dings or flat spots and is perfectly straight. im going to retire it soon. i think its done fair service. sold the rear a couple of years ago and that had only been trued once.

merlin wheels are ace. My 519 mavic rear was hit by a car three weeks after it’s build and written off. but a local lbs did a good replacement job. Still both going strong. All my factory built wheels have required some fettling. Nothing major though.

Add a vote for X819’s on hopes, been the go to wheel set for 3 years when its more bash and crash. More recently I’ve picked up a set of hope hoops with stans crest rims, they are crazy light with a set of conti Race King SS fitted. Haven’t mistreated them in anger real anger yet, but they’ve handled cannock just fine.