Wheelset, handbuilt or factory ?

[gbb]

Any opinions for what's best.
I want to spend maybe £150 on a wheelset (campag compatible). Is there any difference in longevity of one against the other ?
Do handbuilt wheels need a little more care and maintenance (occasional trueing?)

Then, i'd priced them up on Dave Hindes website. I could get Centaur hubs with Mavic Open Sport rims for £150. But i see many complaints about their service
Other wheelbuilders recommended ?

 

[hubgearfreak]

Any opinions for what's best.
I want to spend maybe £150 on a wheelset (campag compatible).

make your own, otherwise i've heard nothing but praise for spa cycles, so maybe start by ringing them

 

[RedBike]

Do handbuilt wheels need a little more care and maintenance (occasional trueing?)

A well handbuilt wheel should be stronger and require less maintenance than a factory built wheel. Thats the whole point of them.

Ribble often have these wheels in cheaply.

 

[skwerl]

I have handbuilt form Condor. In 3 years (daily commuting through london) they needed no work at all. ran true as the day I got them.

 

[Danny]

My experience in the past was that factory built wheels quickly went out of true, so have been buying hand built wheels for a long time. My current pair have lasted about 8 years, and have only needed truing once.

 

[Landslide]

At your price point I'd definitely opt for handbuilts. It strikes me that factory-built wheelsets are only really worth it if you spend obscene amounts in order to shave off a few more grams and you've already spent lots of money on a nice light bike. Get some nice light rims built up for a good ride feel, plus you've the advantage of easily available spares should you break a spoke, and no need for proprietary spoke keys etc.
I'd recommend Mavic Open Pros on the best hubs you can afford.

 

[mickle]

I've always gone for, and recommended, hand built wheels but it should be noted that technological advances in the machines which are used to build high end wheels now are changing the natural order. Some machine built wheels are now better than some hand built wheels.

 

[Tynan]

I got four month old handbuilt from Condor and they went out of true fairly promptly, nothing major but annoying