need new wheelset – build or buy?

My favorite wheelsets are those with Chris King hubs. I’ve hand built most of my CK wheels myself. They last a long time and are serviceable. They are not crazy light, but they are not the heaviest by any means, and for the durability they provide, they are pretty light. However, they are not cheap (remember – pick two out of three: cheap, durable, or light), and you have to be a bit of an amateur mechanic to service them. And, I can’t really justify their cost based on their longevity: I could buy several 105 hubsets for the price of a CK hubset, but I won’t claim that a single CK hubset will outlast several 105 hubsets. But I appreciate good engineering and the ability to service them.

On the other hand, on my old commuter bike, last fall I bought a cheap factory-built wheel that I picked up on sale from Performance or Nashbar. I couldn’t justify the cost of a nice wheel for that bike. I just wanted the cheapest wheel I could find.

Regarding your wheel – what exactly went wrong? It should not have failed after only 1,000 miles, unless you used it in severe conditions.

Yes, +1 for Hope hubs. That’s what I’m using for my commuter and CX wheels (Hope Pro 2 Evo). Stans Grail rims. DT Swiss Super Comp or Sapim D-Light spokes. Parts around $550. (~$300 for the hubset I believe, $160 for the rims, ~$100 for spokes/nipples/washers.)

You could also go with generic hubs. Like @GB’s BHS (Bitex) hubs on his Grail wheelset. (Yes, I’ve been pushing the Grail rim, but it’s a fantastic rim.) I don’t have direct experience with the new BHS MTB hubs; however, I had a set of their previous editions with ~12k miles, no maintenance needed. vvill has those wheels now; hopefully they’re still working for him or he’d tell me if not So, “generic” Taiwanese cartridge bearing hubs like Bitex or Novatec could practically last just as long as more expensive hubs like Hopes (or CK). The BHS hubset is around half the price of Hopes. (http://www.bikehubstore.com/product-p/mtb270.htm) And they’re a bit lighter.

I have a set of Mavic Kysrium Elites that have over 6500 miles on them without even a loose spoke yet that I bought on sale from Performance Bike Shop for under $500, three riding seasons ago. They even survived Freezing Saddles. Best value and bullet proof set of commuting wheels that I ever had on a roadie (Trek Madone 5.2 and Scattante CFR1 before that). I switch them out for a set of Easton carbon wheels (EC90) for when I climb hills or do centuries that I bought off of Craigslist for $750, but had to rebuild the rear hub (which Easton sent me the rebuild kit for free under warranty even though I was not the original owner).

Build, and then you can get even get fancy with stuff like accent colour nipples 😮

Hozn’s suggestions are excellent, although they are disc-brake specific I believe.

You can probably get away with the lightest wheelsets (you won’t have to worry about rider weight limits), so for <$600 I think generally you should be able to get something reliable <1600g.

For rims, I’d look at the HED Belgiums, Pacenti SL23, Velocity AeroHead or A23. Kinlins (XR270 or XR300) are good budget choices. I put 7k miles on my XR270 rear rim before it needed replacing. The front has about 10k and is still ok.

For hubs, high end would be Chris King R45s or White Industry T11s. Slightly more budget are Hopes. I’d also look at Shimanos hubs if you need to save more. There are probably other good hub recommendations.

Spokes, I’d go with Sapims bladed spokes. Lasers or CX-Rays. DT swiss butted spokes for a more solid economical build.

Alloy nips.

I’d probably go 2 cross 28 or 24 spoke in the rear, and 20 or 24 spoke radial in the front. You’re pretty light. But if you’re commuting loaded you might to err on the side of more spokes.

Or for pre-built, I’d look at these:
http://www.novemberbicycles.com/alloynimbus/

Good deal. I’d take them over any Mavic/whatnot at that price. They use solid, standard components.

@Tania 117951 wrote:

Or I could just say “forget all this bother” and just buy these and be done with it.

http://www.novemberbicycles.com/alloynimbus/

I vote for that solution! Dave and Mike at November are great guys making some outstanding handbuilt wheels…

@hozn 117958 wrote:

For non-disc road hubs, I see even less need to get fancy. I would use BHS w/ Enduro bearings or Novatec w/ EZO bearings. They’ll be lighter and cost a fraction of the price, and I’d expect them to last just as long — or longer than the bike, in any event. Of course, they don’t say “bling” like CK45s.

Good deal. Link for those who want: http://www.bikehubstore.com/category-s/227.htm I figured there were some good budget options out there.

The main argument (for me) for nicer hubs is the freehub mechanism tends to be more robust and quicker engaging. Its more an issue on mountain bikes, I grant.

@hozn 117958 wrote:

Edit: oh, and there is zero value in going with CX Rays unless you are 1) building them yourself and want an easier time (no windup) or 2) just like how they look and are willing to pay an extra $2/spoke for that look

I guess it depends what you compare them to. They are a lot lighter than standard double butted spokes (like DT comps). I note that Nimbus uses the Laser spokes, which are similar in weight and a lot less spendy. They are pretty ludicrously priced, but once you’re buying CK hubs I tend to not worry about my spokes being 3 bucks apiece.