Easton Circuits or Mavic Open Pro

[GoLefty!!]

Hand wheel are always best.

 

Just find a good wheelbuilder.

 

There's a pretty good wheelsmith in our midst but I'm not mentioning names..

 

alternatively, Bowman's Cycles and MArc's have good guys. Raoul has built my last few sets of wheels and I've been pretty happy but failures do happen cos theres always one bad spoke in a batch and at some point you could be the unlucky person finding it..

[MUNTU]

I have had to have my Easton Circuits rear hub bearings replaced twice in the last year!! The first time was within a year and i still had to argue with them. They claimed rider abuse??? I'm an exclusive roadie, 74kgs and treated them reasonably well I thought! 2nd time, I had to pay.

Thought you should be aware of that before making your decision.

[TitusTi]

That is a very good point Muntu, I must say that is the first I've heard of these doing this, thanks.

[Token]

If you want a very strong wheel look at campag neutrons,  they come with shimano spindel.  It is the same wheel that Magnus Backstedt was riding  when he won the Paris-Roubaix.  

[GoLefty!!]

Surprised to hear such negative commnet on the Shimano's since the hubs are bulletproof. Rims, well anyone canmake rims and the lacing  seems pretty good too.

That said, I am probably the only person in the universe that has not had crap from Ksyrium's Mine are 2003 models and they're still going strong on the original parts and grease.

 

[MUNTU]

TitusTi!

 

Then you would probably also like to know that when I returned them to the shop (who has to then send them to Cape Town, I think, because they are a sealed unit) the salesman told me that my wheel was joining another 2 back wheel Circuits on their way back to Cape Town.

Actually a pity because I really like how they ride and they are relatively aero and light. Excellent value for money IF they didn't wear out so quick!!

[TNT1]

Strong wheel:

Mavic Open Pro, 36Hole, 4Cross, Tied and Soldered.

 

[TitusTi]

TitusTi!

 

Then you would probably also like to know that when I returned them to the shop (who has to then send them to Cape Town' date=' I think, because they are a sealed unit) the salesman told me that my wheel was joining another 2 back wheel Circuits on their way back to Cape Town.

Actually a pity because I really like how they ride and they are relatively aero and light. Excellent value for money IF they didn't wear out so quick!!

[/quote']

 

I do like to hear about the good and the bad of products, it helps to give people advice and to help me make my own descisions. I have heard of problems with the Easton's but this is the first time I've heard of this problem in particular. Not sure why they should need to return them to Omnico but I'm assuming that's for warranty purposes, because yes it is a sealed hub but it is servicable.

[MUNTU]

May have been for warranty purposes the second time but I still had to pay. It wasn't much (R150 odd Rand) but it was 1) the principle and 2) why do they keep failing that bothered me.

 

I have a pair of the old black Campag Shamals now that I use for training. Absolutely brilliant!

[Jamm]

Thanks to everyone for the information. This bicycling thing can be expensive and a wrong decision can be quite costly. The resale value on bike parts rivals only that of the TATA Indica in terms of loss of captial expended! 

I am leaning toward the Open Pros with Ultegra Hubs. Now to try and locate a decent wheelbuilder in Cape Town?

Wonder if I could convince the elusive expert wheelbuilder amongst us to reveal his/her identity. If he or she is reading, please PM me.

Any suggestions on where to buy the rims and hubs? Perhaps CWC?

 

 

 

[linnega]

I would recommend the OP's.  Mine with 32 DT Swiss Revolution spokes and Record hubs have been going without any maintenance since 2001.  They are used for commuting and other training so pavement hopping is a daily experience for them, plus a multitude of "traffic calming" obstacles.

 

[niterider]

 

If you gonna go this route' date=' that's the important bit... A good wheel builder...

[/quote']

 

Definitely - the most important factor in the longevity of your wheels is the wheelbuilder.