Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Best place to have a wheelset built ONLINE?

hi guys and gals. first off, please dont scold me...i performed a search until the threads started dating back to early 2006, so i figure any further would be "dated info". wanted some current opinions from you all about who you think are the best (and cost-friendliest) wheel builders online. I live in hawaii, so LBS options are few and far between. im also somewhat of a rookie, and would like this set to be forged by seasoned hands, if you will (read: i lack the skills). im going phil HF/deepv 36h/and im unsure of what type of spokes i will go with. can anyone recommend a version of DT's i should add? right now im looking at thebikebiz.com
any pos or neg feedback on their builder? thanks for your time, folks. cant wait to get rolling!

I don't know anything about online shops, but I know that if you want it done RIGHT, Yellow Jersey (http://www.yellowjersey.org/) out of Madison, WI will ship stuff. They used to be my LBS, and I think they do some of the best work I've seen.

Now that I think about it, Harris probably ships stuff as well, and though I've never had anything built there, it's the home shop of Sheldon Brown, so it's probably good.

Isnt the air shipping gonna kill you on this?
There has got to be a skilled builder or shop in Hawaii.

www.wheelbuilder.com gets alot of rave reviews on the road cycling forum.

I don't know how cost effective it would be (I've never priced it out), but Peter White (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/Wheels.asp) has the reputation as being the one and only for quality wheel building. He has a lifetime guarantee, which is pretty amazing...he seems like a nice guy, a couple of forum members have dealt with him.

Where in HI are you? My folks live on Maui, in Kihei.

Very recently (within the past few weeks) someone said in another thread that the Bike Biz builds very good wheels and recommended them. For spokes, I've built two wheelsets with DT Competition 14/15g butted spokes and they work well.

benscycle.net did a good job on my rear wheel.

spilitecycling.com

lyle is the owner and builds killer wheels. plus he is fast and responsive unlike mike garcia of oddsandendos.com

my garage! ;)

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/

Not cheep high quality

thanks, all. gonna look into those links/shops.

@ Gord, i live on Oahu.

i probably should look a little deeper into a skilled builder out here. so far though, the individual parts i desire cost a lot more at the LBS' vs online. thebikebiz quoted me 40-50 for shipping. i've grown accustomed to "the price of living in paradise" and thats not bad at all considering. thanks again.

benscycle.net did a good job on my rear wheel.
That's good to know because I just ordered a wheelset from Ben's. :)

Can't wait to get them.

Mean Todd at webcyclery did a kickass job on mine. I've been beating the hell out of them for the past year and a half and they're not even out of true.

Build your own wheels.

next question: is the difference between DT's 1.8 and 2.0 a size thing? if so, which would suit me best? thanks.

Build your own wheels.

I agree you should reconsider building them yourself. I didn't know that much and I built my wheels with a similar setup, without any problems. Some people may talk about it like it is some arcane skill you can only master through years of experience, but it is simply not true if you have the proper tools. Before tensiometers and other things were common probably you had to have more of a 'feel' for it, but if you are able to devote a couple days to reading about it, then a weekend to building them you should be able to have a successful result.

Not to be a downer because I like them otherwise as a shop, but I got a craptastic wheelset from Ben's. When I took it to the master builder at an LBS for truing, he told me the tension on every single spoke was loose and it was probably built by a machine or a novice.

next question: is the difference between DT's 1.8 and 2.0 a size thing? if so, which would suit me best? thanks.

1.8 is 15gauge spokes and 2.0 is 14 gauge. Most machine buile wheels and cheap wheels come with straight 14ga (2.0) spokes. They are fine but if you want the wheel to be lighter AND stronger, get butted spokes. DT Champion and Sapim Laser spokes (14/17/14 ga) are the best for non-bladed spokes which you probably don't need.

The other advantage of 14ga spokes is that the holes on the hub are all drilled for 14ga spokes. 15ga spokes actually give the spoke some play in the hub which *could* lead to premature failure at the spoke bend (where 99% of spokes fail).

thanks, all. gonna look into those links/shops.

@ Gord, i live on Oahu.

i probably should look a little deeper into a skilled builder out here. so far though, the individual parts i desire cost a lot more at the LBS' vs online. thebikebiz quoted me 40-50 for shipping. i've grown accustomed to "the price of living in paradise" and thats not bad at all considering. thanks again.
Check out The Bike Shop in Aiea. I had them build me a rear wheel with a Surly hub and Mavic Open Sport Rim. I don't recall offhand how much it cost, but it was very well built. I picked it up in less than a week.

Not to be a downer because I like them otherwise as a shop, but I got a craptastic wheelset from Ben's. When I took it to the master builder at an LBS for truing, he told me the tension on every single spoke was loose and it was probably built by a machine or a novice.
I'll have my friend @ the PTJ check them out. He's a Barnett certified tech.

bikefactory, look up dwayne. he built my stuff. tell em ray sent ya


hawaii rider?! hit me up son! we'll talk bike and get you set up good. some ppl here might have some deals. also can show you the co-op here


missed some good drag races on saturday