Northeast - DC-Area Wheel Builders?

Does anyone have experience getting road wheels built by individuals or shops in the Washington D.C. area?

In the alternate, I am thinking of buying a pair of machine-built wheels with my desired hub/rim combo and then taking them in to be re-tensioned by a practiced hand, but I am not sure of the best shop for this either.

Sorry for the late response...

Bailey, the owner of Papillon Cycles in Arlington, is an excellent wheel builder. I've seen several sets of his wheels and have a set he built for my wife's 1983 Trek 620 touring bike. We have put many hundreds of miles on these wheels under some rough condiitons and they're as true as the day we received them.

There's also a fellow (whose name I don't recall) at the Spokes, Inc in Alexandria, who is a certified builder, too. I haven't worked with him, but he has a good reputation.

Hope that this helps you.

Phil G.

Wonderful! Thanks for the response, Papillon looks like a great shop, I will definitely check them out.

At Spokes, etc, it's Bill Mould.....when I lived in DC I took the Park Tool classes with him....he's very good and worth a shout. He also has a class for wheelbuilding in addition to doing them himself. Here's the link to his wheelbuilding classes.....http://spokesetc.com/about/spokes-wheelbuilding-school-pg857.htm

Late to chime in here, but Travis Evans and John Holpuch at Just Riding Along Bicycle Shop (www.jrabs.com) in Laytonsville, MD, build some incredible wheels: custom specifications for your weight and riding style, almost always lighter and stronger than any of the zoot machine-made wheels out there.