Road Cycling - Buying wheels from a catalog

Does anybody have any experience buying wheels from a catalog or on line? If so, did you find that wheels needed much adjustment after you got them?

I know, I know . . . some of you are going to say that I should go to my LBS instead. Well, that didn't work too well. My rear wheel is damaged and has been giving me a lot of problems recently. The wheel is a Mavic cxp21 with a Shimano RSX hub. One shop had a cxp21 on an Ultegra hub. The salesman told me that this setup would work with my 105. Well, it didn't. There was insufficient clearance between the lock ring of the cassette and the chainstay. In fact, they were so close that the lock ring was loosened and the chain jumped off the cassette at at less-than-opportune moment. I called the shop and described the problem. They said that they would have to recenter the axle and then redish the wheel. BUT, they would not be able to do that for two weeks. I did not want to wait until they could get around to it, so I returned the wheel.

That said, I am wondering if I order a cxp21 with a 105 or rsx hub, can I expect it to fit or am I still going to have to take it to a wrench?

Thanks.

Rich

As long as you buy one with the same hub size for a 7, 8 or 9 cassette. it should work fine.

Actually, the one they sold you would have worked if the axle had been spaced properly in the first place. Any Shimano hub, and cassette should be interchangeable --except for Dura Ace-- with the same cassette speed.

i don't know if there is a 'rule'- my mavic open pro's came from my bike shop and i had repeated popping of spokes but they completely backed off all the spokes and rebuilt (retensioned) all the spokes. (free)
the LBS and the mail order get mavic rims (for example) from the same factory. so unless you are having them hand-made.....the tension can be off from the factory.
like anything else, you get what you pay for. but as the bar is raised forlightness and aero-ness, inherintly there are more problems.. .

i buy as much from the LBS as possible because i want them to be there when i have problems and i want them to be in business.

Here are some good and very inexpensive options.
2 from Supergo, $149 for either set.

http://www.supergo.com/itemdisplay.asp?compflag=0&parentid=18855&company=Shimano&secid=7559&subid=7569

http://www.supergo.com/itemdisplay.asp?compflag=0&parentid=17534&company=Shimano&secid=7559&subid=7569

Coloradocyclist also has some good deals - Ultegra
http://www.coloradocyclist.com/common/products/productdisplay2_v2.cfm?PRRFNBR=26608&CGRFNBR=762&CRPCGNBR=762&CI=1,224,333,762&TextMode=0

Probably the best deal is the Shimano WH-R535 wheelset, about $199 available at Performance, Supergo, Nashbar, etc. This is the one I would go with................

Thank you all for all the help. Just the kind of info I needed.

Rich

I just wanted to let those who gave me advice know the outcome of my wheel quest.

I bought the replacement Mavic CXP 21 at the LBS. The folks at the shop were great, but the wheel was a real problem. It went out of true within the first 120 miles. They worked on the tensioning and I tried it again. After 100 miles it was out of true again. They took it for a day and totally retensioned it. We all thought that the problem had to be solved. Nope. After two rides it went out of true and a spoke broke. They took the wheel back with lots of apologies--I didn't expect them to be so nice about it.

So, next, I decided to do what several forum members advised: get a custom set from Colorado cyclist. I went for a CXP 33 wheelset on Ultegra hubs. Wow, what a ride. And a couple of hundred miles later, they remain true and they hold the tension just like the day I got them. Thanks to all of you who gave me such good advice.

Rich

yo ljbike....How about enlightening us on why DA hubs and cassettes aren't interchangable with the others in the shimano lineup.Curious minds NEED to know.????

DA and Ultegra hubs and cassettes are interchangable. All DA/Ultegra is.

XTR bottom bracket/cranks are not interchangable with XT (diff. spline), chainrings are different (bolt pattern). All other XTR/XT is interchangable.

Do some research, build up your own wheels, no-one can build a better wheel then you, they can't afford to put the time that you can into your wheels. you can get them straighter, tighter and stronger. I'll tell you from experiance, there is nothing better than riding a custom wheelset built by you.