Originally Posted by
cycle_maven
I'd generally stay away from Alex wheels- my wife's A320's came apart after only about 1500 miles. I'd go with something like Mavic Open-Pro rims on Ultegra hubs with double-butted spokes. The wheelset can cost $250, but it's worth it; you'd end up buying a better wheelset anyway later. I got mine from Performance bike for $199, but that was a while ago. If you do go with a factory-built wheelset, make sure one of your fanatic friends evens the tension on the spokes and does a stress relief and truing on it.
If you had followed your own advice, those Alex wheels would almost definitely have lasted far longer. I had a pair of Alex wheels that came stock on my first road bike. After ~1500 miles, spokes starting coming loose. I didn't know any better, and apparently neither did my LBS who eventually told me to give up on the wheels, so I bought a new set. Some time later, I learned how to build wheels so I set about rebuilding the Alex wheels (only new parts were spoke nipples). Those wheels have seen a lot of miles since under a heavier rider without a single issue.