Originally Posted by
TDRILL
Hand built. So what? 100 lb spoke tension is 100 lb spoke tension, whether its hand built or machine built, right? But there are a lot of advantages that aren't being spelled out here as to why the are better. I am a Boyd owner and certainly recommend them and I've done a bunch of that research myself, but I am not even close to as knowledgeable as some others here so I am going to refrain from doing any explanations. There is a ton of information out there. Get googling or searching BF
While you are right that there are numerous advantages some of them are easy to understand. For instance, a good handbuilder includes multiple rounds of stress relieving while bringing the spokes up to tension in a controlled and systematic order. This creates a wheel that is stable and will stay true and at that tension for a long period.
Machine built wheels (or poorly made handbuilts) typically don't get that treatment and while they may start out true and stiff it won't last. 'Pinging' noises while riding, loosing their true, becoming "soft" and breaking spokes are all symptoms of this.
This is probably the biggest advantage of wheels like Boyds, Psimets and the like. If somebody were to take the time with a new set of machine OEM wheels and de-tension and then bring it back up while stress relieving you would here far fewer complaints about them.