I built a couple wheels using VO Raid rims for me and my wife (rear wheels on our recumbents). After a couple weeks of riding, they developed a sshhh- sshhh- sshhh sound like the spokes were loose. I checked, and tension was fine. I tried several fixes, but nothing would make the noise go away, not detensioning & retensioning, not re-lubing the nipples, not stress-relieving. I went to the point of making a video of the wheel as I rode and sending it to VO for their opinion. I got a "we've never seen anything like this" response.

Eventually I disassembled the wheels and exchanged the rims through the vendor (Universal Cycles). I took a good look at the rims before I returned them, but I came away no wiser. I think the problem was a defect with the double ferrules: somehow they weren't peened down properly and moving slightly as the wheel rotated. I sure have never seen anything like this.

Perhaps it was a fluke, or a "Monday morning" production defect. If it weren't for the noise, I was very happy with the appearance and function of the VO rims.