I have ridden plenty of decent, handbuilt wheels. I bought some Forte Titans when I was in a financial bind and much to my chagrin, they are actually doing quite well (the chagrin is that they don't give me a good excuse to buy the parts to make my desired built). When I bought them, I checked the tension and they were fine. Despite the low spoke count, they carry me over some really crappy roads on my commute without going out of true, popping a spoke, or breaking a flange. The bearings are still quite smooth after almost 3 years. I wish something would start giving me a reason to replace them soon.

HOWEVER, they are machine built, so I simply got the luck of the draw and it sounds like you got the unlucky ones. Well ok, if I got unlucky, I would have checked the tension and returned them, but you get the idea.


I just felt the need to point out that your opinion seems to be based on one single item while the question is about the whole line. Not saying your opinion is wrong, just that it has limited support.