Has anyone purchased custom wheels from Universal Cycles?
Did the wheels come well tensioned and prestressed?
Did the wheels hold true?
Were you a satisfied customer?

I've had 2 wheelsets built up by universal. One was a 29" SS for my mtb, with 32h wtb dual duty freerides laced with butted dt swiss to surly hubs. The other is 26" 32h rhyno lite xl laced with 14g dt swiss to shimano xt rear/cheapest shimano dynamo front hubs. I weigh in the neighborhood of 240lbs, and while i did choose fairly burly components, i'm very happy with the build. I sold the SS, but put a lot of trail hours on it, never a hiccup. Still have the other wheelset on the LHT, no issues yet, but i don't have that many miles on them. Still, i've been commuting on them quite a bit, and i weigh enough.

So, yeah the build is good, and best of all, they don't charge for the build. If you buy all the stuff a la carte, it costs the same (but takes less time). So, as long as they have the rims and hubs you're after, you're golden. They do charge labor if you send your own hubs, fyi.

hth
-rob

I've also had 2 sets of wheels built by Universal. I have been extremely satisfied with their work. I am even more impressed with their excellent customer service. They are great folks to deal with. On a recent wheel build the wheel came with a rim other than what I expected (not their fault). I called and they did not have the rim I wanted in stock. At that time, they were not to be found anywhere in the country-- black, 36 hole, Velocity Dyad 700c, machine sidewalled rims. The one they sent had a non-machined sidewall. They said the return was not a problem and they would rebuild the wheel if I could find the rim I wanted. I did luck out and found one at the shop that was building the frame for my wife's new bike. I sent the new rim back with the wheel, and a rebuilt wheel was back in 2 days ( I live in OR, and UPS is fast from PDX)--no fuss, no charge, subtacted the rim cost out, and built a great wheel. I do a lot of my bike business with them because of their great cutomer service. It also helps that their prices are very competitive, and parts arrive within a couple of days.

PS. We have about 1000 miles of loaded touring on one set and about 1500 miles on the other. They are everything I expect in a good wheel.
Both have 36 hole Velocity Dyad rims, one set with Ultegra hubs, one with Shimano XT hubs, Wheelsmith double butted spokes.

What's the import duty cost difference between buying a wheel from the states
as opposed to getting the wheel made up in vancouver or victoria where you live.