I'm looking at a bike that has shimano wh-r500 wheel sets. I've read both good and bad. Anyone j=have any experience with these shimano wheels

how much do you weigh? What are the road conditions that you'll be riding on?

220lbs. right now ride paved country hilly roads. 20-25 mile rides 4X/week.

The 20/24 spoke count might be a bit low for a 220lb rider (someone confirm/deny please). These wheels are not known for their strength or durability. One suggestion would be to talk to the salesperson and see if you can get a wheel upgrade for free/large discount with the purchase of the whole bike.

What frame are you looking at?

is it the 500s or the 550s that are supposed to be some of the worst wheels ever made?

it's a Windsor Fens. the wh-r500 with the 20/24 spoke pattern.

Botto: I believe it's the 500s.
rjkski: You can find a better wheel than the 500s. Trust us on this one

I'm now riding a Ross Signature I bout back in 1984 with the original wheels and have no problems with them. It's getting too costly to upgrade so decided to go new. Saw the Windsor through Bikesdirect.com and it looked excellent for the money.

I have them on my Masi, they are working out OK, I only needed to true them a couple of times in one year of use. In general the front was a little loose so I tighten the whole wheel after a few month.
It is the entry level wheel for Shimano so I am sure you can only go up but you can also use them and they will work just fine. I was a little less than 200 lbs, now I shed a few pounds. I did almost 2000 miles last year and some racing too, no complaint and I will use them for some more racing this year until I can tell it is a limiting factor on my performances.
I think that, because they are pretty conventional, they are better than some other wheel that has special spokes or hubs but cheap. As the old Shimano with the spoke that screwed in the hub, I heard some shops were not even working on those.
I am sure you will find the new ride a big step ahead than the Ross.
Ciao
Paolo

It's the 550s that I always bash. I believe the 500s are a lower end wheel than the 550s.

At 220 - get different wheels. Those who ride low end Shimano wheels who support them simply haven't ridden them long enough yet, or weigh too little for the usual problems to pop up. The proprietary spokes used on these things just suck. The rims are bullet-proof. Helps you make it home WHEN you start breaking spokes.

If you are buying the bike new then ask the shop to work out a deal for swapping the wheels for some solid handbuilt wheels up front.

Most on here will recommend Mavic Open pro rims laced to Shimano Ultegra hubs. They can be found as machine built wheels in the $200 range. Handbuilt for something in between $200 and $300. Those 500s are probably in the $100-$150 range. Throw them an extra $100 and ask for some good wheels.

I have seen both positive and negative reviews about these wheels. They were already on the Serotta that I was going to buy and my LBS said they would work for me - 6'1" and 210 lbs. and shrinking(weight that is). I have almost 1,000 miles on mine now without problems. Only truing needed was on front wheel after initial ride - one spoke required tightening. They are lots of people that say go with them, a lot that have had initial problems, and still more that have had spoke breakage and cracking at 2,000 miles. Shimano does admit that lower count spoke wheels require more stringent monitoring and maintenance truing.

If I had it to do over again I would get different wheels with more spokes and a better review history.

+1 - This backs up what I was saying. Off the top of my head I believe that most of the people that I have heard from that have had problems with them had their issues start around 2,000 miles (I know I was in that ballpark when my issues started).

I had the 550's which I did about 6500 km on (do the maths yourself). They were fine for the first 4500 km then both front and rear were needing truing every 500 km or so. I had them rebuilt and they seemed ok til I destroyed the bike in a crash. The new bike will have better wheels.

500's dont use proprietary spokes, I have them.. They are normal, nipple-at-rim spokes. Compared to stuff like the FSA-RD200 at the same price range, they're all pretty much the same.

DO NOT get the 550's. THEY SUCK. Although they are one step higher, they use the stupid nipple at hub design (what is this supposed to do again?)

Don't believe any positive reviews. Honestly, these things suck. Heavy (1900g), get out of true easily, and pop spokes all the time.

ugh

I have a set that has about 2.5k miles. No issues of any note. Very minor spoke adjustment only a couple of times, otherwise no issues. Ride well, bearings are very smooth and no play in the hub. Freehub is especially smooth. I'm quite happy with them. But I weight 158-165 lbs, dependin... Hard to say how they'd react under 220 lbs. They may be lower end shimano, but most shimano stuff is far from low end. There are certainly a bunch of lower quality wheelsets than these.
Weigh is , of course, a consideration. But even greater is just how hard a rider is on wheels.
Isn't there a clydesdale forum? They might have good info on them.

I destroyed a rear 550 after about 3000 miles at 160lbs. stay away STAY FAR AWAY

Constant problems with breaking spokes, not staying true over 12 months and 10 000 kms, cracked rims, 225 lb

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/212976-destroyed-my-shimano-r500-wheels.html

I have R550's and haven't broken a spoke yet but they've gone out of true a few times. Trading a heavier rim for low spoke count, not a good trade-off; I wouldn't purchase again.