calhoun1

Thanks Racer, that site looks very promising. And I would assume my 190 lb weight would not hurt those wheels?

drewpyperc

+1 for oddsandendos.com.
Your weight should be fine, however, I suggest you call Mike Garcia (his number is on the website). I spent about 45 minutes with him on the phone. He asked me a bunch of questions regarding my weight, riding style, where I ride, what I want out of the wheels, etc. He'll set you up with a great set of wheels, and you'll get them at a great price. You'll probably get them pretty fast, too. I got mine in about a week or so after I placed the order. Give him a call!

powerglide

No I'm not.

jvan12345

+2. The guy flat out knows his stuff. Granted, I only have about 2 weeks and 250 miles on these so far, but I have raced them twice in crits and the handbuilt niobium 30's with speedcific hubs are extremely light and VERY stiff. I think alternating nipples with brass on the drive side and aluminum on the non-drive side makes a huge difference. I'm 6'4" and 195, fwiw.

RacerMike

Since I'm anywhere between 215 and 240 depending on the time of the season, I'm gonna go with "no". You just need to talk to Mike and tell him what you are looking for and he'll build something to suit. My set is comprised of 28H Aeroheads (OC rear) with SPeedcific Hubs.

Mike

Psimet2001 

Meh. Just built a pair of wheels myself for right around $300 that weighs in at 1560g. That's lighter than most boutique wheels out there for under $800.

...as for Garcia....There are stories that his quality has been slipping lately. I think I found out why...I received this e-mail the other day...from his wife:

Even then I have gotten some items I ordered from them pretty quickly this week. Don't underestimate the power of having a child. His life is most likely a mess if this is their first one. Could explain recent erratic behavior that others have noted.

Brian Ratliff

I just picked up a wheelset with ultegra hubs laced to Mavic open pro rims from Performance for $200. What surprised me about this wheelset was that they were not only selling it for $100 cheaper than I could build them myself (even with the hubs discounted by a Nashbar sale), but they were built with double butted (14/15/14) spokes. These are just slightly heavier than the Bontrager Racelites which came with the bike, and I don't have to worry about getting stranded from a broken spoke.

aham23

so are you now a custom wheel builder? later.

halfspeed

Make sure you check the tension and remove any spoke windup. As you noted, the components are top notch but the build, in my experience, may not be.

Psimet2001 

...I have been for myself for about a year........After this set I might consider doing some for close friends...ones that won't sue.

damage24

+3 for oddsandendos.com. I'm 6'3 190 and have put ~1000 miles on Mike's 20/28 Niobium rims/Speedcific hubs and bladed spokes and they've been great. I think they weigh in at around 1440g and I got them for about $480 shipped with an Ultegra cassette that he included at cost.

I don't have a lot to compare them to, but they feel, look and sound great to me. I was running Ksyrium Equipes and there's a noticeable difference, especially while climbing.

aham23

how close? i mean we have shared hotel rooms, gym floors & bike chains. seems like we are practically blood brothers.

actually, i dont have official clearence for a wheel purchase until late fall. oddly enough, it was suggested i pick up some new wheels and other stuff i think need over the winter. then when tdhe 08 season hits it will be like riding an entire new machine.

what a great idea. later.