Brian6751

K SL3's= $600

Mike G= $500

Which should I go with?

JayC

The MG fanboi's are going to be here shortly so Ill just say that Ive dealt with MG and Ive dealt with Mavic.. Ill take Mavic any day.

And SL3s are WAY cheaper than that if you can find a set at a Performance. I just bought a set yesterday for $420.00.

Actually, I lied.. I paid 480.00 and had $30.00 Performance points... had to dig out the receipt to see exactly since I bought some other stuff.

Brian6751

Reading what you went through is what makes me worry. Dont see that deal at performance anymore.

JayC

The wheels are actually on clearance in the store. My store had one more set if they still have them.

GuitarWizard

Mavics.

And yes, I own a set of MG wheels.

steppinthefunk 

If you want some custom wheels made I suggest you visit some of your local bike shops and see what they have to offer. Unless Mike Garcia has some really cheap prices or he has some stuff that no one else can get then I don't understand what all the hype is.

Support your neighborhood shop. If you want something really special then go online and buy some rims and hubs and let the shop lace them up for you.

Brian6751

Thanks for the suggestion but this doesnt answer my question. I do not want my LBS putting my wheels together. I want someone who does it all the time to do it.

BlessedHellride

I have been very happy with the wheels Mike Garcia built.

kergin

Care to qualify?

JayC

There's a post around here somewhere about it but the search is so jacked up, I cant find it.

Essentially, I bought wheels, they were junk, MG was unresponsive, I finally got a refund.

kergin

Just curious, because I received my speedcific/aerohead wheels today, and the build seems good (good spoke tension, built to spec, etc), and they spin very nicely. I won't be riding them until the weather is *much* nicer, so its a little disconcerting to hear negative experiences with his wheels. Heck, after paying shipping & tax to Canada, it would have been equally expensive to have my local shop build OpenPro/Record wheels.

GuitarWizard

My Niobium 30 build is flexy as all ****. I can't even stand up and climb without the damn things rubbing like mad on my brakes (sprinting...forget it), and I explicitly told him I wanted a very stiff wheel.

MIN 

that dude never even checks his emails or bothers to fix his site. as much as that doesn't explicitly speak to his character, I prefer more attention to detail than that from a business owner.

Ryleeryno

OK OK OK... We are all very well aware of your bad experience with Mike Garcia. I am one of the many people who are very happy with his service so please mention to the OP of your questionable circumstances with your rim/spoke preference and riding conditions.

Ryleeryno

BTW... I weigh 170lbs and my MG wheels are Niobium 30 front / DT Swiss RR 1.2 rear with 20h/24h setup and are still very true after 2,000 miles of use. Our transaction was very straight-forward and I received my wheels in less than 2 weeks.

JayC

WTF are you talking about? There is no questionable circumstances.

"Hi Mike.. I weigh this much, I want this"
"Well, Jay, this is what you need. Ill build it for you"

Where is that questionable? Your hero is the one who suggested what I should order... I didnt call him up and just order wheels.

I wasnt out jumping curbs with the wheels.. I only rode them maybe 6 times. You must have me confused with someone else that got crappy service from Mike.

Get your facts straight.

aham23

like everything in life, there is good and there is bad. some have had great experiences with MG, some have not.

for what its worth, most who have purchased from MG and posted about it claim to be satisfied. something like the dude makes good wheels but has dificulty answering his phone or emails is pretty common for the MG experience.

later.

michaelmc

All the more reason to, if going handbuilt, buy local.

RC2

I really really DO NOT GET the fascination folks have with MG, and I'd be surprised if he is really building most the stuff that is shipped out from odds n endos.

I'm definitely a fan of getting wheels built to your riding preferences instead of mass-produced machine built stuff like Ksyriums. I have some and their fine, but they are McWheels these days, there are so many options, McWheels are boring.

+1 big one on finding a local builder who has experience and recommendations.

80vette

MG can be difficult to get hold of.
Often does not answer emails.... I have sent he a # of them and never recieve a response.

Cannot complain about the wheels. I would say I have 10K miles on them with ZERO problems.

Price was low. Weight was low. Wait was fairly long.

You decide.

crydee

The wheels I got from MG are crap. Never gotten back to me about them either since early Dec.

I've vowed to do it myself now. https://www.chc-3.com/pub/wheel_stand.htm

covenant

They may be boring but usually they're shipped the same day you order them.
And retailers who carry McWheels are usually very easy to communicate with.

That's all it took for me....

waterrockets 

Naw, just get a Minoura Workman Jr. I've been using one for 15 years, and I build great wheels. It's flimsy, but you don't need some amazing structure to see a wheel wobble.

Spend the rest of it on a Park TM-1 and "The Bicycle Wheel" book (optional). Detension your wheels until you can see the threads (go one-turn at a time, full lap -- don't just loosen all at once). Drop some air-tool oil on the threads and into the spoke holes. Wipe drips off. Then start tensioning from scratch, following the words of the late Sheldon Brown. You'll have so much fun you'll be looking for wheels to build.

Why would I buy decent wheels for $300 dollars when I can build my own in 3 hours for $350?

RC2

I'm missing the point about communication... are wheel builders hard to talk to? Last I used was Tim at Colonel's in Fort Worth and he had a firm grasp of english at least.

Anyway, good point about the instant gratification of order-ship for the McWheel. I typically order hubs, spokes, rims from ebay, AEBike, (a great Chris King supplier from seattle is aspire velotech, has everything in stock/all colors/good service). Couple days, stuff arrives. Let builder know it's coming, and wheels are built often the same day I bring stuff in (next day worst case). That's pretty close to instant gratification, + choice of each part/color/size/# holes/lacing pattern on the wheel (or let the builder do it) and avoid the McWheel altogether.

rooftest

Those are some low standards - I've experienced some pretty rotten wheels in my time, but they all spun!