I have purchased wheelsets from two other custom wheelbuilders in the past and firmly believe custom built wheels from a competent wheelbuilder are the best way to buy wheels. My riding friends with factory built wheels seem to experience wheel-related problems on a regular basis but my custom built wheels have held up well. When I finally need to replace a rear wheel recently, I decided to give prowheelbuilder.com a try. I knew what I wanted so I placed my order online. Their website was easy to use and informative with lots of choices.
After I placed my order, I decided to make a change to the number of spoke crossings I had originally spec'd so I emailed Richard. The change was made with no problem. My wheel arrived a few days before the predicted date, built exactly as spec'd. Since I work for a testing laboratory, I weighed the wheel on an analytical balance. The wheel was within 20 grams of the weight predicted by the website. I also received a warranty card with the wheel that included the spoke lengths and spoke tension used to build the wheel, something no one else has ever provided. Since then I have ridden the wheel over 1000 miles and it has performed well.
The three custom wheelbuilders I have used have all been good but prowheelbuilder.com has provided the best service and price. I will be a returning customer..
Greg DuBois
October 04, 2015
I wanted to wait until I had some miles on the wheels before giving feedback. I am a clydesdale rider. I ride hard, but would certainly fall into what Grant Petersen (Rivendale Cycles) would call an "unracer". I love my bike. I chose it and it chose me...but it's not a high end super bike. It's hard to justify spending gobs of money on a wheelset, when really, all you want is something you never have to worry about that fits your style.
Enter Prowheelbuilders.com. I had considered builds in the $400-500 range from my local shop (they weren't really interested) and other online sources. Ultimately Prowheelbuilders.com had the best value, and offered a good strong hand laced wheel for my budget. I been riding these wheels for about 400 miles over varied terrain: road, gravel, bikeway, and single track (including rock gardens). Everything is solid. I have not needed any touch up truing, and I suspect everything will hold together nicely for ages. I wanted a high(ish) engagement hub, and opted for the Bitex MTR--there's not a lot online about this hub, so I'll share here that I am satisfied. The engagement is much faster than a typical factory wheel you'd see on an <$2k bike. The sound is loud-ish, and not unpleasant, but it sounds nothing like a high end hub.
Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase and the quality of work. I'm sold, and will come to Prowheelbuilder.com for any future wheel purchases.