Cost for a handbuilt wheel

[ccallana]

My rear wheel needs replacing, so I've been looking at options.

Reading here I've seen a lot of suggestions, and have been looking at the Velocity Dyad rim. My LBS suggested mating that with a Shimano 105 36 hole hub and DT Alpine spokes, to support my 109kg self The would charge $385 for the rear wheel

Is this a decent price? Seems a bit higher than expected, but I'm tired of having issues with my rear wheel (wobbling, hub squeaking, etc - even after tuning up...)

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by ccallana .

My rear wheel needs replacing, so I've been looking at options.

Reading here I've seen a lot of suggestions, and have been looking at the Velocity Dyad rim. My LBS suggested mating that with a Shimano 105 36 hole hub and DT Alpine spokes, to support my 109kg self The would charge $385 for the rear wheel

Is this a decent price? Seems a bit higher than expected, but I'm tired of having issues with my rear wheel (wobbling, hub squeaking, etc - even after tuning up...)

That might be a bit much. Contact other wheel builders to check their prices. There's a thread on this forum about custom wheel builders.

 

[sitzmark]

Wheel building labor is typically $40-$80 per wheel (location and shop dependent). Add the cost of components (rim, hub, spokes, nipples, rim strip) - about $200 -$250 for what you listed. If $385 includes a tire and tube it all adds up pretty close - again, depending on the tire/tube included.

Cassette - your existing cassette?

 

[Motobecane]

THey are bending you over on that. that is ridiculous. Velocity rim $50, 105 hub $75, 36 spokes $40, labor $40. not to mention alpine spokes are overkill. is this wheel for loaded touring? 36 spokes is solid, but not totally necessary. your 240lbs, same weight as me, I've never had a problem with 32 spoke road wheels. IF this is for loaded touring I would go with a Mavic A719 rim, if this is for just general road bike riding, go with a Velocity deep v. But honestly they are screwing you for $385.

Originally Posted by ccallana .

My rear wheel needs replacing, so I've been looking at options.

Reading here I've seen a lot of suggestions, and have been looking at the Velocity Dyad rim. My LBS suggested mating that with a Shimano 105 36 hole hub and DT Alpine spokes, to support my 109kg self The would charge $385 for the rear wheel

Is this a decent price? Seems a bit higher than expected, but I'm tired of having issues with my rear wheel (wobbling, hub squeaking, etc - even after tuning up...)

 

[sitzmark]

Originally Posted by Motobecane .


THey are bending you over on that. that is ridiculous. Velocity rim $50, 105 hub $75, 36 spokes $40, labor $40. not to mention alpine spokes are overkill. is this wheel for loaded touring? 36 spokes is solid, but not totally necessary. your 240lbs, same weight as me, I've never had a problem with 32 spoke road wheels. IF this is for loaded touring I would go with a Mavic A719 rim, if this is for just general road bike riding, go with a Velocity deep v. But honestly they are screwing you for $385.

From the information provided it isn't possible to know that. If the estimate is for a ready to ride wheel with tire - possibly with new cassette - then it is a reasonable estimate. The OP is not going to get eBay or high-volume online pricing on the components from a small LBS. At best 10% discount is typical unless there's a special sale or the person has a relationship with the shop - club membership, etc. Shop labor rates are usually $50-$70/hour and it takes around an hour to build a wheel.

When drawing a comparison with mail order parts all costs - including shipping - have to be figured in. Shops usually charge more to build out a wheel with customer supplied parts. Some won't build customer supplied "junk". $385 could be a reasonable price or excessive. Depends on details - what exactly is included, brass vs alu nipples, tape, tire, tube, cassette....

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by Motobecane .


THey are bending you over on that. that is ridiculous. Velocity rim $50, 105 hub $75, 36 spokes $40, labor $40. not to mention alpine spokes are overkill. is this wheel for loaded touring? 36 spokes is solid, but not totally necessary. your 240lbs, same weight as me, I've never had a problem with 32 spoke road wheels. IF this is for loaded touring I would go with a Mavic A719 rim, if this is for just general road bike riding, go with a Velocity deep v. But honestly they are screwing you for $385.

If your price numbers are right, the wheel is nothing special.

The shop I buy some of my stuff from has reasonable stock wheels for $140 plus shipping and identical hand built wheels for $220 plus shipping. I guess they think they are good at building wheels. Add another $25 for the tube and tire I use and $49 for a cassette.

The $200-300 difference between what a reasonable stock wheel (and maybe a cassette and tire) and what a custom bike shop wheel needs to buy a lot of quality.

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by An old Guy .





If your price numbers are right, the wheel is nothing special.

The shop I buy some of my stuff brom has seasonable stock wheels for $140 plus shipping and identical hand built wheels for $220 plus shipping. I guess they think they are good at building wheels. Add another $25 for the tube and tire I use and $49 for a cassette.

The $200-300 difference between what a reasonable stock wheel (and maybe a cassette and tire) and what a custom bike shop wheel needs to buy a lot of quality.

Which "seasonable" wheels are you referring to, gramps?

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Which "seasonable" wheels are you referring to, gramps?

I am sorry. I made a spelling error. I have corrected it.

 

[ccallana]

No tire or cassette included, no fully loaded touring - just me and my fat rear end (sometimes a backpack when I ride to work). I can get a similar wheel from another shop using the Open Pro rim for over $100 less. Both are good shops, have shopped at both. Bought the bike, and all my tune ups from the first one though - I like the guys.

Thanks for all the input

 

[alienator]

Originally Posted by ccallana .

No tire or cassette included, no fully loaded touring - just me and my fat rear end (sometimes a backpack when I ride to work). I can get a similar wheel from another shop using the Open Pro rim for over $100 less. Both are good shops, have shopped at both. Bought the bike, and all my tune ups from the first one though - I like the guys.

Thanks for all the input

You might want to shop around or try seeing if there's flexibility in the price you got. Given the cost and what's included, it's probably a bit too much. Alpine spokes aren't bad but may not be strictly necessary. What's important, though, is not just the weight of the rider, er....you, but the entire weight of the bike/rider system. This includes weight of a backpack and contents, panniers, and so on. You need to be truthful about that with a wheel builder because the last thing you want is to be stuck in B.F. Egypt because you ended up with wheels not quite up to your demands.

 

[Motobecane]

Originally Posted by sitzmark .


From the information provided it isn't possible to know that. If the estimate is for a ready to ride wheel with tire - possibly with new cassette - then it is a reasonable estimate. The OP is not going to get eBay or high-volume online pricing on the components from a small LBS. At best 10% discount is typical unless there's a special sale or the person has a relationship with the shop - club membership, etc. Shop labor rates are usually $50-$70/hour and it takes around an hour to build a wheel.

When drawing a comparison with mail order parts all costs - including shipping - have to be figured in. Shops usually charge more to build out a wheel with customer supplied parts. Some won't build customer supplied "junk". $385 could be a reasonable price or excessive. Depends on details - what exactly is included, brass vs alu nipples, tape, tire, tube, cassette....

in my experience when discussing cost of a wheel we are discussing strictly the cost of the wheel build. anyone considering getting a wheel custom built is probably already well versed in tires, tubes and either has ones they are putting on themselves or will get them. so based on that $385 is outrageous. However, if we do add in the cost of a quality tire and cassete, than it's reasonable. OP has since posted that he doesn't need those so yeah $385 is a rip off. I'm in NYC and I've never seen a shop charge more than $50 for a wheelbuild so it should be much less in the burbs. I stand by my original statement. $75-$100 for a 105 hub $50-$80 for a Velocity Deep V, $40-$50 for spokes and $50 labor =$215-280 That is a far cry from $385