Raleigh "pro" build wheels

[wyadvd]

My r500s are shot. (rim wear and bearings after two winters-and yes they have been repacked twice, my mistake being not to repack them before I even started using them on the first day!)

I want some Open Pro rims,and the pricing on the raleigh probuild wheels (105 hubs 32 spoke open pro) looks attractive.

Has anyone gone for a set of these (no theorising please) and found them to be good wheels ? If I reject the idea of these as factory built wheels, then I will go for a hope hub in open pro for twice the price hand made at downland cycles.

Any advice built on actual experience of the wheels I mention?
very many thanks in advance.

[uphillbothways]

Rigida Chrina rims on 105 hubs, top quality double-butted spokes, built by an expert, £175.

Why pay more for factory-built wheels with worse rims?

[meic]

I have experience of the Tiagra version of these.

IF we had just given them a once over and properly tensioned the spokes BEFORE it went into service it would have been fine.

As it was the rider destroyed the wheel systematically tearing spoke after spoke.
It could have been avoided possibly by using 36 spoke wheels or if he didnt have to press so hard on the pedals all the time.

Eventually we completely rebuilt it with new and better spokes but the story ends there as he moved on to breaking more important things than spokes.

[York Commuter]

I have a set of pro-builds:

Mavic 119 on Deore hubs

which i use on a mid-90s Dawes Horizon

I ordered them via a friend "in the trade" who didn't have the time to build me a set but was prepared to check them over before use(he had done this for himself previously).

I haven't used them a lot, as the past few years haven't had a lot of cycling, but other thean initial problems with the cheap plastic rim tape casuing punctures (solved by proper rim tape) they have been fine so far. BTW I am a "big lad" at well over 18 stone.

Stephen

[Dav9694]

Rear 32 spoke in use since summer 2013. Has broken 3 spokes - all on the non drive side, at the rim end. Not convinced the tension is right, but that's with only my plucking to guide me.

[Brucey]

well £120 for just a rear wheel

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_952587_langId_-1_categoryId_242554

seems like a lot to me. Having said this, comparing with the Chrina wheels isn't entirely fair; the Chrina rims are about half the price, and are a little heavier too.

A fully dished (130mm 8/9/10s) symmetrically spoked rear wheel will normally have spokes that are a little too tight on the DS and/or a little too slack on the NDS for my liking. Probably with this rim and any kind of chunky chap on board the NDS spokes will loosen unless some kind of thread locking is used. I have a set of 32h open pros on the go but they are built 132mm and with a further reduced dish; this makes the spoke tensions considerably more favourable. The wheels are nice and light, and ride very well.

The Raleigh wheel claims to use ACI DB spokes; these are normally pretty good spokes, so if spokes are found to break it all points to some of the usual problems with wheels (wheels that are anything other than the best hand-made wheels, that is); lack of attention to spoke fit/setting and a gross lack of stress relief.

cheers