Wheel MasterShimano Ultegra 6800/Velocity A23 Wheelset(Return to Product Page)

I agree with the previous reviewer that the build quality on these wheels was lacking. I am on the bigger side, and am generally very hard on wheels, so I tend to be picky. I was carrying a spoke wrench with me every ride to tune up the rear. Took them to the shop, and they got it into more even tension and it has run true since without touching anything (6 months).

That said, the components that make up these wheels are great. Ultegra hubs are awesome - light without being flimsy, nice freehub body that doesn't gouge, super simple and smooth-running bearings. The velocity rims have been very nice too. They have a relatively nice brake track (although the joint is slightly noticeable when braking). I like the wider width a lot. Makes an especially big difference on a cyclocross clincher, which otherwise has a much more pronounced shape (ie on a mavic open pro). One thing to be aware of, is that these are built with straight-gauge spokes, and as a result are somewhat heavier than they would be with butted or even bladed spokes. The rims/hubs are light, but the whole package ends up pretty heavy with the heavier spokes. Not necessarily a big deal, but that's where some of the $ savings comes in.

Overall I'm happy, hard to beat the price for a solid set of wheels with a wider rim.

I moved from my previous 24 spoke wheel to this 32 spoke because the 24's had a known history of breaking spokes. I'm 6'3 and weigh 200 lbs. My friend who is a certified wheel builder said these would be a good wheel for my daily 25 mile commute but he did say that one of his customers bought this wheel from BikeTiresDirect and broke a rear spoke on his first ride. He disassembled and rebuilt the wheel and hasn't had a problem since.

I bought them, put them on and broke 2 spokes in the first 3 weeks. Both spokes were on the rear non-drive side. My friend offered to rebuild the rear wheel for me. After receiving the wheel he said the spokes were tensioned too high. In his opinion these were machine built, not hand-built.

Since the rebuild everything has been fine. This is a good hubrimspoke combo but plan on having someone rebuild them when you receive them.

Build quality was not great, but for the price I wasn't expecting it to be. Rear dish was a bit off, and both wheels had a pretty pronounced hop.

Plan to spend some time truing them, or set aside a few bucks more to have a shop do it for you.