adlai

I'm in the position of needing to buy an 11 speed wheel set. What are some good values? On Amazon there's this wheel set.

700C Road Bike Front Rear Bicycle Wheel Set Ultra-Light Aluminium Alloy Front Rear Wheelset 7/8/9/10/11 Speed Cassette, Rims Height 30mm C/V Brake https://a.co/d/aSWB2lg

TiHabanero

You get what you pay for. The wheels in that link are fairly low grade, certainly no better than OEM wheels on a mid-level bike. If looking to upgrade in terms of reliability, performance, durability, etc. this is a sideways move at best. If you just need a replacement wheel set due to a crash or to sell a bike, then that wheel set will do. I will not put something like that on my bike as I need something better quality.

3alarmer

.
...that's probably cheaper than you could make them yourself, sourcing the parts on the internet.
They will be machine built, so the tensions might be way off. But you can fix that by re-tensioning them yourself.

Hubs and freehubs come in a variety of quality levels. And they don't specify the spokes. So kind of a roll of the dice.

ThermionicScott 

No mention of spoke type, no specs on the rims or hub apart from being made of aluminum, from a here-today-gone-tomorrow "alphabet soup" brand on Amazon. I'd rather spend more if it meant knowing what exactly I'm getting.

mattcalifornia

For that price range, you're better off on craigslist or eBay. I don't think you can get any remotely good wheels new for that price. I just looked at my local craigslist and saw several much better options in that range. Where are you located? What bike are you putting them on?

Camilo

I have and would never buy any bike thing from Amazon (or anything else for that matter). Go to a real online bike shop of some sort and see what they have in your price range.

chaadster

I dig what you’re getting at, but there are many excellent machine-built wheelsets; certainly the vast majority on the road are, anyway, so when you think of all the people you know and ride with and how many have had to retension or had other wheel problems, I bet it’s close to zero, challenging us to rexamine machine-built prejudices.

The hand-built vs. machine-built paradigm is old, from decades ago, and improvements in materials, technology, and processes have rendered it virtually meaningless. It’s easier to make excellent wheels today, whether by hand or machine, though I think major manufacturers do both, i.e some machine assembly and some steps/checks manually.

It’s probably most insightful to phrase any axiom around quality, e.g. “low quality wheels are prone to problems and may need service like re-tensioning.”

squirtdad

I like velomine large range of wheels

couple of examples, but look for your needs

https://velomine.com/products/h-plus...etition-spokes

https://velomine.com/products/mavic-...-wheels-11-spd

veganbikes

I am unsure what this has to do with wheel building? Those are cheap pre-built no-name wheels if I was super desperate and all the local shops were out of everything, all the builders couldn't get parts and didn't have anything and all the online shops were out of everything and nothing used in decent condition and the Billionaire only had that wheel set I would consider it.

If you are looking for hand built wheels, don't bother with the cheap parts and get a wheel builder who knows what they are doing to build you what you want. Tell them your desires and let them build you what you want. If you are looking for something lightweight or durable or aerodynamic or for a certain application they can do it.

Fredo76

Nice price. I'd put the probability that they would work just fine at 95%. For people who are more concerned with image than utility, that opinion must seem like a slap in the face!

I have a similarly-priced wheelset from Bucklos, btw, but with ugly logos. I wouldn't let other's opinions of Amazon, or national origin, or machine-building affect my choice too much. Calling them "hidden gems" might be triggering for some folks, however.

urbanknight

+1 These look like a variant on the Forte Titan II wheels, maybe even made in the same factory and sold cheap because they can pump them out like clockwork and don't have a contract with Performance anymore. Stupid design if you ask me (uneven spoke holes with a radial lacing, and an overbuilt rim to compensate for a low spoke count), but they do work and are a half decent weight if you're not a heavy person. I actually had a pair of the original Forte Titans when I was fresh out of college and poor. Checked the tension as soon as I got them home and rode them for a few years without issue. Sold them dirt cheap when I could finally afford a nice set.

If you're looking for something lighter, more aero, or more durable, up your budget. If you just need cheap and now, these will probably be fine.