genejockey 

You say that now, but when they turn out to be nothing but cleverly painted papier mache, you'll be singing a different tune!!

JustinHS

I ordered these back on the 19th. Status still says "processing". Trying to reach their customer service is impossible. Chat puts you in a queue of over 100, tried yesterday for 3 hours, then gave up. On phone hold now, just musak over and over....

msu2001la

See?
I bet they let the customer service staff ride the wheels. Now they're all recovering from injuries.

Seattle Forrest

Interesting question. I can't give you a #, but this is how I would decide:

1. What do I want from carbon rims?
   1. I'm not willing to spend anything on a set that doesn't give me what I want.
2. How much use do I expect to get out of them?
3. How much risk is there of them breaking prematurely, and what happens in that case?
4. What does the money mean to me?

A heavy, not at all aerodynamic rim that's only 17 mm is worth $0.00 to me; being made from carbon fiber doesn't change that. Because just being carbon doesn't do anything for me. There's room for other people to see it differently. And they're sold out so it's a moot point. But this is how I would answer your question, it's how I chose my Enve wheels, also my skis and other things.

​​​​​​​Worth saying I bought a pair of Madshus Glittertands from The House, and some other stuff too. They're a fine store.

mstateglfr 

That is a well reasoned response because you recognize it doesnt fit your use, but it could fit other's use.

These are rim brake wheels, so width aside, they would still be worth $0 to you. But for a rim brake bike, they could be worth something to those who want that. And for a bike designed around 25-28mm tires, they could be worth something for those who want that. As for them not being all that aero, if we go based only on more depth = more aero, then they are more aero than basically any aluminum rim so they could be worth something to those who want that.

For a wheelset that will be on a bike thats a backup to my backup road bike, this is a no brainer to me. I was going to use some relatively generic aluminum wheels that are 16mm internal width rim and about 24mm deep.
I have no fear of these wheels breaking. They are true and spoke tension feels fine(didnt check with a gauge, havent done that to other wheels either, not even ones Ive built). I suspect the hubs are some Novatech offering. These things look and feel as well made and lighter than wheels that came on rim brake road bikes up to 105 level just a few years ago.

As for people skeptical of The House, I have no idea why their customer service is non-existent on the phone. All I know is that these wheels delivered in 2 days and The House also sent me a promo code for $50 anything on their website with no minimum purchase. So I got a new Whisky Carbon seatpost for free since it was discounted. I had spent $100 on the same seatpost 10 months ago for a different bike. Based on my very limited interaction, this company is great.

Seattle Forrest

I have a pair of race skis that cost $900 without bindings. Somehow I was able to get them for $80, the lady who used to own the shop had got a deal on them and this was one of the last sales she made before retiring. I had been a good customer, and even gave her a bottle of great wine previously.

I only use them in perfect conditions because I can't get another pair for less than full price, so I don't want to scratch them.

I can't agree that a clearance price, possibly at a loss, tells you what the thing is actually worth except to the person or shop selling it.

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​Almost nothing. Buyers don't know if it's still legit or if you've cancelled it. They're sold in blocks of thousands.

This is actually a pretty fascinating topic. Criminals are shockingly creative. There's a podcast called Darknet Diaries that goes into a lot of detail about this. Highly recommended.

Seattle Forrest

Customer service is probably suffering right now because it's the holidays. Possibly also because of the polar vortex making it hard for people to get to work.

I've spent more than $500 with The House over the years and have never had a problem. I've never had to use their customer service so I can't comment on that but they're not a fly by night scam company.

Koyote

I get what you’re saying. Sounds like your skis were a “one off” sort of deal… She was busting out the inventory, and you were a favorite customer. But it seems like that was not the price that was offered to other customers… And I think we can agree that your skis, which were a known product, were very different from the OP‘s wheels - which have rims and hubs of unknown quality.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about “worth;” I’m talking about price. In a marketplace, the price of an item is what people actually pay for it. The original price of those wheels doesn’t matter a bit… If they’re selling them for $135, that’s their market price.

I agree that the OP’s “thought experiment“ is an interesting question… I addressed it earlier. I’m not willing to take a risk on a wheelset of unknown quality. If I’m in the middle of a 100+ mile gravel race, the last thing I want to be worrying about is whether my hub will fail.

The OP’s comparison of this wheelset to a bike fitted with a Tiagra groupset is absolutely absurd. Tiagra is a well-known, widely reviewed groupset that is produced by the world’s largest manufacturer of bicycle components. It is a known quantity. The wheelset which is the topic of this thread, though, is not at all like that. We have no idea where, or under what quality control, those rims and hubs were produced. A completely inapt comparison.

hubcyclist

my wheels were delivered yesterday to my parents' house after weather related delays with fedex, but the vendor definitely shipped quickly to all i've heard from. as for the whole "value" discussion, framed still has just the rims available for $250 each

https://www.framedbikes.com/products...arbon-road-rim

and I think folks are ignoring that, outside of this seemingly one time deal, the cost of getting a comparable wheelset with some other generic carbon rim and generic hub would still be higher. i'd be willing to bet someone could easily flip these wheels for a profit.

C9H13N 

I don’t have anything to add except to say that I have a Velomine wheelset that was built by Wheel Master (came in a box labeled as such) that has survived a double century and multiple seasons of commuting without truing or tensioning or any adjustments whatsoever.

32 hole Hed Belgium C2 rims, DT Comp spokes, 105 hubs. This was several years ago and the price of the wheelset was significantly lower than buying the components individually even if I had known how to build wheels at the time (I didn’t).

SoSmellyAir

the-house.com takes a while to process orders, but everything I have ordered from this place arrived eventually.

JustinHS

Todays update...Since my last update, two 'chats" that said, don't worry, we are busy. Three calls that stayed on queue forever, never answered. Yesterday, the order status changed from 'processing' to 'please call'. I was able to get thru to chat today, the can't find my wheels, and there is no suitable replacement. So they cancelled my order!! I don't think I'll use them again.For all those that were able to get them, good luck and ride safe.!!!