Is a hand built wheel better than a factory built wheel? And what exactly is the difference and does it matter to you as the consumer? How does a Master Built wheel differ from one that’s identified as hand built? I will try to explain the difference in layman’s terms and give you some insights into the superiority of a truly Master Built wheel.
Let’s begin with what a hand built is. In reality virtually every wheel is finished by hand and therefore you wouldn’t be lying if you said that a factory wheel was hand built.
A factory built wheel starts its life in a lacing machine that quickly assembles a wheel to the point that it will need to be handed over to a wheel builder to be trued and provided finished tension. Hopefully that wheel builder will also do some de-stressing work which will simulate riding the wheel to stop it from going out of true once it hits the road.
So, doesn’t that mean that you now have a well built wheel? In a word, no. There’s absolutely no guarantee that sufficient time was given to provide a safe or well built wheel.
Wheel building factories are often driven by daily quotas for the builders which means that wheels are built WAY too fast to achieve satisfactory results. Wheels built in this manor are often the sum of many compromises that are a result of spending too little time to achieve outstanding results.
So if a company states in their advertising that their wheels are “hand built” this may be a little deceiving. Claiming that a wheel is handbuilt really means nothing in this day and age.
If we step back in time before the era of these large wheel building factories I will explain what “hand built” used to mean and why it carried a certain status that it no longer has and why a different moniker is needed to separate the men from the boys shall we say.
Many years ago the term “hand built” meant that your wheel was built by an artisan who specialized in building the best wheels money could buy. That “Master Builder” had many years of experience and his talents and knowledge were very sought after by those who demanded the best quality available.
No one became a Master Builder over night. This status took a long time to attain and usually the people who could lay claim to it were very well known for their unique skills.
In the modern era there are people who can lay claim to being a true master wheel builder. And they may have much more than the 10,000 hours that some say defines someone who has mastered their trade.
But you won’t find that person in every city and sadly not at many bike shops these days. These elite wheel builders are usually heading up small artisanal wheel building companies and toiling away in their humble workshops.
So what defines a Master Builder? Is it merely the amount of time that he’s been at it?
Building wheels to the highest level for many years is certainly what would put you on the road to obtaining that elite status, but one must keep up with the times and refine ones methodology and keep pace with the latest and most sophisticated tools available.
Tools themselves don’t build great wheels but they can definitely enable you to work at a much higher level of repeatable accuracy.
The Master Builder will be conversant with all the latest tools and they will have informed his methods. He will also have been exposed to the latest technology in rims and hubs.
These days the best quality rims are of course made of carbon fibre. Carbon rims offer up their own challenges and extensive experience in building is needed to work with carbon fibre properly. To think otherwise shows a lack of proper experience.
Someone who is merely a part time builder should leave that carbon build to someone else with that much needed experience.
If you are thinking of getting an upgrade to some “hand built wheels” consider contacting someone who is a bonafide “Master Builder”. This will guarantee peace of mind that your wheels were built to the highest standards known. This will mean they will possess an incredible ride quality, and built at the optimum tension for your weight and cycling style.
A tailored pair of wheels that will last for many seasons, providing the unique feeling that only a set of Master Built wheels will give you.
As the owner of Cognoscenti Cycles, my first pair of wheels came off the truing stand in 1973.
Still learning every day and still chasing the perfect wheel!
Our Carbon Werx Vector 45mm disc rims laced to White Industries CLD hubs.