Wheel build. What's it normally cost in SoCal?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by trailninja, Nov 24, 2015.

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  1. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!! Staff Member

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    I am looking to build a 26er wheelset from scratch with carbon hoops, DT Swiss 350s and DT Aero bladded spokes 32 hole. Does anyone know the typical cost for a wheel build labor for a full wheelset? Any local recommendations in the OC area?

    On another note The Path bike shop was going to charge me $110 (WTF!) per wheel just to replace my spoke nipples with brass one's because they were apparently going bad on my other enve wheelset which is only 1.5 yrs old. The price seems really expensive just to replace the nipples. I opted out of the work because the price did not seem right.
     
    trailninja, Nov 24, 2015
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  2. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Learn to do it yourself....it's free.

    I've generally heard $45-$70 per wheel labor.
     
    mtnbikej, Nov 24, 2015
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  3. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!! Staff Member

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    I don't think I would trust myself riding a wheelset I built for the first time. Haha.
     
    trailninja, Nov 25, 2015
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  4. 1TrackMind

    1TrackMind Member

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    Funny quote coming from a "quality engineer"!

    Call Bill @Cycleogical in Dana Point. They built my last two wheelsets (Chris King to Light Bicycle and Ibis741 to I9Torch)and are much more price competetive than the path...good peeps there!
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2015
    1TrackMind, Nov 25, 2015
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  5. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!! Staff Member

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    Lol. Dude thanks for the reference!
     
    trailninja, Nov 25, 2015
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  6. thephat

    thephat Active Member

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    I think there was a misunderstanding. We charge $50 per wheel to build a wheel at The Path. $110 sounds like the labor for both wheels, and the cost of the nipples.
     
    thephat, Nov 26, 2015
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  7. bconneraz

    bconneraz Member

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    I'll add that I've have 3 sets of wheels built at the Path, all with fantastic results. Perfectly tensioned and true.
     
    bconneraz, Nov 27, 2015
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  8. portlypeddler

    portlypeddler Active Member

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    I'm with baconneraz, they've built several wheels for my bikes at the affordable price "the phat" mentioned. Always happy!
    Steve
     
    portlypeddler, Nov 27, 2015
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  9. Fearless Fly

    Fearless Fly anachronistic and impulsi

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    Build them yourself and then take them to the path for a complete rebuild, that way you appreciate the price. Building a wheel is skilled labor and costs money.
     
    Fearless Fly, Nov 27, 2015
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  10. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!! Staff Member

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    Nope the quote was per wheel with brass nipples. Nevertheless thanks for the clarification.
     
    trailninja, Nov 28, 2015
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  11. trailninja

    trailninja Going Slideways!!!! Staff Member

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    Nah! Prices are jacked up at the path. This wasn't the first time. Last time they had a Pivot 429 trail for sale the msrp listed on the bike wasnt even the correct spec of the bike. Salesman tried to sell my buddy the bike with a discount when the actual build at that msrp was totally different. They admitted to placing the wrong msrp on the bike the next day. Just saying.
     
    trailninja, Nov 28, 2015
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  12. thephat

    thephat Active Member

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    I remember when our receiving guy had some confusion about the XTR build vs the XTR/XT build on the 429 trail. That was an embarrassing labeling mistake, but not reflective of how our pricing structure works. It was corrected pretty quickly. I would say this confusion is definitely not the norm at The Path, but I can see how you may have lost some trust. Not sure where the communication broke down on the wheel build quote, but we charge $50 labor to build a wheel ($60 for UST wheels, and some other more time consuming options).
     
    thephat, Nov 29, 2015
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  13. dstepper

    dstepper Over the hill

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    So frustrating people will go out of their way to point out something negative without truly understand the situation. But won't step of the curb to give thanks, I could never work in a customer service industry and keep my cool.

    Dean
     
    dstepper, Nov 29, 2015
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  14. jazzanova

    jazzanova New Member

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    Enve wheels are under 5 year warranty.
    The nipples were exchanged for free. Its a known problem and it is covered by the warranty. Of course a whole wheelset had to be bought from enve in order to have them replaced.
     
    jazzanova, Nov 30, 2015
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