Wheely good quality...!

Another twist on the quality theme...
My wheels, recently built by a company CENTRAL in UK who do WHEELS...
1. After a massive delay due o not having the rims I require in stock, despite telling me they were, and not even being able to give me an ETA, I eventually sourced a rim from another company. Turns out that my builder supplied this other company as they are the importers for UK! It wouldn't have taken much thought for him to have sourced the same rim would it? He just couldn't be bothered I guess.
2. Despite telling them I wanted to keep the old stainless spokes sets for a friend, they got lost.
3. The front wheel is out by 1/4 inch
4. Despite me telling them not to strip the bearings etc, they must have done, as the rear spacer is now in the wrong way around, and it wasn't before.
I was absolutely expecting some frustration, I just knew it wasn't possible for them to get everything 'right first time' and they proved be to be very correct. Sadly!

Are the spokes straight?

Al-otment said:

Are the spokes straight?

Click to expand...

Yes they are, spokes are butted, at my request, and the spoke pattern etc looks good to me.
One other failure I forgot to mention, they did not want to balance the wheels for some inexplicable reason and I had to insist.
On the way home, with the wheels in the car, the balance weights fell off simply because they had not been crimped tightly onto the spokes! Who was it that started the 'attention to detail' thread!?!
At least they fell off before I'd fitted them, so I simply had to balance them myself, somewhat less annoying than having to remove them from the bike to do so!
All this, after spending over £700 on these wheels.
Not good is it really?!

This thread may turn into another like that about AN but this is may experience of CWC

I ordered two WM3 rims plus stainless spokes and nipples. They took 2 weeks to arrive as they had to be drilled for spoke pattern but this was explained when I placed the order.
They arrived on time an were well packaged.
The spoke holes had fash around each one had needed carefully an tediously grinding smooth on both inside and outside faces. Also the dimples for the nipples are only about half the depth of those on the original Dunlops.
I relaced them and had a go at truing them but in the end took them to my friendly old fashioned bike shop as I was having no joy with it. The old owner has been do this since before I was born an still builds up about 20 wheels a month. He only charge 10 quid a wheel to true an tighten them so why struggle. He pointed out the front rim (one I gave up on) had a kink were the ends had been welded together and it had an out of shape flat spot there to. The other rim was much better.

He said many stainless are like that an good few chrome ones to. He had got the run out to 16 thuo so was happy it would be ok. I had wheels an tyres balanced with modern stick on weights an they work fine even well above the motorway speed limit an into license losing numbers.
The front spokes are just very slightly bent on one side as they pass each other but it is only noticeable if you get your eye right up to them. The bent part of the spoke is longer than original so they don't sit quite as close to the hub flange.
But to date they have not loosened so I just keep eye on them

Fast Eddie said:

Al-otment said:

Are the spokes straight?

Click to expand...

Yes they are, spokes are butted, at my request, and the spoke pattern etc looks good to me.
One other failure I forgot to mention, they did not want to balance the wheels for some inexplicable reason and I had to insist.
On the way home, with the wheels in the car, the balance weights fell off simply because they had not been crimped tightly onto the spokes! Who was it that started the 'attention to detail' thread!?!
At least they fell off before I'd fitted them, so I simply had to balance them myself, somewhat less annoying than having to remove them from the bike to do so!
All this, after spending over £700 on these wheels.
Not good is it really?!

Click to expand...

Nobody is perfect and mistakes do happen but no, it's not good, it's shite - especially when you've paid over £700. These are the experts? Only in their own heads. From my own experience this bloke is good http://devonwheelbuilding.com/.

Fast Eddie said:

Another twist on the quality theme...
My wheels, recently built by a company CENTRAL in UK who do WHEELS...
1. After a massive delay due o not having the rims I require in stock, despite telling me they were, and not even being able to give me an ETA, I eventually sourced a rim from another company. Turns out that my builder supplied this other company as they are the importers for UK! It wouldn't have taken much thought for him to have sourced the same rim would it? He just couldn't be bothered I guess.
2. Despite telling them I wanted to keep the old stainless spokes sets for a friend, they got lost.
3. The front wheel is out by 1/4 inch
4. Despite me telling them not to strip the bearings etc, they must have done, as the rear spacer is now in the wrong way around, and it wasn't before.
I was absolutely expecting some frustration, I just knew it wasn't possible for them to get everything 'right first time' and they proved be to be very correct. Sadly!

Click to expand...

Nigel

I posted a couple of times on TOL about this outfit.
They ruined a bearing housing on my mates T140 wheel, and then had the cheek to charge him to fix it. This was aswell as assembling the hubs incorrectly and building the wheels up
absolute crap workmanship.
sam

trident sam said:

Fast Eddie said:

Another twist on the quality theme...
My wheels, recently built by a company CENTRAL in UK who do WHEELS...
1. After a massive delay due o not having the rims I require in stock, despite telling me they were, and not even being able to give me an ETA, I eventually sourced a rim from another company. Turns out that my builder supplied this other company as they are the importers for UK! It wouldn't have taken much thought for him to have sourced the same rim would it? He just couldn't be bothered I guess.
2. Despite telling them I wanted to keep the old stainless spokes sets for a friend, they got lost.
3. The front wheel is out by 1/4 inch
4. Despite me telling them not to strip the bearings etc, they must have done, as the rear spacer is now in the wrong way around, and it wasn't before.
I was absolutely expecting some frustration, I just knew it wasn't possible for them to get everything 'right first time' and they proved be to be very correct. Sadly!

Click to expand...

Nigel



I posted a couple of times on TOL about this outfit.
They ruined a bearing housing on my mates T140 wheel, and then had the cheek to charge him to fix it. This was aswell as assembling the hubs incorrectly and building the wheels up
absolute crap workmanship.
sam

Click to expand...

I know you have Sam and your words have been ringing in my bloody ears!!

Hitherto I have used CWC a lot and have always been happy with their work. This time was different though, the whole experience from having to continually chase them, not being called back when they said they would, etc, etc has been poor. Then the 'icing on the cake' is that the actual job itself isn't up to scratch this time.
Me thinks I'll be looking elsewhere next time.

I've used them twice to source parts. First time was a spoke order, Norvil dual disk hub spokes, they got it wrong and I had to reorder. Second time was a pair of SS WM3 rims. the rims arrived quickly and were nice quality except all the pierced spoke holes had a nasty burr on the inside edge. De-burring 80 holes is no fun.

Shipping from the UK wasn't too bad and fairly quick. I do try to use Buchanons as much as possible, never an issue with them.

I have used Devon, Central and Buchanans. Devon supplied me with Morad /Akront flanged wheels for the Vincent. The only problem was that they shorted me 7 spoke nipples. Their cost was also about $100 higher than Central for the same thing. When I requested the missing nipples so that I could finish the wheels, I also asked for a couple of extra spokes in each length, thinking this should not be a big cost since they were sending the missing nipples anyway. Devon sent a bag of nipples (40) and the spare spokes, plus a bill for about $120. The small order took a couple of weeks to arrive.
Next order was done at Central. This time I asked for a couple of extra spokes and nipples each size right at order time. "No problem, we always include a couple of extras with each order" was the response.
The order took a very long time to arrive, something over two months, but this didn't matter as the bike was useable with the old wheels.
All the extra spokes were there, no charge. Everything was packaged neatly and labelled clearly.
For the MK 3 wheels there are quite a number of differing spoke lengths and gauges. All are packaged in plastic pouches with a separate pouch at each end holding the appropriate nipples for each spoke type.
Unfortunately they had included incorrect nipples for the rear wheel, which came with all 9 gauge spokes.
The nipples were 8 gauge, about 12 thou larger than 9 gauge. As such they thread on OK albeit loosely, so I did not pick up in the error until the wheel was almost finished, which is a lot of work with a MK 3 wheel, conical hub, offset etc.
When spoke torque got up close to finished levels, one popped, then another and so on. Fortunately I use a spoke torque wrench or I might not have picked up on the error. Central does include a warning to check that the nipples are correctly sized for the spokes, but who reads warning lables, right? :lol:
I will next time!
They were fine about replacing the incorrect nipples, however I asked that the packet be sent airmail right to Vancouver so that it would arrive in a day or two and I could finish the job.
Instead I waited two weeks, then called to find out that the order had not been given to the "export Department" until about a week after my request. After three weeks the small packet arrived.
The wheel had a very intense kink at the weld. Normally there is a blip at the weld, but this was more of a flat spot running about six inches each side of the weld. With a great deal of effort, and more uneven spoke tension than I like, it was sorted to a wheel that runs within 15 thou ea way except for a 3" section at the weld, which runs out 35 thou. The tire will bridge this.

The Buchanan wheels end up costing more, but from memory they were much easier to true up. Buchanan's do an extra process after welding to make the rim round again.
But I do like the look of these Morad/Akront flanged alloys!

You'll hate me but I got mine rebuilt locally by a slightly older biker dude who re-used the stainless spokes and supplied/fitted flanged ally rims (loverly!) for £180 the pair. Nothing messed up, all good. Me very happy.
Cheers, Martin

I got my rims and spokes from Buchanans, flanged excel rims and stainless spokes, they did manage to send one of the rims the wrong size WM3 instead of WM4 but that was sorted out within a week. The biggest issue I had was the Norton front drum casting being a couple of mm our of concentric to the bearings (not bent, can see the difference in thickness around the drum liner)

Maybe wheels are just a difficult thing!

Glen

worntorn said:

Maybe wheels are just a difficult thing!

Glen

Click to expand...

Not if you take your time ?,I followed your lead and purchased the same torque wrench you posted about. (Thanks for the heads up)
Even though I hadn't built a wheel in a long time (1990's) it went well (madass140 flanged alloy rims and s/s spokes) at an enjoyable pace.
Not everyone's cup of tea but a case of 'you will never know unless you have a crack,if it goes wonky you don't have to look far either. :lol:

I meant from a supply side. It seems almost every order mentioned above had some problem with an incorrect item being supplied. That has been my main problem. Once the correct stuff finally showed up after a three week wait for a four ounce baggie, things went just fine.
I do find the spoke torque wrench helpful. You are right, the process of lacing the wheels and trueing them to a closer tolerance than most professionals have time for, is quite pleasant.

Glen

I should have said not difficult if you do it yourself,there is no way I would pay to have wheels built,engines assembled or much else. (Jim Comstock is doing a 750 head for me) if I can do it myself as done the last 30 + years.
True craftsmen diminish by the day.
The companies mentioned have been in business a long time,botched international orders are unforgivable.
The bottom line, how can the wrong nipples be sent etc etc,incompetence or a lack of enthusiasm,perhaps the dispatch department is run by the usual personal that wear... monster cap sideways..arms covered in butterfly,forest,lord of the rings characters tattoo's... chicken thin legs but does excessive arm curls at the gym while wearing silly baggy shorts that go below the knee,most likely has a iPod inserted 24/7.
Welcome to the new world.

I purchased a full 2 into 1 exhaust system for my 57 TR6,correspondence before hand including clear google sourced pictures so there could be no drama (UK to AU) given the distance.
I get a header which goes on the L/H side of the bike but a R/H side muffler off a twin pipe (one each side) model.
The replacement was sent free post,I ended up keeping the wrong muffler (at my expense) as it would have been a pita to send it back.
It can be for some unknown future project ... $500+ and ideally I need to rework the header tail pipe so it follows the line of the bike better then get it re chromed.
Just how it goes sometimes it seems....

Sorry to hear of your experience.

I use Hagon for component supply these days, and have always built my own wheels ever since I raced bicycles as a junior.

My last experience with Central was actually OK, but it was supply of components only - they supplied all the right stuff, but it took a while. That said, no-one delivers quickly on wheels it seems
Incidentally, I got some stainless rims from Wassells, thinking they'd be 'OK' for my T140, and they're actually very good - they look more like chrome than stainless, and built up very well.