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All the bicycle wheels sold on our blog site are hand-built. However, I'm sure many of you are wondering, "What exactly are hand-built wheels?" So, in this article, I will first explain what hand-built wheels are. After that, I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of using hand-built wheels. Hand-built wheels are a type of wheel that can, in some cases, only offer benefits!

Most wheels are made by combining three components: a central hub, a rim (hoop-shaped), and spokes (rod-shaped). Hand-built wheels are wheels assembled from various such parts. This means you can customize them, for example, by choosing "these spokes" and "this hub." Hand-built wheels can be customized to suit your purpose for riding the bicycle. In addition to hand-built wheels, there are also factory-built wheels. Factory-built wheels are wheels that are already assembled. Therefore, users can easily ride their bikes by simply attaching the wheels to the frame. Hence, in terms of convenience, factory-built wheels are overwhelmingly superior. Hand-built wheels used to be common in the world of sports bikes a long time ago. However, when factory-built wheels became available, hand-built wheels fell out of use. Of course, when factory-built wheels were first sold, many people were still using hand-built wheels. Gradually, more people started using factory-built wheels. Also, hand-built and semi-custom wheels are currently widely used for MTBs.

The main causes of disadvantages when using hand-built wheels are poor compatibility between parts, improper adjustment, and poor quality of individual parts. For example, if you choose parts that are incompatible with the wheel body, you'll end up with a strange-looking bicycle. Since many hand-built wheel components are generic, it's important to choose compatible parts carefully. The quality of the parts also significantly affects the bicycle, so it's best to choose high-quality parts. When assembling bicycle wheels, pay attention to part compatibility, proper adjustment, and part quality. If you get these right, you'll end up with a wheel that's even better than factory-built wheels sold on the market.

The advantages of hand-built wheels are that you can choose the number of spokes yourself and that they are easy to repair. With hand-built wheels, you can freely choose the number of spokes, so if you prioritize ride comfort, you can increase the number of spokes. Conversely, if you want to make your bike incredibly light, you can reduce the number of spokes. By the way, if you have many spokes, you can still ride your bike even if one spoke breaks. However, in such cases, it's recommended to not leave it as is, but to buy a spoke at a bike shop and restore the original number of spokes.

  The second advantage of using hand-built wheels is that they are easy to repair. This is especially important for those who use factory-built wheels, which are the opposite of hand-built wheels. While wheel parts rarely break, they might break for some reason. In such cases, most people would get their bike repaired, but there's a possibility that the part itself might not be stocked. This is due to parts' storage life. Storage life is the period during which parts are kept in stock at a store, and also the period during which parts are manufactured. However, the period for which parts are kept in stock varies by store. If a part is no longer available, you won't be able to repair the wheel even if you try. And if that wheel costs tens of thousands of yen, it would be a significant loss...

 Furthermore, many factory-built wheels use specialized parts that are unique to that wheel, so finding replacement parts can sometimes be difficult. However, with hand-built wheels, since you use your preferred parts to build the wheel, there's an advantage that replacement parts are easier to find and repairs are easier!

There's another advantage to hand-built wheels. If you ask a factory-based seller, they might be able to create an original paint job or design for you. If you have requests like "I want this part to be orange" or "I want this component to be green," hand-built wheels are highly recommended!

Here, we will introduce three hand-built wheels sold by our company. And right now, a coupon for "3,350 yen OFF" is being distributed, applicable to all products ♪

This product is a disc brake compatible wheel. Regardless of whether it's disc or not, it's the lightest product in the 60,000 yen price range. For those who "don't want to exceed their budget" or "want a light wheel," we encourage you to consider the "FL40 Disc." Furthermore, the "FL40 Disc" wheel is tubeless compatible, which can reduce repair time in case of a flat tire during a race. Thanks to its aerodynamic rim shape, we have received many positive comments about its excellent ride comfort.

This product was released in 2019 as a new disc brake compatible wheel. It might even be one of the lightest carbon disc brake compatible wheels currently on the market. That's how light this wheel is. The "AERO 50 Disc" Aero series is based on the best-selling "Fast and Light series," but we've added a special touch! That special touch is the use of "T700 carbon fiber and T800 carbon fiber." As a result of using these, we were able to create even stronger and more robust wheel rims, achieving further weight reduction than before.

Thank you for reading this far. This time, we introduced the disadvantages and advantages of hand-built wheels. If you ask a factory-based seller, they might be able to create an original design for your hand-built wheels. If you have such a request, please consider using hand-built wheels.