Should I be worried by hand built wheels from Raleigh?

I have just been down to a bike shop to order some hand built wheels to go onto my London commuting bike.

• Mavic Open Pro
  
• Double Butted Spokes
  
• Shimano 105 Hubs
  
• Brass Nipples
  
  

He opened up a Raleigh Catalogue and said that this will cost £145 RRP for the whole set (front and Rear) and will be hand built by Raleigh and delivered the next day!

Sounds a bit too good to be true?! Cheapest I found on the web was just under £200 (inc p&p) and Evans Cycles do this for £290, Cycle Surgery for £295!! Am I missing something here that I should be worried about?

Wait and see what arrives, if it's what you ordered (you said you saw him make the computer order in your other post) and is well tensioned and true then you seem to have a bargain. If it's crap or not what you ordered then you'll be covered by the shop's warrenty / customer service backup process.

I'd not underestimate Raleigh based on their current lineup, if the wheels are handbuilt then you are relying on the skill of one individual person.

Though cyclelife (raleigh affiliated I think) offer a front 105 + open pro for £109.99. Maybe he's charged you cost price or something mental.

which shop? Seems a good deal. Keep us posted.

2 threads same subject?

Could be cost price to LBS I guess, they've just overlooked the markup?

I realise there are two threads now, gonna try to get rid of the other. I am a newbie so could not start my own thread until I got passed the Spamming, so jumped onto another unrelated thread.

I had a look at his Raleigh catalogue and it includes a mark up for him, his cost price is £31 for front wheel and £45 for rear wheel (total of £76) and RRP is £145 for the set. I should have tried to haggle him down even more but was just shocked by how cheap it was.

The shop is this tiny bike repair place called dial a bike near Westminster. It looks like a real old school bike shop with grease in all the right places. The chap who runs it seems to be a nice guy and looks to be busy on a number of bikes.

Pick up my wheels later, so will keep you updated

rim alone costs more than that, something wrong, or raleigh UK are getting shot of them at less than cost. If so, buy an extra pair for the hell of it then sell them to recoup some of your cost = even lower price wheels for you.

I have a hand built Raleigh front wheel of identical spec - Mavic Open Pro/Double Butted Spokes/Shimano 105 Hubs/Brass Nipples
I have used it for commuting for getting on for 3 years and it is still perfect and I'm not the lightest rider out there at well over 90kgs.
The reason I bought it was because it was a bargain & it was!!!

I think Brickman is right, it must be because Raleigh has some serious buying power.

Thanks for the re-assurance Commie, will pick them up today and hope they don't fall apart on my ride back tonight!

It does sometimes happen, like with curries/comet/no pc land/ dixens etc, the only good deals you get there are when its end of line, last in store or they simply mis-price things.
Remember a photographic supplier had either made an error on their monthly rounds sheet or they were having a serious clear out of somethings (darkroom stuff), bought way more than I needed, then sold the rest to mates @ effective trade price (so mates were over the moon) and I ended up with free chemicals and parts. awesome.

These wheels feel super smooth! Got to give it to them, made my bike about 350g lighter in the process too!

Can you post contact details for the shop - I think I might be having some of those wheels...

I used to work opposite this shop in the jessops, it's on Strutton Ground. Can't remember the owners name, sometimes there used to be an older irish mechanic helping as well.

Used to chat to him a bit on lunch breaks etc, sound guy, offered me a park tools work stand for free but I moved jobs in a rush and never collected it, always happy to help fix small things on my bike for nothing or help me do it myself.

I am thinking I should get some commission for this tip! LOL

Sounds like he may just have quoted you the trade price by mistake