Shimano WH550 Wheels

glennjd said:

I have a Motobecane Century Pro with Shimano Wheels (WH550). About a month ago, I broke a drive side spoke on a 50 mile bike ride. By the time I got home, the wheel was way out of true (almost hitting the frame). I picked up a new spoke and the tech at the shop said that this wheelset had chronic problems with spokes breaking, despite Shimano's claims that these new straight pull spokes are bullet proof. The wheel was very difficult to get back in true and has relatively few miles on (2000). I bought a set of Richey OCR's at the same time I bought the Shimano rims and I've put 5000 miles on them with no spoke problems--I do touring on these rims and put a lot more weight on them. Are the 550s a breakage prone wheelset? Should I replace them with something else? They have a very smooth spin and nice ride. I need to know if these wheels are unreliable for long rides. Thanks.

after I broke my shimano wheels, I went for the mavic aksyum race. I find them very good for everyday use. Never broke a spoke yet. I've probably put about 4000km's on them, on both very good and very bad roads. I've even jumped them from the sidewalk many times, and they still hold up (i'm about 80kg)

glennjd said:

I have a Motobecane Century Pro with Shimano Wheels (WH550). About a month ago, I broke a drive side spoke on a 50 mile bike ride. By the time I got home, the wheel was way out of true (almost hitting the frame). I picked up a new spoke and the tech at the shop said that this wheelset had chronic problems with spokes breaking, despite Shimano's claims that these new straight pull spokes are bullet proof. The wheel was very difficult to get back in true and has relatively few miles on (2000). I bought a set of Richey OCR's at the same time I bought the Shimano rims and I've put 5000 miles on them with no spoke problems--I do touring on these rims and put a lot more weight on them. Are the 550s a breakage prone wheelset? Should I replace them with something else? They have a very smooth spin and nice ride. I need to know if these wheels are unreliable for long rides. Thanks.

If the first drive side spoke goes out in 2000 miles, requiring some heavy retuning to get the rim back true, it's likely that more broken spokes are in your near-term future. After the next spoke breaks, I'd dump them for well-built conventional 32 spoke wheels.

Rear wheel drive side spokes are generally the most common to break. While any wheel can suffer spoke breakage, there have been a number of reports on the problem with spoke breakage on 550/560 wheels and I have seen one bloke at the side of the road looking at a broken spoke. Also I think the spokes are quite expensive AU$10, perhaps someone could correct me on that.

Perhaps a solution would be to get some bomb proof wheels for touring. Velocity deep rim and Vulta Zerolite come to mind. Possibly Shimano R500?, they use conventional spokes. I saw the Vulta Zerolite on a UK web site for 59 pounds for the set, one of the employees of cycling news uses them for training. Just depends on whats in your area or how much the postage is.

dhk2 said:

If the first drive side spoke goes out in 2000 miles, requiring some heavy retuning to get the rim back true, it's likely that more broken spokes are in your near-term future. After the next spoke breaks, I'd dump them for well-built conventional 32 spoke wheels.

Amen. I got a set of 28/32 spoke custom built wheels with all DT stuff. They are beautiful, aero (kinda, but who cares), strong and stiff, also very smooth. I have no idea what all of the "the least amount of spokes you can put on a wheel" commotion is. They transmit too many vibrations, they are flexy and weak.

[quote="mikesbytes"]Rear wheel drive side spokes are generally the most common to break. While any wheel can suffer spoke breakage, there have been a number of reports on the problem with spoke breakage on 550/560 wheels and I have seen one bloke at the side of the road looking at a broken spoke. Also I think the spokes are quite expensive AU$10, perhaps someone could correct me on that.

Perhaps a solution would be to get some bomb proof wheels for touring. Velocity deep rim and Vulta Zerolite come to mind. Possibly Shimano R500?, they use conventional spokes. I saw the Vulta Zerolite on a UK web site for 59 pounds for the set, one of the employees of cycling news uses them for training. Just depends on whats in your area or how much the postage is.[/QUOTE

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I don't recommend the Shimano R500s😠 . I've had 3 non drive side rear spokes break(I'm 72kgs and not hard on gear) in a very short time(in about the first 1000kms. The spokes are black - apparently weaker than non coated silver spokes. Other sources don't like them either. Thankfully mine are fine now - with about 6000kms on but I still carry a spoke wrench in my seat bag - never used to.

bobbyOCR said:

Amen. I got a set of 28/32 spoke custom built wheels with all DT stuff. They are beautiful, aero (kinda, but who cares), strong and stiff, also very smooth. I have no idea what all of the "the least amount of spokes you can put on a wheel" commotion is. They transmit too many vibrations, they are flexy and weak.

Got the same set of wheels/hubs and DT super Comp spokes on my bike. So Quiet, fast on downhills and feel awesome in fast (35+mph) corners.

Bigbananabike said:

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I don't recommend the Shimano R500s😠 . I've had 3 non drive side rear spokes break(I'm 72kgs and not hard on gear) in a very short time(in about the first 1000kms. The spokes are black - apparently weaker than non coated silver spokes. Other sources don't like them either. Thankfully mine are fine now - with about 6000kms on but I still carry a spoke wrench in my seat bag - never used to.

So we should stay clear of any of the lower cost Shimano wheels. Is that the same for the expensive ones.

mikesbytes said:

So we should stay clear of any of the lower cost Shimano wheels. Is that the same for the expensive ones.

I just bought a felt F75 whitch has the 500 rims i was thinking about upgrading
to 550 rims the bike shop said its not worth it as theres only about 40 grams
difference and they have been having problams with broken spokes on the 550s
and so far no problems with the 500s .

rayhuang said:

Got the same set of wheels/hubs and DT super Comp spokes on my bike. So Quiet, fast on downhills and feel awesome in fast (35+mph) corners.

Have to agree with you. I can't fault them.

I'm 90 kg and have had no probs in 2500km. Maybe when I approach 2000 miles (3200 km)?

Read this thread and thought, well I've had no problem with my 550s and guess what?

10miles into the 50 mile Sunday ride PING.
It was a very interesting ride home with the rear brake caliper open so that the out of true wheel could actually turn!

Only ridden about 1000miles on them, so meh.

DesFlurane said:

Read this thread and thought, well I've had no problem with my 550s and guess what?

10miles into the 50 mile Sunday ride PING.
It was a very interesting ride home with the rear brake caliper open so that the out of true wheel could actually turn!

Only ridden about 1000miles on them, so meh.

That's exactly what happened to me. I've never seen a rim get this far out of true after one broken spoke. I had my Rolf Vectors break a spoke on a trip in Spain and it stayed nice and true for the next 60 miles. I got back to the hotel, put a new spoke in and trued it up. My Richie OCR's on my touring bike have never broken a spoke in thousands of miles. In the US, the spokes for the 550 are $4.00 each. Usually you have to buy a 5 pack ($20.00), but my local bike shop has a couple of people running 550R's, so they keep the drive side spokes in stock (not a good sign). The price of the spokes isn't that bad as far as bladed spokes go, but it's the durability that's the problem. I want a rim that if I have a problem I can pull the wheel off, put a new spoke in it and true it up using the brake pads. This shimano wheelset is NOT this kind of set up. I'm not going to buy shimano wheels again.

glennjd said:

That's exactly what happened to me. I've never seen a rim get this far out of true after one broken spoke. I had my Rolf Vectors break a spoke on a trip in Spain and it stayed nice and true for the next 60 miles. I got back to the hotel, put a new spoke in and trued it up. My Richie OCR's on my touring bike have never broken a spoke in thousands of miles. In the US, the spokes for the 550 are $4.00 each. Usually you have to buy a 5 pack ($20.00), but my local bike shop has a couple of people running 550R's, so they keep the drive side spokes in stock (not a good sign). The price of the spokes isn't that bad as far as bladed spokes go, but it's the durability that's the problem. I want a rim that if I have a problem I can pull the wheel off, put a new spoke in it and true it up using the brake pads. This shimano wheelset is NOT this kind of set up. I'm not going to buy shimano wheels again.

Agree fragile wheels with exotic sprokes aren't worth the trouble. The makers must go for these because of the ultra-low Shimano OEM prices and bling low-spoke count looks. My theory is that they count on the majority of buyers only riding 1000-2000 miles a year, so few warranty claims ever come in.

Have always been a fan of conventional 32 spoke wheels with "real" cup and cone hubs. However, am running a set of Velomax/Easton Circuits now since the build-kit price was just too low to pass up with my new frame. They seem to be very well-built, still true at 12K miles without being touched at all. But, if a twin-threaded spoke ever breaks, looks like a special order and some downtime. I've heard some LBS can cut and thread a longer spoke to fit in a pinch, but my LBS said it's better to order a new factory-made spoke.

Unfortunately, I've had the same experience - broke a drive side spoke within 200 miles, rendering the rear wheel unrideable. The LBS claimed it must have been a fluke, but I bought spare spokes and a wrench (these are also non-standard) just in case....sure enough, on a recent century, another spoke broke - non drive side this time. Replacing a spoke on the road is possible, but requires removing the tire, tube, and rim tape - not a fast process.

The WH R550s are now spare wheels....

"Touch Wood" but I am getting veeerrry nervous with all this talk of bad 550 wheels. I've clocked up 6200 ks since 1/12/05 on mine & they are as true as the first day I rode on them. Some bumpy roads as well. I'm 78 kilos BTW. Dreading the thought if a spoke does break, sounds like you can not ride with even one busted spoke🙁

Albert 50 said:

sounds like you can not ride with even one busted spoke🙁

That's correct, you cant.
Pick up my replacement wheel on Saturday, the repaired 550 goes on the trainer!

Albert 50 said:

Dreading the thought if a spoke does break, sounds like you can not ride with even one busted spoke🙁

That is not just a problem with 550s. It is a problem with most low spoke and paired spoke wheels, which is why using such wheels for training is not a good idea. I tend to think bike manufacturers that sell bikes with such wheels are being irresponsible. If you break a spoke on a 32 spoke wheel, you can wrap the broken spoke around one of the adjacent spokes and ride home.

I have passed several riders with unrideable wheels on the road walking their bikes or waiting for someone to pick them up.

miketk949 said:

Replacing a spoke on the road is possible, but requires removing the tire, tube, and rim tape - not a fast process.

The WH R550s are now spare wheels....

I'm afraid that's the direction I'm going to go. I just don't see these wheels as a reliable distance rim. They are fine for a short ride on a Saturday morning, but not good for any kind of long-distance riding. The rim is really difficult to get back into true if you lose a spoke They obviously didn't do any product testing with serious riders. Out of fairness, I haven't had any problems with the front rim, probably because it doesn't get torqued like the back. As I said earlier, I bought a set of Richie OCR's at the same time and my OCR's haven't been touched in 3000+ miles. Live and learn. I am contacting Shimano to see what kind of warranty they will give me on the 550s. Has anyone else sent a warranty claim to shimano?

This stinks. My C'dale came with 550's, and now I am counting down the miles to failure. So far I only have 100 miles on them. So here I go shopping for wheels...being a poor college student doesn't help matters much either...maybe if I live off ramen noodles for the next six months...🙄