rims for wheels

  1. hoshie99

    offline
    Member

    HI,

    Thinking of a new handbuilt wheelset with a wider rim. Does anyone have any opinions on what are the best options? I want a set for all around training and club rides on road. Hoping for light, stiff and responsive with good ride quality. Thinking a set of shimano or something like white industry hubs. Like to keep costs reasonable but also good quality.

    Looking at:

    1) Velocity A23s (shallow, decent price, people seem to like them)
    2) Hed C2 / Belgiums - look good, 25 depth but a bit pricy ($120 per rim)
    3) New Kinlin's - Looks like they have a wide rim now that is similar to the Hed's but a little deeper and heavier

    Anything else I should look at? Any preferences formed yet on ride experience and quality?

    Seems like some nice options out there....

    J

    Posted 4 months ago

  2. Keith RIchards

    offline
    Moderator

    If you are thinking tubbies, the Major Tom from Velocity is out there.

    It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong.
    Posted 4 months ago

  3. george

    offline
    Member

    H Plus Son Archetype Rim 23mm

    Posted 4 months ago

  4. dkri

    offline
    Member

    I've built a couple of hundred wheels on A23 and love them. Now they come in O/C rear, which lets you get 15-20% higher NDS spoke tension. This isn't one of those bs claims - I measure it on every build, and going from 50kpf to 60 at the same DS tension is normal. DS to NDS ratio will depend on hub, but its always higher on an O/C rim.

    For disclosure purposes, I am a partner in November Bicycles. This fact probably colors everything I say. I'm clearly not to be trusted.
    Posted 4 months ago

  5. zootracer

    offline
    Member

    I've used Mavic OP's for years. Had problems with cracked rims and keeping rear wheel true. I had a rear wheel built last year with a DT RR465. It has close to 10,000 miles on it and I have not had to touch it. I'm heavy and the roads in my neck of the woods are chip seal with pot holes that appear overnight. Disclaimer-the guy who built the wheel used to work for Williams Wheels, so he knew what he was doing. I think half the equation is who built the wheel.

    Posted 4 months ago

  6. 79pmooney

    offline
    Member

    (No wide rims in this post.)

    zoot, I've been using three rims in recent years. OPs, Mavic Open Sports and Velocity Aeros. The Open Sports are not that different from OPs except heavier with thicker walls (and greater winter sidewall like). They may also be non-ferruled. (I could go out to the garage and look.) They are also made from a lesser aluminum with its blessing, much less subject to cracks.

    The Aeros are very different. Much heavier and stronger. True up much more easily. They are a pain to lace; not ferruled and deep. Nipple drivers are a must! I use them for winter wheels on my good bikes and all fixie rear wheels. (The Miche pista hubs are 32 hole and I won't go that few on the Mavics. 36 very light spokes gives a better, longer lasting wheel, at least for me.) Another plus for the Aeros that apply to no one else is the very deep usable braking surface. Great for the nearly 2" travel on the dropout on the Jessica J fixie.

    Ben

    Posted 4 months ago

  7. dkri

    offline
    Member

    On any rim that doesn't have eyelets, I recommend passing a deburring tool at every spokehole. It prevents any stray bits from binding at the nipples, or causing a stress riser which could turn into a crack. That is SOP on all of my builds. Also, I lightly sand at the joint after the wheel is built. The sidewall is machined, but the joint can shift a little bit during the build process and tensioning. A light sanding just prevents any brake pulsing in the early going.

    A nipple driver is just a great tool to have. I have the kind that has a spring and goes into the nipple slot. I don't like the screwdriver kind with the offset shaft. I find them to be useless.

    Posted 4 months ago

  8. 79pmooney

    offline
    Member

    The nipple drivers I use are really simple. I take a spoke, thread a nipple on all the way upside down tight. Leaves just enough thread to start a nipple right side up. Then I bend the handle to a "T".

    I like your deburring tip. I always grease the spokehole first with a Q-tip and thick grease on all my wheels. (Another place I love boat trailer hub grease. Spoke threads also get it.) Means that years later I can re-use both spokes and nipples when I swap out the sidewall trashed rim. (Life in the northwest winter.)

    Ben

    Posted 4 months ago

  9. Big DanT

    offline
    Member

    I've got the HED C2's 32H King R45 hubs.
    They corner well, I have friends who are smaller and they can't figure out how I corner faster than they do. I use @ 10 psi less air pressure than my Cosmic Elite wheelset. I think the C2 set up I have is about perfect for a larger rider like myself. You might want to go with a lower spoke count if want a lighter set of wheels, as the set I have are pretty heavy. I'll take weight off the motor if I want a lighter bike.

    Dan

    Posted 4 months ago

  10. dkri

    offline
    Member

    Dan -

    How are your wheels laced? The type of spoke used generally has a bigger effect on weight than number of spokes (24 straight gauge spokes weigh more than 36 Lasers, for example).

    To one degree or another, divide wheel weight by spoke count, and the lower that quotient the more I will like riding those wheels. So a 1450 gram wheelset that's got 52 spokes in it is probably going to be rather nice and lively, while a 1700 gram wheelset that's got 36 spokes is probably going to be rather awful to ride.

    Posted 4 months ago

  11. bluecooper

    offline
    Member

    Velocity rims work well but they leave lots of crud from the drilling so the head seats can be rough or have shavings so cleaning them with a drill bit or countersink spun by hand a few times saves a retensioning. I have had good luck with Kinlin rims with the 27mm deep rims being a nice depth. But their tubular rim is built for wider tires so a 21mm tubular had to sharp a radius to seat well.
    My current project is to build a pair of fron wheels - one standard, one wide version to see if there is any real difference.

    Posted 4 months ago

  12. madvax

    offline
    Member

    I recently puchased a lightly used set of HED Ardennes FR's. So far I'm very impressed with them as an all around tire. I run with a 25mm Conti GP4000 and they ride very smooth. They are also stiff, spin up nicely, and the hubs seem to spin forever.

    I almost pulled the trigger on a custom Velocity A23 build laced to White Industries hubs, but couldn't pass up the deal on the HED's. The folks at Pro Wheel Builder had some pretty good deals with a lot of different options. They were also willing to remove the Velocity stickers on the black rims giving the wheels a stealth look.

    There are also some good deals on eBay. For example, here is an auction for the Velocity A23 Pro Build wheelset:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Velocity-A23-Pro-Build-Wheelset-/140869555339?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20cc7ad48b

    Posted 4 months ago

  13. Gonzo Cyclist

    offline
    Member

    the H plus son's are pretty sweet in like a 30mm aero style, we did a set of those for a Cinelli track bike, and my boss just built a set of polished Velocity's on White Ind. hubs for a cross project he's dooing, those wheels are beauties

    Photobucket
    Posted 4 months ago

  14. Gonzo Cyclist

    offline
    Member

    Photobucket
    Photobucket

    Posted 4 months ago

Reply

You must log in to post.