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What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
This thread is mostly aimed at the folks who are still riding custom wheels, but others feel free to chime in.
These days with the old school rim makers having died out. I am thinking Super Champion, Fiamme, Martano (that one takes us back...don't it?), Araya, Nisi and Rigida. Just seems that there are fewer and fewer nice alloy rim choices out there.
Mavic and Ambrosio still make some great rims but I mostly would like to hear some input form people who are on Alex, Velocity and Kinlin. A couple of riding buddies are on Kinlin rims and have great things to say about them. Just curious to what the rest of you all are doing..
As for myself. I am still riding on some old Mavic Open 4's. When it comes to prebuilt wheels over the years I have liked Mavic but now am leaning a bit towards Easton.
Mountiain bikers please feel free to chime in too. I know Stan's makes some great porducts...
Gtapley
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I don't build that many, but the last 3 sets were Alex and I was very happy with them.
Sometimes rims just seem to lace up easily and take a minimal amount of tweaking to true - Mavic seem to be like this.
Alex have a good range of shapes, not sure how many are always available though.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
can't really comment on alex or velocity.
i've built a few sets of open pros and i think the excellight's i built tensioned up better...were more round.
just got a set of campy wheels with reflex's, need to glue tires on them. after they wear out i have NOS gp4 (new label) and a nice GEL280 to lace up...
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
i'd really like to try troy's new hubs* laced to velocity rims of some flavor. but that's not in this years budget.
so i'm lacing used kings to barely used open pro's with funkelnagelneu** spokes.
*ligero wheels, troy watson--he had a pair with him at nahbs.
** "brand new" auf deutsch
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Ambrosia Nemesis
Mavic Reflex
Velocity Escape
Current favs. in order. Sad, there really are not more quality alum. tubular rims avail. however the ones that are "out there" are more than worthy.
There are some very very good carbon rims as well. Folks with strong opinions will chime in and my fav. is Edge both because of the quality and customer service.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I'm actually a big fan of the Alex rims and have been running a few different ones for around 5 years. They are a great rim for the money, but don't have any real bling factor if that matters. The Open Pro rims have been my go-to rim for many, many years for when I want a no nonsense rim for friends and family and customers.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I've got two pairs of wheels built around DT Swiss RR1.2, they call them something different now, I'm not sure what. Aero-section aluminum clincher. I like them. Heavy, but rock solid.
I've got one pair of wheels built around Sun Ringle ME14A, can't really comment on these yet as the only riding I've done on them is a road race and a crit. So far so good, I guess.
One pair of Sun Ringle 0-degree XC rims on my 29" singlespeed mountain bike. I love these. Everyone I talked to said I was taking chances when I decided to build a 28 hole 29er wheel when I weigh just under 200lbs and have a habit of riding through things rather than around them. They've held up just fine.
One more pair of Sun Ringle 0-degree XC rims built as cyclocross wheels, I just haven't used these ones yet.
One pair of Bontrager Valiant rims (I'm not sure these are even made anymore) on one of my 26" mountain bikes. The only thing these have ever needed is a new spoke after a friend who I lent my bike to crashed head-on into someone on the trail
One pair of Velocity Aeroheads that I used to use for fixed-gear commuting, they need to get rebuilt. A couple Wisconsin winters (combined with copious amounts of road salt) took their toll.
One Bontrager Mustang laced to a White Industries Eccentric hub, this has been a bombproof wheel as well.
I think that's most of them. I've got a stack of rims here waiting to get built, I just need to find some hubs and a reason.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gltapley
This thread is mostly aimed at the folks who are still riding custom wheels, but others feel free to chime in.
These days with the old school rim makers having died out. I am thinking Super Champion, Fiamme, Martano (that one takes us back...don't it?), Araya, Nisi and Rigida. Just seems that there are fewer and fewer nice alloy rim choices out there.
Rigida is still hanging on (and sprouted Exal)
Araya is still there, but the exchange rate is probably not favorable
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Kinlin Ni 30mm rims (20/24) laced to White Ind. H2 hubs. I love those hubs. So pretty. I want a set of box section tubulars though laced to CK's (if he made a campy compatible hub) or record hubs.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I've been training and racing on a set of Velocity Escape tubulars laced 32 3x to a set of Suzue Classcia hubs. I can't say a bad word about them. They are my favorite wheelset to date.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
This week I am overseas on my Croll, which is outfitted with a set of Velocity Aeroheads with offset rear rim. They are very nice, but could be nicer.
I had to true the wheels up after the trip and noticed, as I have in the past, that the spokes come out of the rim perpendicular to the rim, but then have to bend to get to the hubs. I don't know if it really matters or not, but I can say that it looks cheap. If someone is going to go through the trouble to design asymmetrical rims with many different drillings and color options one would think that getting that drilling properly angled wouldn't be so tough. But it is not perfect. Still, they ride nicely.
They are very nice rims, but could be nicer with proper drilling as well as nicer coloring. I think they are powdercoated, not anodized and this looks a bit less premium. They need to make a tubular version of this rim. The offset rear is a totally solid concept and I am surprised that more rim manufacturers haven't done anything with it.
The OP wanted to know about Velocity rims so there you have it. Nice stuff at a nice price. Workaday wheels but no sex appeal.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I've had good experience with Velocity VXCs on a mtb. I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from Velocity, except in a neon leopard print;)
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
i've built many sets of kinlins by now and they consistently build up very straight and solid; they're among the easiest rims i build with, other than the lack of eyelets slowing the lacing down a bit. they hold up well for their weight.
only complaint with kinlins is that i feel they run REALLY narrow; good for running up to a 23 tire but above that a little narrow IMO.
ambrosio nemeses consistently build up very straight and hold up well.
HED C2 rims build well, are reasonably light for their strength, and i haven't had anything but positive feedback on the ride. These have become my rim of choice; available in drillings up to 32 for big dudes, strong enogh to run in lower spoke counts where applicable.
frankly, mavic has been the most inconsistent lately in terms of ease of building; i've had some CXP-33s that have been all over the place. i'm kind of done with them, after loving them in the past. i just think the rim world has taken a step past them.
YMMV,
jc
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I still use "old" stuff
GP 4's
GL 330's
Ambrosio Nemesis or Montreal.
Ambrosio Excellight ssc.
Those right there define my world view.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I currently ride 32h Open Pros on old record hubs on one bike. The other has 36h Ambrosio Excellence on a new style chorus rear and record front. Good luck with both and I'm no lightweight. I think the Ambrosios have better braking performance.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I bought into the hype on the Ambrosio Nemesis and have no regrets. So far tough as nails. I had them built for me by Tom Kellogg and then after a few hundred miles tweaked them a bit as they settled. and tightened a couple of spokes here and there and they are stiff and lively and do what they are supposed to do, which is to exist and not cause me trouble on a ride.
Are these wheels light? No. Neither am I. Do they give the appearance of being ultra tough and durable? Yup.
If you can get a set of these built up right and have the patience for sewups they are highly recommend. I have a 32 on the rear and a rare 28 on the front. But I was tempted sorely to buy the 36-hole rims Mr. Roman Meal had for sale as those built up a a good set of hubs would probably survive the apocalypse.
Nemesis are good rims. Get some. They're worth it. And they're kind of exotic and nobody else will have them on the ride you go on.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/...9fd1a7fd_b.jpg
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I personally have,
Stan's 29er
Mavic GP4
Edge Composites (soon to be ENVE)
AC 420
-Eric
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
DT 465- double eyelet standard clincher
Hed Beligian
Stans Crest
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
On 24H Velocity Escapes and have never had any issues, use these mainly on the cyclocross bike when i don't have my Reynolds on. Have a set of DT 240'sto build and these are going to get the Nemesis rim.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Velocity A23
Mavic Open Pro
Edge
Interloc
HED Belgium
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
DT does make some nice rims. They build up straight and round. Velocity does also. Velocity doesn't have any rims with ferruls, so they aren't as sexy as DT, but they do offer offset rims and those buildup with heavy riders well. Those are my two favorite brands to build. Fir was making a comeback and I built some tandem and clydesdale rims for a few bikes. But I can't find a supplier for them anymore. I never did like to actually build with Mavic rims. Although they had some real pretty rims and the ceramic sidewall rims do work good for braking quality. Their aluminum alloy was just too brittle and cracked too easily. As for their ceramic sidewall rims, I don't like the sound of braking hard on aluminum rims when you get junk in the brake pads. I only build Sun rims on mountain bikes. I find their rim diameters too small for road bike tires.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
My go-to wheels for the past couple years have been 32h Mavic OP Ceramic rims laced 3x to Record hubs with DT Revos and Competitions. Totally uninteresting, but it won't surprise me if they go 30,000 miles. I've probably got 20k on them now with only a few minor touchups.
Salsa Delgados for 'cross training wheels = heavy awesomeness.
I have a set of the Velocity 23mm rims waiting to be built. They look decent right out of the package, but time will tell.
The only rims I'm steering clear of these days are the older super light tubulars. They're too light for the tension/dish that modern shifting systems require, even under my weak 155 pound butt. GL330 with a Record 10/11 hub? No thanks.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
i'm using 32h gp4 with record 10/11 hubs and they are working fine.
have some older ambrosio f20 on some record 10/11 also, 36h. working pretty ok too.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
GP4s and some velocitys (forgot the model#)
-Eric
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Edge 1.65's on DT240 hubs with CX-Rays
Edge 1.45's on Alchemy hubs with CX-Rays
Edge 1.25's on Alchemy hubs with CX-Rays
Ambrosio Nemesis on DT240 hubs with DT Comps
Ambrosio Crono Forumula 20's on Alchemy hubs with DT Revs
Ambrosio FCS28's on Record hubs with DT Comps (indoor trainer only)
Ambrosio Montreal's on 126mm Record hubs on the Colnago
Waiting for the cash to build Enve 2.65's onto a set of White Ind. track hubs with CX-Rays for the Vigorelli
That's all I can think of right now.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Wheels I have built:
Velocity Synergy 650B w/ XT hubs
Open Pros w/ Ultegra hubs
Both rims are famously boring and great, no complaints.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Current wheels are:
DT Single Eyelet rims with 240s hubs, 28h 2x:
Light for a hand-built clincher (sub-1480 grams), accelerates nicely, and pretty good comfort with Vittoria Open CX + Michelin latex tubes. I find it a challenge to install Continental clinchers, but otherwise, no complaints.
DT Double Eyelet rims with 240s hubs, 32h 3x:
The bomber version at just over 1710 grams. Goes great with my Hampsten Strada Bianca. Perfect for bad roads & gravel. Nothing skinnier than 25mm, usually using 28mm road tires.
Ambrosio Nemesis rims with 2006 Record hubs, 32h 3x:
With thanks to Craig for mentioning this on his Gaulzetti thread. As Saab2000 says, get some. The sturdy rim works well with the severe dish of a Campagnolo hub. Switching to Pave 27mm (normally use 23mm CX) for the April Hell of the North ride.
Upcoming wheels - Velocity Aerohead (OC rear) with 2006 Record hubs, 32h 3x:
Want to try Velocity's Off Center rim for the rear, especially because I use a Record hub. Hoping they'll make their new A23 wider rim in an OC soon as well.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Whatever FLUX puts me on. © ™ ®
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
My philosphy for wheels is simple:
Training wheels should require an overhaul once a year. Having to true your training (every day) wheels means that they are too fragile. You need to build training wheels storng enough to ride every day without fail.
The front wheel DOES NOT have to match the spoke count of the fornt wheel. Mixing tire sizes and spoke counts to make the wheel fit the rider's weight and riding style is fair game.
Personally, I use a 36 spoke rear wheel and 32 spoke front. 25c rear and 23c front. Strong enough to never need true and overhauled once a year. My first set lasted about 30 years never being trued. the front is still being ridden somewhere having been sold to replace a front wheel on a bike crashed into a car. The rear wheel died when a strap failed and my bike came off the roof of my car at 70mph. The rim was pretty straight, but the hub flange cracked, so the wheel was scrapped.
Now, race day wheels are different. Al they have to do is finish the race you are in that day. My (road) race wheels were a set of Matrix ISO tubular rims with 28 super light spokes in front and 32 double butted spokes rear.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bikinchris
The front wheel DOES NOT have to match the spoke count of the fornt wheel.
fornt = rear?
[/QUOTE]The rear wheel died when a strap failed and my bike came off the roof of my car at 70mph.[/QUOTE]
Never a good thing. If it had to happen I'd have liked to have seen that ghost ride.......
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Why the larger tire size on the rear?
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Yes, I meant that the front and rear spoke count doesn't have to match.
My heavy duty commuter bike has a 40 spoke rear and 36 front spoke wheel. My wife's new bike has a 28 spoke front and 32 spoke rear.
Also a larger rear tire is less likely to pinch flat and rolls smoother and faster.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Mavics MA40
Stans 355
Mavic 32
Wolber 19 tubs
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
DT RR415
Favorite rim for the outstanding ride quality. A couple of my sets are about 10 years old. Favorite (and newest) set is built with DT 240S and Revolutions, 32/32, under 1500 grams.
Ambrosio Excellight
Nice 28/28 set with red Alchemy hubs.
Velocity A23
3 sets: one with Dura Ace 7400 hubs, one with H2/3 and DT Comp spokes for HD use, and one 24/24 set with H2/3 and CX-Ray (favorite)
Velocity Arrowhead and Aerohead O/C
20/24 with H2/3 and DT Comp spokes. Rides as good as the A23 CX-Ray.
Kinlin XR-300
With Dura Ace 7900. Bombproof but a bit harsh. Ride is nice with Pro 4 25c. I use these only on my more comfy bikes.
ENVE 1.45/1.65 clincher
Originally built for TT's but lately only get used once and a while for regular road rides. Smooth ride with any tire.
HED C2
On my list of builds to do to compare with A23.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Let's revive this thread, as its fun seeing what everyone's riding.
I feel comfortable training and racing on any of the wheels in my quiver. They are as follows:
H Plus Son Archetypes laced to King R45 28/32 built by Luxe
Hed Belgium Tubulars laced to King R45 24/28 (or are they 20/24? I'll have to check when I get home), built these last year
Hed Begium/C2 tubulars, stock build from Hed for CX racing, I believe they're 18/24
Campagnolo Barcelona Tubulars laced to Record 10/11 32/32 (obviously), unsure of the builder, but I'm the second owner
And I have yet to build up, as the rims just arrived yesterday and I need to order spokes, Velocity Major Toms 32/32 to Record 10/11 for road and then race CX on.
Funny enough, I feel least comfortable on my Hed stock wheels. I've broken a couple of spokes on them this past CX season, though both instances were while pre-riding a course.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I'm riding Velocity A23 rims laced 28/32 to Ultegra hubs.
I'm not riding Velocity Synergy rims laced 32/32 to 105 hubs because the rear offset rim has cracked at just about every eyelet.
I'm researching rims to take the place of that Synergy.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
I like both college and Pro ball.......
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Mavic GP4
Ambrosio Synthesis
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
H Plus Son Archetypes on White Industries T11 hubs 24/28 on the road bike
H Plus Son Archetypes on White Industries CLD hubs 28/28 on the fat road/cx bike
Both sets built up great and have been solid since.
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Re: What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?
Archetypes are becoming popular here, too.
I've build a few and still have to adjust myself to the higher spoke tension required; and I'm not too sure about the drilling angle for the nipple, as I've had a couple of wheels with Lh spokes loosing tension. But, hey, some riders can mess up anything :notrust: