Rims rims rims

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by mwynne

So, thinking about the HED Belgiums...

For tires in the ~25-28mm range, road calipers (frame is designed with excellent clearance), I'm thinking the Plus rims might be overkill, and the regular C2 a better bet?
Not so much for tire clearance/shape even, but thinking about extra-wide rims with non-skeleton campy calipers (though I may swap to a newer brake model at some point), any brake performance concerns?

From what you have described the plus would be overkill.

[mwynne]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

From what you have described the plus would be overkill.

That is what I'm thinking, and I appreciate the confirmation!

[ripvanrando]

I have several wheels with HED Belgium Plus and A23. I like the HED

25 mm tires like Conti GP4K sii or Vittoria Corsa G+ will puff up to 28-29 mm and their 28 mm big brothers will swell to 31-32 mm on the HED Belgium plus rims. It is a tough, strong rim. Mr rear was 28H Belgium plus on TABR and I'm guessing I hit about a billion potholes in Wyoming alone. Never a problem. Me, bike, and bikepacking gear went 225 lbs. I am not sure they are worth the money but they are good from my experience. I beat the living hell out that wheel and it survived just fine as did the front Flo60 Carbon with 20 spokes

Hit a pothole on a front 28H A23 and deformed the rim. Same with the 32H rear A23 AT A LATER DATE. I replaced both with A23 rims when each failed. I did not build the original set, so, maybe they were not built right.....spoke tension seemed low. The rebuilt wheels have been fine although I have not used them on bad roads.

[mwynne]

Originally Posted by ripvanrando

I have several wheels with HED Belgium Plus and A23. I like the HED

25 mm tires like Conti GP4K sii or Vittoria Corsa G+ will puff up to 28-29 mm and their 28 mm big brothers will swell to 31-32 mm on the HED Belgium plus rims. It is a tough, strong rim. Mr rear was 28H Belgium plus on TABR and I'm guessing I hit about a billion potholes in Wyoming alone. Never a problem. Me, bike, and bikepacking gear went 225 lbs. I am not sure they are worth the money but they are good from my experience. I beat the living hell out that wheel and it survived just fine as did the front Flo60 Carbon with 20 spokes

Hit a pothole on a front 28H A23 and deformed the rim. Same with the 32H rear A23 AT A LATER DATE. I replaced both with A23 rims when each failed. I did not build the original set, so, maybe they were not built right.....spoke tension seemed low. The rebuilt wheels have been fine although I have not used them on bad roads.

I wish I had the time and money to do some testing - compare profiles of a 25mm on Belgium Plus to 27/28mm on non-plus. I wonder if anyone's done this...

[bitt3n]

Are the HED hubs on Ardennes wheels decent, or is better to avoid them and build up Belgium rims with another hubset instead? (My understanding is that the Belgium and Ardennes rim are the same, though I might be misinformed.)

[NHAero]

I'm about to have some wheels built up with Boyd Altamont Lite rims, which is what Ergott recommended. Has anyone used those rims?

[Davist]

Originally Posted by bitt3n

Are the HED hubs on Ardennes wheels decent, or is better to avoid them and build up Belgium rims with another hubset instead? (My understanding is that the Belgium and Ardennes rim are the same, though I might be misinformed.)

to pile on, does the rim recall affect the Belgiums? Went to look at site and first thing I saw is (Ardennes rim recall):

https://www.hedcycling.com/news/recall-notice

[iPaul]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

From what you have described the plus would be overkill.

Question in regards to spoke counts for this rim? Can this rim really handle a 20/24 spoke count for a average sized rider? I'm 150 lbs and was thinking of building it up to a 24 count hub I have, or just go with a 45 mm carbon rim.

[woodworker]

Here are pictures of the Ardennes and the Ardennes+. I measured the tires at 26mm and 27mm respectively, but they're different tires--veloflex master on front and vittorio rubino rear. Both at about 80 psi.

[woodworker]

Pardon me. First time posting photos. Went in right side up but came out differently.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by iPaul

Question in regards to spoke counts for this rim? Can this rim really handle a 20/24 spoke count for a average sized rider? I'm 150 lbs and was thinking of building it up to a 24 count hub I have, or just go with a 45 mm carbon rim.

24 will result in a more flexy rear wheel; but at your mass it should work. The rim can handle this setup.

[weisan]

I understand that pals tend towards looking for the "best" but really, we live in the golden era of many, many excellent choices available to us.

Just this morning while riding, I noticed how the combination of my steel serotta, pacenti sl23 wide rims, lower tire pressures, 26mm specialized s-works turbo clincher tires all together contributed to what can only be described as the "magic carpet ride"...the thing literally floats and glides effortlessly, pretty amazing stuff.

I have got A23, Pacenti, HED C2, Archetype, Kinlin in my regular rotation.

They all worked.

The Pacenti is my favorite but I dislike...still do even though it's V2...the tightness of the tire mounting.

The HED goes out whenever I want peace of mind in less than perfect roads. It's literally bombproof.

The Archetype is built slightly more sturdy than necessary for someone of my weight so it serves mainly for loaded touring and gravel ride duties.

The A23 is my least favorite. For whatever reason, I don't like the way the wheel winds up, accelerates and maintains at speed. It just seems to take more work, might just be a matter of perception.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I also got a couple of DT rims...they are solid all-around, get the job done.

[stephenmarklay]

Originally Posted by iPaul

Question in regards to spoke counts for this rim? Can this rim really handle a 20/24 spoke count for a average sized rider? I'm 150 lbs and was thinking of building it up to a 24 count hub I have, or just go with a 45 mm carbon rim.

I doubt it would be an issue. I am on 20/24 archetypes at 190.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by iPaul

Question in regards to spoke counts for this rim? Can this rim really handle a 20/24 spoke count for a average sized rider? I'm 150 lbs and was thinking of building it up to a 24 count hub I have, or just go with a 45 mm carbon rim.

Let's say compared to a 24/28(8 spokes)...8 spokes weigh 2 ounces..28 grams per ounce..so a 24/28 adds about this weight(55 grams).

Is 24/28 or 28/32 more reliable, of course it is. If ya got hubs laying around but this idea to make a wheel, 'just strong enough..maybe'..instead of adding a few spokes to make a wheel 60 grams heavier but way more reliable..sorry, I know I'm a luddite when it comes to wheel design but....

[weisan]

The hardest part is seeking advice is knowing when and how to take it. Old pal had been building wheels since dinosaurs walked the earth, listen to him!