Tubular rims

[Geoff]

I want to build a tubular set and am looking on ebay for some rims.

There is a set of both Ambrosio Montreal Medaille d’Or and Ambrosio Nemesis rims available. There are also a lot of GP4s.

Which one is better a better choice? I am about 180lbs.

Thanks,

G

[catulle]

Reflex? Escape?

[sspielman]

GP4's are an all-time classic. They are plenty durable and would be a good choice for a 180lb rider. No offense to the Ambrosio fans, but I have seen more than a few with rough joints that make for bad braking....

[orbea65]

Reflex? Escape?

He said he was lookig for what was available on the 'bay.
Otherwise, I'd go with reflexes as well.

[Hardlyrob]

I've been riding both Mavic and Ambrosio for a while, and haved not seen a real big difference in the quality of the workmanship. Both have the occasional bad joint.

I don't know the nemesis rims, but the GP4 or Medaille D'Or would be fine for you.

I'm a little lighter - 5'10 170# and have no problem on Mavic GL330's (32 rear, 28 front) or Ambrosio Montreal Synthesis (32/32). I also have a pair of GP 4's 36 spoke that work just fine. Granted I'm not racing or anything, just ridin' around.

The real key to tubulars is to put good tires on them - Conti Sprinters or the Veloflex of your choice IMO. The tires are expensive, but I seem to wear them out vs. getting flats.

Cheers!

Rob

[Karbon]

Nemesis 'day is the Ambrosio equivalent to a Mavic SSC. Personally I prefer it to the SSC.

I would go Nemesis or GP4.

[musgravecycles]

I've got a set of Nemesis/Phil hoops built up by Joe Young, best wheels I've ever owned.

GP4's are great too though...you can't go wrong either way.

[tbushnel]

Are there any tubular rims available with offset eyelets?
Ted.

[terrytnt]

So, given that Mavic Reflex are everyone, where does one find 'new' GP4 or GL330s?

Better yet, why won't someone create some really cool tubular rims???

[sspielman]

So, given that Mavic Reflex are everyone, where does one find 'new' GP4 or GL330s?

Better yet, why won't someone create some really cool tubular rims???

Mavic rims are favorites of mine because they are generally conservative and get most everything right. Most importantly, they are generally pretty straight, round and consistent out of the box, so they build up rather easily. The Reflex is a good rim. My only nit with it is that it is a little on the wide side. It is perfect for 21.5-22 mm tubulars like the the Veloflex Criterium or Carbon...and it also accomodates 24 mm tubulars like the Veloflex Roubaix as well. On the other hand, it is too wide for a narrow tubular like a Veloflex Servizio Corsa..... For general use, the eraly GP4 is my all-time favorite rim. It is sturdy enough to take a good thump but it is still lighter than any serviceable clincher rim by 50 + grams. You can still get NOS GP4's on Ebay...and by asking bike shops if they have any tubular rims...most will be glad to get rid of them....

[terrytnt]

Okay... good points. Since I use the Veloflex Criteria, guess I need NOT be concerned with the wider Reflex rim. What about the ceramic Reflex? What does this add or not add?

If you really wanted to keep as light as possible, what hubs, i.e., new Record '07 would you suggest using (along with sapim CX)?

By the way, I'm 165, and this is for my Ottrott ST

thanks...

[ergott]

Okay... good points. Since I use the Veloflex Criteria, guess I need NOT be concerned with the wider Reflex rim. What about the ceramic Reflex? What does this add or not add?

If you really wanted to keep as light as possible, what hubs, i.e., new Record '07 would you suggest using (along with sapim CX)?

By the way, I'm 165, and this is for my Ottrott ST

thanks...

I built up Reflexs to 07 Record hubs. Check out my bike in the gallery (see signature) I like them. If you want to reduce the spoke count, you have to use something else. The Escapes are a great choice if that's your route. You also have to get different hubs (White Industries, Tune etc.).

[terrytnt]

Eric, your bike is really COOL... in fact, we both have great taste. I just build a custom Ottrott ST in June '06. MAN, I just love the way this bike rides :D Now, I went with royal blue clearcoat, Record '06, Fizik, K-wing, and believe it or not, found one of the last Campy Neutron (new) tubular Wheel sets.

I'm struggling a little with the K-wing, may go back to the tradition bars one of these days... any suggestions? What problems did you have with the K-wings?

But back to wheels (I want to build a backup wheel set over the winter months... hence my post), Wow, I did see you wheels, Mavic Pro, 07 hubs and I think Sapim CX... is that right? Appears the Mavic Classics Pro Rims 'black' how come I haven't seen that before? These are Reflex right? Thought the Ceramic were dark gray???

Also, you elluded in one of your posts to the best ever tubular wheels to soon to come... any clues about this?

thanks Eric!

[ergott]

Eric, your bike is really COOL... in fact, we both have great taste. I just build a custom Ottrott ST in June '06. MAN, I just love the way this bike rides :D Now, I went with royal blue clearcoat, Record '06, Fizik, K-wing, and believe it or not, found one of the last Campy Neutron (new) tubular Wheel sets.

I'm struggling a little with the K-wing, may go back to the tradition bars one of these days... any suggestions? What problems did you have with the K-wings?

But back to wheels (I want to build a backup wheel set over the winter months... hence my post), Wow, I did see you wheels, Mavic Pro, 07 hubs and I think Sapim CX... is that right? Appears the Mavic Classics Pro Rims 'black' how come I haven't seen that before? These are Reflex right? Thought the Ceramic were dark gray???

Also, you elluded in one of your posts to the best ever tubular wheels to soon to come... any clues about this?

thanks Eric!

Zank posted his Classics Pro wheels before. There were all black and ceramic brake tracks. This is the non ceramic version of the Classics Pro replacement rims. There were another score of mine. I have two pair. They are Reflex rims.

I have at least four pairs of wheels in various states of completion. It's been very busy and I'm in no hurry right now. I can say that one set of rims I acquired are on hold because I need to choose the hubs. 11.4 helped me find a real nice set of rims NOS.

Another pair I have are going on the futures cross bike and they will be real nice. I did some mods to the hubs to get what I want.

Another pair are waiting on the right spokes to come in. Another pair of wheels are incoming as well!

[terrytnt]

Eric, how do I get my hands on tubular rims like these?

[sspielman]

Since the great GP4 rim was brought up in this discussion, and somebody just might ferret a NOS pair out, I thought I might mention this.....For years, the GP4 remained the same . It started life as a 400 gram hard anodised rim. As the extrusion tooling wore, it got heavier...I have a later pair that are about 440 grams each!....Maybe the tooling wore out, because at some point Mavic "revised" the GP4. The newer version had boxier sides and was about 450 grams...it was short lived ...like maybe only 2-3 years before the Reflex was introduced. All of these revisions were in response to the introduction of 8/9 speed wheels and the crazy uneven spoke tensions that result on the rear wheels. Having said that, a REALLY GOOD wheelbuilder can still build a set of modern tubulars with a 330 gram rim on the rear...I think that it needs at least 32 spokes, but I like pretty reliable equipment...end of semi on topic rambling....

[terrytnt]

Still uncertain how one obtains a pair of Mavic Classics Pro tubular rims?

Ideas anyone???

[ergott]

Still uncertain how one obtains a pair of Mavic Classics Pro tubular rims?

Ideas anyone???

Mine were an inside connection. You can't publicly get them.

[Grant McLean]

Mine were an inside connection. You can't publicly get them.

Classics pro's may be hard to get, but likely not impossible.

Basically, mavic provides these rims as replacements for
the complete wheelsets if damaged. It just happens
that as a 32 spoke rim, the classic makes a great donor!

Another example of a 'donor' rim is the Comos CD wheels.
They have a 28' hard anodized front rim, which can be
used as a rim only to build with the hub of your choice.

These rims you need to order it as a repair rim for a wheelset,
it's not likely that it occurs to anyone at mavic that people
are getting them to build up into other wheels.

g

[terrytnt]

This is great news Grant. So what specifically do I ask for when I visit my LBS owner - Pete. Something like I'm looking for rims ONLY to replace my ???. I know my LBS has a great relationship with the Mavic rep, so this may work.

Also, can you tell me more about the Comos CD Wheel. Would it be possible to get this both in a front and rear? If so, how does it compare with the Mavic Classics Pro?

Thanks Grant, I'm actually stopping by my LBS tomorrow afternoon to replace a spoke on my Campy Neutron rear wheel.

much appreciated...

[djg]

Still uncertain how one obtains a pair of Mavic Classics Pro tubular rims?

Ideas anyone???

If you want the wheels, there's a set with campagnolo compatible hub bodies (9/10) going on e-bay in about 2 hours. They're at one-forty-something now--I'd go for it, but I just nabbed a backup set of nucleons pretty recently and this would be overkill (I mean, even beyond my own personal threshold).

[zank]

Required reading re: Mavic Classics wheels

http://belgiumkneewarmers.blogspot.com/2006/11/mavic-classics.html

[Grant McLean]

Required reading re: Mavic Classics wheels

http://belgiumkneewarmers.blogspot.com/2006/11/mavic-classics.html

Mojo wheels baby.

Terry: i dig that you want to get some of these rims, but the story is about
the complete wheels. IMHO, building up a set of wheels using just the classic
pro rims misses the point. The cool thing about these wheels is the 32 straight
pull spokes, and the gestalt of the "wheels". As the belgiumkneewarmers piece
points out, these wheels are from the early days of the evolution of pre-built
wheels. There's nothing special about the rim by itself. It's about the whole,
not the parts. The rim is the same as the reflex tubular.

All that said.... take the picture of the classic pro rim to the shop, point at
it, tell him you want a pair of the rims, and see if mavicusa comes through
for you. There is a good chance they may not have them in stock to send
to your shop.

The last year mavic sold the wheelset was 2002/2003 and they called it the
"classics ssc" and they had slightly different labels, adding the red and yellow
ssc logo.

g

[zank]

The last year mavic sold the wheelset was 2002/2003 and they called it the
"classics ssc" and they had slightly different labels, adding the red and yellow
ssc logo.

g

Like these?

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=22815

[zank]

I can check with a supplier who may have NOS Reflex Ceramic rims. Basically the same rim with a hard ano finish rather than the black ano. They aren't cheap though! Terry, send me a PM if you want me to look for you.

[Grant McLean]

Like these?

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=22815

yup, them's the bad-boys!

g

[vaxn8r]

Grant, you da man!

[ergott]

Just to clarify, there is nothing special about the rims I used. They are the same as the Reflex CD that is still available. The bonus I was looking for is purely vanity. They are great rims and I was able to get them in all black for this project. The Classics SSC that Zank got are ceramic on the brake surface and those are no longer made. There is a distributer that still has a few NOS and they know they have the last run so they are priced accordingly. I bought a supply for myself for a spring project I've got cooking. :D

[KJMUNC]

Somebody got a killer deal on the set that sold on eBay last night....$214 + ship. I was sitting there watching and trying to come up with a story for my wife about how I found the money under the seat cushions or something. :crap:

[terrytnt]

Thanks everyone, this was an educational thread for me. I particularly liked the Belgium blog on Mavic Classics. I get the point, Grant, that it's not just about the rim but rather the complete wheel. Since I can't buy the complete wheel, and I need a backup set of tubulars, I was trying to create something really cool. When I saw ergott's black classics pro tubulars... could help but try to replicate these wheels.

So, though I know its a long shot, I'll visit my LBS later today and have him check with Mavicusa... who knows. Otherwise I'm left with currently made reflex rims, record hubs and sap CX.

thanks once again for the education!!!

[Grant McLean]

Thanks everyone, this was an educational thread for me. I particularly liked the Belgium blog on Mavic Classics. I get the point, Grant, that it's not just about the rim but rather the complete wheel. Since I can't buy the complete wheel, and I need a backup set of tubulars, I was trying to create something really cool. When I saw ergott's black classics pro tubulars... could help but try to replicate these wheels.

So, though I know its a long shot, I'll visit my LBS later today and have him check with Mavicusa... who knows. Otherwise I'm left with currently made reflex rims, record hubs and sap CX.

thanks once again for the education!!!


Good Luck. I hope they have some for you. Otherwise, keep checking ebay
for a wheelset to show up. Eventually, they will show up there!

g

[ergott]

Thanks everyone, this was an educational thread for me. I particularly liked the Belgium blog on Mavic Classics. I get the point, Grant, that it's not just about the rim but rather the complete wheel. Since I can't buy the complete wheel, and I need a backup set of tubulars, I was trying to create something really cool. When I saw ergott's black classics pro tubulars... could help but try to replicate these wheels.

So, though I know its a long shot, I'll visit my LBS later today and have him check with Mavicusa... who knows. Otherwise I'm left with currently made reflex rims, record hubs and sap CX.

thanks once again for the education!!!

06' Record or Chorus
Silver Reflex
Sapim CX-Rays silver
alloy or brass nipples silver

They would be the negative image of my set, but would be a killer looking set of wheels anyway.

All silver is the new all black anyway. :D

[theprep]

Mojo wheels baby.

g

Good posting, very informative.

[terrytnt]

YES, my thoughts exactly ergott!! Since I already have the Campy Neutrons, why not build a stunning silver wheel set with '06 record hubs, mavic reflex and sapim CX Siver spokes.

Sound pretty cool to me...