Best Clincher Rim?

[NONN]

Any opinions on the best clincher rim for a road - custom wheel build?

My current set is HED Belgium Plus - Love the rim; minor issue with appearance (hard to match German strips, colors to overall bike; pedantic I know).

Ideally, the rim would have wider interior diameter for 25-28mm tires.

Thanks

[kppolich]

Strips come off with acetone.

[yinzerniner]

Strips come off with acetone.

Was going to say the same thing.

But if looking for other options, maybe consult this thread for ideas:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=253833

and then go out from there. But from the previous responses in numerous other threads the consensus seems to be for "rim only":

Alloy - HED Belgium Plus or Easton R90SL for cost no object, or Boyd / DT Swiss / Kinlin for price/performance
Carbon - Either Enve SES with the textured brake track cost no object or Light Bicycle / Farsports / BTLOS other Asian suppliers p/p

[NONN]

Any opinions on the best clincher rim for a road - custom wheel build?

My current set is HED Belgium Plus - Love the rim; minor issue with appearance (hard to match German strips, colors to overall bike; pedantic I know).

Ideally, the rim would have wider interior diameter for 25-28mm tires.

Thanks



Sorry, meant Belgium, not German colors. OK, thanks for the heads up on acetone -

[NONN]

Was going to say the same thing.

But if looking for other options, maybe consult this thread for ideas:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=253833

and then go out from there. But from the previous responses in numerous other threads the consensus seems to be for "rim only":

Alloy - HED Belgium Plus or Easton R90SL for cost no object, or Boyd / DT Swiss / Kinlin for price/performance
Carbon - Either Enve SES with the textured brake track cost no object or Light Bicycle / Farsports / BTLOS other Asian suppliers p/p


Thanks for the link

[oldpotatoe]

Any opinions on the best clincher rim for a road - custom wheel build?

My current set is HED Belgium Plus - Love the rim; minor issue with appearance (hard to match German strips, colors to overall bike; pedantic I know).

Ideally, the rim would have wider interior diameter for 25-28mm tires.

Thanks

Many out there and many can support a 25-28m tire
Velocity
DT
HED
H+Son
Kinlin
Sun Ringle
White Industries

Probably others.

MY favorites are DT, H+Son, Velocity..

HED I think are too much for what they are(Asian made rims, nice one but..)

Kinlin, depending seem a little 'soft' to me

[giverdada]

My favorite of late have been the H + Son Archetype.

Strong, pretty, light, straight. And they brake great. The Kinlins I've built were super light, braked super well, and felt not so stiff or solid. Haven't worked with Pacenti but they look nice.

[verticaldoug]

I actually think the ZIPP 30 Course clincher is a nice all around wheel. I run 28s on it and like it a lot.

I don't see the need for handbuilts anymore.

[cgates66]

Many out there and many can support a 25-28m tire
Velocity
DT
HED
H+Son
Kinlin
Sun Ringle
White Industries

Probably others.

MY favorites are DT, H+Son, Velocity..

HED I think are too much for what they are(Asian made rims, nice one but..)

Kinlin, depending seem a little 'soft' to me

My understanding was that the HED carbon rims at least (according to their website) are made in USA. Don't know the full line, though.

[GregL]

I've had great luck with the current generation of Kinlin rims. I've built up four wheelsets (two with XR26Ts and two with XR31Ts, standard front and offset rear rims) in the past year and they've proven reliable and durable. One set is my gravel racing wheelset which gets tons of abuse. Best bang for the buck I've found in rim brake road rims.

Greg

[reuben]

Without hijacking too much, I've been pondering a set for all around use - roads only (not MTB or CX). 700C, probably 28 hole. Just a good reliable pair of alloy clincher rims, not necessarily aero or anything. I've considered:

DT Swiss RR 411
Mavic CXP Elite
Mavic Open Pro C

Thoughts?

Thanks.

[yinzerniner]

Without hijacking too much, I've been pondering a set for all around use - roads only (not MTB or CX). 700C, probably 28 hole. Just a good reliable pair of alloy clincher rims, not necessarily aero or anything. I've considered:

DT Swiss RR 411
Mavic CXP Elite
Mavic Open Pro C

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Would stay away from Mavic until their ownership situation if figured out, which is hopefully soon with The Badger taking the lead.

DT Swiss makes and excellent if utilitarian rim.

[AngryScientist]

it's my opinion that the Easton R90SL is the best alloy clincher rim out there right now. The HED Belgium+ is also nice, but it's more expensive and not better quality than the Easton.

If someone were to ask me for the best workhorse alloy wheelset possible to build, i would say the easton rims to dura ace hubs, spoke count depending on weight and intended use.

The Velocity Quill is the next best option, for a little $ savings, but still a really good rim.

I still think Archetypes are the modern equivalent of the open pro. excellent rim that gets the job done with a really good brake track. the only downside is the lack of tubeless, and these days i like to keep that option open since i've been digging tubeless stuff.

all that said, most any modern rim is going to build a pretty damn good wheelset, provided the guy turning the spoke wrench knows what he's doing and pays attention to the details. even spoke tension, proper spoke tension and the rim selection/spoke count appropriate for the rider and the riding. it's hard to go wrong with any rim in current production if the above is true.

[mcteague]

November Bicycles has a blog post out today on the shrinking clincher rim offerings.

https://novemberbicycles.com/blogs/blog/belgium-we-have-a-problem

Tim

[reuben]

Would stay away from Mavic until their ownership situation if figured out, which is hopefully soon with The Badger taking the lead.
I've been out of the loop for 30 years. Back in the day it was hard to find someone who didn't have at least one pair of Mavics, and they were all over the tours and classics.

Can you enlighten me, or point me to a good source of enlightenment?

[reuben]

it's my opinion that the Easton R90SL is the best alloy clincher rim out there right now.
That's another thing. Back when clip in pedals, 6 cog freewheels, and index shifting first appeared (mid to late '80s), there was no such thing as a tubleless clincher. You either ran clinchers or tubulars.

That's a whole 'nuther ball o' wax I gotta figure out. For now I'm running old style clinchers with tubes.

[reuben]

And if it makes any difference I'm thinkin' rim brakes.

[muz]

it's my opinion that the Easton R90SL is the best alloy clincher rim out there right now. The HED Belgium+ is also nice, but it's more expensive and not better quality than the Easton.

This is an often repeated argument, but not really true. I am trying to decide between these two rims in 28h, the best prices I find are:

Hed Belgium Plus: $135.99
Easton R90SL: $127.49

I would call this a wash. HED is slightly wider, so that's what I am leaning to.

[yinzerniner]

I've been out of the loop for 30 years. Back in the day it was hard to find someone who didn't have at least one pair of Mavics, and they were all over the tours and classics.

Can you enlighten me, or point me to a good source of enlightenment?

Here you go:
https://road.cc/content/news/mavic-receivership-how-did-it-come-273345
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/mavic-is-in-receivership-but-who-owns-them-who-knows/
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/potential-takeover-group-emerges-for-troubled-mavic/

They announced a whole slew of updated rims and wheels in 2019 but apparently their ownership quagmire totally upended any plans for a smooth rollout of their new product.
https://bikerumor.com/2019/03/15/mavic-adds-carbon-rims-for-custom-wheels-hubs-coming-prototype-gravel-wheels/

[NONN]

November Bicycles has a blog post out today on the shrinking clincher rim offerings.

https://novemberbicycles.com/blogs/blog/belgium-we-have-a-problem

Tim

Wow, a very interesting article; I didn't even consider an absence of aluminum clincher rims.

For me, there is something nice about custom hubs and durable wheels - I appreciate that disc wheels are the present and future; however, there are some nice things out there to warrant regular rims, including EEbrakes and overall bike-look preference.

I've entertained the idea of Carbon clinchers but a major premium for sure (e.g., CK wheelsets with HED+ are $1K vs. $3K with ENVE) - I'm on board for justifying high zoot wheels, just can't shake the "wear" potential. A quick look on Ebay suggests the brake surface of carbon rims is finite and that these wheelsets are often a "second set."

As mentioned, all of these things are in some part related to riding conditions, and the skills of the wheel builder - appreciate the discussion

[yinzerniner]

This is an often repeated argument, but not really true. I am trying to decide between these two rims in 28h, the best prices I find are:

Hed Belgium Plus: $135.99
Easton R90SL: $127.49

I would call this a wash. HED is slightly wider, so that's what I am leaning to.

HED is a bit wider, with Easton being a bit deeper. And MSRP is a little different than current availability, as Belgium Plus is $165 and R90SL is $150.
https://store.hedcycling.com/belgium-rim-brake-clincher/
https://eastoncycling.com/products/r90-rims?variant=29642175021165

Having owned both I actually liked the Easton design a bit better, but if you plan on using them with 28mm+ tires the extra mm of width might help a smidge. Can't go wrong with either, excellent rims.

[reuben]

Here you go:
https://road.cc/content/news/mavic-receivership-how-did-it-come-273345
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/05/mavic-is-in-receivership-but-who-owns-them-who-knows/
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/potential-takeover-group-emerges-for-troubled-mavic/
Great googly moogly!!! That's a stinkin' pile o' mess right there!

Given my past and my 30 year hiatus, I feel like Rip Van Winkle, waking up to find Mr. Magoo walking on the moon!

[Velocipede]

Another great option is Astral. The Astral rims are the same as what Rolf Prima uses for their wheels. AND they are made in the US.

[oldpotatoe]

Without hijacking too much, I've been pondering a set for all around use - roads only (not MTB or CX). 700C, probably 28 hole. Just a good reliable pair of alloy clincher rims, not necessarily aero or anything. I've considered:

DT Swiss RR 411
Mavic CXP Elite
Mavic Open Pro C

Thoughts?

Thanks.

DT411 GREAT rims but light, lace appropriately with 'appropriate' spokes.
Stay away from anything Mavic..not only because of their ownership woes but far better rims out there.

Velocity Quill, A23
If not tubeless-H+Son Archetypes

[maslow]

As much as I like the HED Belgium plus rims I think the Easton R90SL rims are easily as good (& cheaper), and second to that the DT Swiss 460.

Feel free to make fun of this but I still love the ride of Ambrosio’s Excellence rims (with 28mm veloflex masters). But realise narrow box section rims probably don’t look so good on modern carbon and aluminium bikes.

[muz]

Another great option is Astral. The Astral rims are the same as what Rolf Prima uses for their wheels. AND they are made in the US.

Doesn't look like they have any road rims for rim brakes.

[RoosterCogset]

Very interesting to note that everyone is suggesting alloy clincher options, nothing carbon fiber. I've heard great things about the Campy WTO options fwiw.

EDIT: Sorry, looking for options to build up (vs. factory)? Lightbicycle comes to mind if CF is at all being considered or if OP wants any aero depth?

[ColonelJLloyd]

Doesn't look like they have any road rims for rim brakes.

https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/rims/shopby/astral-rolf.html

[jkbrwn]

Doesn't look like they have any road rims for rim brakes.

They do.

https://astralcycling.com/collections/road-rims/alloy-clincher

[muz]

They do.

https://astralcycling.com/collections/road-rims/alloy-clincher

LOL. Very poor web design. Listed as "SOLSTICE & SOLSTICE DISC RIM" and "RADIANT & RADIANT DISC RIM". So when I scanned their website looking for non-disc rims, I just skipped over both. :banana:

[Dino Suegiù]

LOL. Very poor web design. Listed as "SOLSTICE & SOLSTICE DISC RIM" and "RADIANT & RADIANT DISC RIM". So when I scanned their website looking for non-disc rims, I just skipped over both. :banana:
:)

No kidding.

I had to look for the "rim brake rims" three times before I thought what you also thought [light bulb! emoji] and opened the links you cited above to in fact then find the rim brake rims also cached there.

They really could use some better title editing.