dorkish question about rims - eyelets

[eddief]

I am building up another Bleriot. Had one a couple years ago and sold it since it was sitting. Now had a hankering for another fattish tire bike. Found NOS Bleriot somewhere in Utah.

aebike via QBP has a set of relatively, ok really, inexpensive 650B wheels. Velocity rims, Deore hubs = about $150 for the set. These rims look fine and they're silver, have 32 spokes, and they're round, but the obvious thing to me compared to other rims is they don't have eyelets.

It made me stop and think, what the heck do eyelets do in the whole gestalt of building a wheel? Looks, durabililty, do spokes prefer eyelets, what?

[Peter P.]

Eyelets spread the load of the spoke under tension so you're less likely to find cracks around the rim hole, though they can still happen. Also, the eyelets are usually nickel plated steel so they provide a smoother surface for turning spokes under tension. Aluminum against nipples under tension don't turn so smoothly, even when the interface is greased. Without eyelets you would need a thicker rim wall to withstand spoke tension, though I have no idea what's lighter- an aluminum rim or the same rim with a presumably thinner rim wall and eyelets. I much prefer eyelets when building wheels but I wouldn't kick a rim out of bed if it were lacking eyelets.

[eddief]

1. Todd Kuzma from Tulios Big Dog

Rim Eyelets – Many rims have eyelets which are visible as a “lip” around the edge of each spoke hole. Rims will come with no eyelets, single eyelets, or double eyelets. Rims with no eyelets have a simple hole through the wall of the rim for the spoke and spoke nipple to pass. Often, the edge of this hole is rough and must be filed smooth by the wheelbuilder. Such spoke holes can damage nipples, and, for this reason, I do not use aluminum nipples with such rims. Brass nipples are fine, but they still require rough edges to be filed smooth to prevent damage.

Rims with “single eyelets” have a separate, smooth ring placed into each spoke hole. This helps to prevent damage to spoke nipples and allows the nipples to turn easily.

Rims with “double eyelets” have a unique socket in which the nipple rests. This socket connects the exterior and interior walls of a double-wall rim to allow both to share the load from each spoke.

2. Grant Peterson from you know where

Eyelets: Single, double, or none?
Our sentimental favorite is double eyelets, but almost nobody makes rims that way any more, and again, if the other more important things (like width) aren't in place, having a double-eyeletted (sometimes called "ferruled") rim isn't going to mean beans. A double-eyelet rim is one in which the rim's inner and outer walls are connected by a tube (ferrule) that distributes the load from the spoke between both walls. In the old days, most good rims were made this way. Single-eyeletted rims often drove you nuts when the eyelet (visible at the spoke hole) came loose and slid down the spoke. Today's single-eyelet rims must be made better, because that doesn't happen anymore. At least, we've not seen it in 11 years.

Single-eyelet rims are the norm, and that's how all of our rims are because the other stuff about them is the best, and they just aren't available with double eyelets. A It's good enough, so we go on.

Plain rims, with no eyelets, can be good, but the thing is, the reason for doing that is cheapness, and it seems not so good to tighten the spoke nipple against raw aluminum, with no eyelet to protect it. True, they beef up the aluminum at the

[rounder]

Eyelets spread the load of the spoke under tension so you're less likely to find cracks around the rim hole, though they can still happen. Also, the eyelets are usually nickel plated steel so they provide a smoother surface for turning spokes under tension. Aluminum against nipples under tension don't turn so smoothly, even when the interface is greased. Without eyelets you would need a thicker rim wall to withstand spoke tension, though I have no idea what's lighter- an aluminum rim or the same rim with a presumably thinner rim wall and eyelets. I much prefer eyelets when building wheels but I wouldn't kick a rim out of bed if it were lacking eyelets.

Good post. Thanks.

[maunahaole]

Which velocity rim is it? Some of their rims are super sturdy, despite having no eyelets. Peter White has some good info on velocity rims on his site.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/velocity.asp

[eddief]

it is budget, but if i don't jump curbs i'm probably all right for a while. even though 650b not listed, it is definitely being sold as 650b by QBP.

http://www.velocitywheels.com/default.asp?contentID=592

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=WE6539

[Marcusaurelius]

i've seen many rims with eyelets crack around the eyelets so eyelets do not automatically make a rim better.

I've been using velocity aerohead rims for over a year now and never had a problem unlike some dodgy open pro rims I bought a few years ago.

[ergott]

Consider Synergy from Velocity. I've built a few up for bikes like that (700c) and they have been well received. They make that rim is 650 as well.

Consider the overall qualities of the rim before whether it has single eyelets, double eyelets, or no eyelets. I've worked with excellent versions of each iteration and poor versions of each as well.