Wheelbuilding - Rims

[Ozz]

For those of you who build your own wheels, what are your favorite rims to work with?

Not necessarily your favorite ones to ride, but ones that come pretty true and are easy to build up.

Clinchers or tubulars are OK.

Thanks.

[Len J]

Open Pros!

Everyone I've ever built has come round and relativly true. This makes them much easier to build than a rim that you have to use spoke tension to get round or hold in true.

Len

[oracle]

fiamme ergals, campy victory stradas, crono f20s.

[MartyE]

second the Victory Stradas and I also like Mavic GP4s and GL330s.

Marty

[Bill Bove]

Mavic rims have always been good, Velocity are very good and surprisingly, Alex rims have been good. The newer Campy rims, the ones named after Olympic cities were very good but I hear that they're going to discontinue them. the old Victory strada and Record Strada's weren't all that easy to build with, IMO anyway. Wolbers definately sucked. Nowadays I hardly ever build wheels, the pre-builts are easier to sell and that seems to be what people want. It's kinda sad because wheelbuilding was that cool mix of science that may be going extinct. A little less magic in the world.:(

[oracle]

to quote public enemy:

We don't need it do we?
It's fake that's what it be to 'ya, dig me?
Don't believe the hype...

oracle

[jeffg]

Has anyone used the DT rims? It seems that they make all the parts for a great wheelset (hubs, rims, spokes). I love my Campy Eurus hoops but would have considered a set of DT Swiss rims with Hugi hubs and DT Aerolite spokes.

[Ozz]

I've been looking for the DT Swiss rims (RR 1.1) but eveyone in the US seems to be out. I got a price from AE Bike for $57.99 - but their supplier is out....and they don't know when they will get any.

There is a shop / website in Australia that seems to have some...however they are about $90 each, before shipping.

They look like pretty nice rims, but I haven't gotten any feedback from anyone who has ridden or built with them.

If anyone has used them, I'd like to hear your opinion.

(jeffg - your planned build up sounds similar to what I would like: DT 240s hubs, but with Revolution spokes)

[jerk]

mavic paris roubaix

any thing by assos

too bad they haven't made either in a long time....hopefully bontrager will build my dream offset rear tubular rim....

[oracle]

looks like they'll build up to around 1400grams, and cost in the low to mid 5C range. i might just have to build myself some of them. hmmmmmm.....


oracle

[Peter]

Mavic MA-3s. Inexpensive. Eyelets make the nipples turn easier once under tension. Less likely to crack at the spoke hole. Certainly true and straight from the get-go.

[weisan]

Originally posted by jerk
mavic paris roubaix

any thing by assos

too bad they haven't made either in a long time....hopefully bontrager will build my dream offset rear tubular rim....

Hi Jerk,

Do you have an opinion on the Mavic Helium wheelset that first came out in 1997? I am riding on it now and wonder what you think of it.

thanks,
weisan

[oracle]

heliums were/are great wheels, essentially OP rims with proprietary mavic hubs, radially laced straight-pull front, radially laced NDS in rear. gilberto see$ used a front helium to great effect in last years TOI. looked a bit funny, though with his ksyrium rear wheel. oh well.

oracle

[Sam in VA]

Mavics with eyelets... Open Pros, MA-3s (MA-40s, OPen 4 CDs). They seem to build up pretty true. Once I have them up to tension, there are close to true. In my limited experience, rims without eyelets make it harder to start the nipple.

[jerk]

actually the helium tubulars were great wheels....the helium clinchers while light were really not all that great. the rim was not open pro quality, it had the metallurgy of the older clincher rim and was not nearly as tough as the open pro. the tubular on the other hand was a real reflex rim and was fine. jerk like the heliums as cross wheels.

[dbrk]

jerk has it right on both counts, bigtime.

mavic ssc paris-roubaix, dbrk says, is the best rim ever made: durable, round, easy to build, never goes out, doesn't break.

dbrk also has had both helium clinchers and sew-ups. sew-up rims are only about a million times better. dbrk doesn't any longer want the issues involved in sew-ups much to the chagrin of the purist within him and others, such as the venerable bigmac, who think they are easier as well as better. better, yes. easier, not any more.

good rims exist beyond the purview of mavic. the best fir are just as good. some ambrosios are quite good too. look at joeyoungwheels.com for an opinion from one of the best of the best.

assos lightweight shoe covers suck, too thin, not durable enough. assos lightweight vest needs a rear pocket, espeically for wimps like dbrk.

huge issue for dbrk: proper 650B rims _with_ eyelets and good quality. where are all of those rigidas you can find in france? dbrk may have to have his own darn 650Bs made, to meet that huge demand and all of those clamouring to bring back the best of all possible wheel sizes. (the latter being true, the former is a fantasy.)

dbrk

[weisan]

Thanks to both dbrk and Jerk for your comments on the Helium wheels.

weisan