[weisan]

as always, found this excellent review from my pal 22.8/2 in another thread...

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpo...2&postcount=28

Originally Posted by 11.4

I've got all three -- 440 OC's, Archetypes, and C2's -- and like 'em all. The C2's seem to be a little more durable than the Archetypes and especially on disc brake wheels I like the C2 non-machined finish better than the hard anodized Archetype, but that's an aesthetic issue. The C2's are the only rims I've not seen cratered. The older DT's seemed to be a little softer alloy and dented a little more easily, but with the newer generation like the 440 OC's, that seems to have been fixed. And now their alloy sidewalls outlast practically anything else except possibly the HED's. I do notice some difference between the narrower 440 OC's and the wider C2's, but you see it mostly when turning, sprinting, or descending because the wider rim helps stabilize the sidewall profile of the tire. If you are mostly riding straight-line training or group rides, don't expect the extra width to amount to much. On the other hand, if you really need a stronger wheel, I found I built the C2's optimally to a higher tension than what the Archetypes favored, and the 440 OC's built completely differently at a lower tension to a much more even build. If I wanted the best wheel build, it would be the 440 OC's. If I wanted the best race wheel or wheel for serious lateral stresses, it would be the C2. The Archetypes would miss out by a relatively small margin. If it came down to a much lower price, I'd buy the Archetypes, but they are the only rim where I've actually worn (on the hard anodized Archetypes) the sidewalls to where they needed replacement. That just speaks to shorter lifetime and the small potential for a failure if I weren't attentive to replacing components as needed. I'm riding a pair of Pacenti's now and liking them, but don't have enough data on them. I did ride a pair of A23's for a brief while and really didn't like them for their soft alloy and because they didn't build up anywhere near as well as the other rims discussed here.