Modern 700c alloy rim-brake rims roundup: 622mm ETRTO, 28h+, wideish internal

[slowpoke]

First off, the rim vs disc brake discussion is over there.

Now for my fellow retro-curmudgeons who are sticking with rim brakes, and because HED Belgium Pluses are pretty much unavailable, what decent MSW rims are left in this space?

Looking for:
- 622mm / 700c
- machined sidewalls
- 28h/32h options
- 20mm internal width or wider
- tubeless compatibility

Boyd Altamont , 470g front, 480g rear $120
- finally here in July 2023! 21mm internal. asymmetric rear

HED Belgium R, 460g, $175
- supposedly the successor to the Belgium+, but haven't heard much news yet. also the most expensive

Velocity Quill, 465g, $140
- how's Velocity USA's quality compared to Velocity of the past?

Easton R90 SL, 455g, $150
- okay, these are 19.5mm internal width. supposedly folks have reported the rims being "soft" and prone to dents, though.

Astral Radiant, 495g, $149
- 19.5mm internal

Astral Solstice, 405g, $149
- 19.5mm internal

Pacenti Forza, 450g / 485g, $89
- 20mm internal

DT R460, 450g, ~$55
- 18mm internal width, but the price can't be beat compared to the others. does DT Swiss have a wider rim for a bit more money?

I also checked out Altamonts, but they max out at 24h spokes.

Looking for more options or any reviews of these rims, thanks!

[GregL]

I'm a big fan of the Kinlin XR26T rims. Other than being slightly (1mm) narrower internally than you specified, they check all your boxes. I have two pairs that have proven to be very reliable. One pair is on my gravel race wheelset, so they have taken significant abuse without any issues.

Greg

[Big Dan]

The DT RR411 is also nice, but only 18mm internal.

[Andy sti]

Pacenti Forza.

[Seamus]

Easton R90SL are great. I've put a lot of abuse on mine and they've held up well.

I'd also look at Kinlin XR31 (in addition to XR26T). Cheaper than most options, bit more aero for a shallower depth alum rim. I've had a positive experience.

[yinzerniner]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

I also checked out Altamonts, but they max out at 24h spokes.

Looking for more options or any reviews of these rims, thanks!

Altamonts are in the process of re-stocking since they were just recently redesigned, so will probably have more options soon.

Astral makes a nice, boutique-y alloy rim:
https://astralcycling.com/collection...ducts/solstice
https://astralcycling.com/collection...oducts/radiant

Pacenti is still kicking, although some might still have a bad taste from the SL23 v1 debacle:
https://pacenticycledesign.com/colle...road-front-rim

November Dave's blog is always an awesome resource for Jurassic rims.
https://novemberbicycles.com/blogs/blog

[nalax]

Boyd has a new replacement for the Altamont coming.

[David in Maine]

Velo Orange Voyager for the retro silver look.

David

[calebrichardson]

I like Kinlin rims, although they definitely don't have the same fit and finish as a Belgium+ or Easton R90SL. But I have pretty big miles on my XR22Ts.

November seems to be building up a of Boyd rim brake rims, and they are my most trusted source, so I doubt you can go wrong there if you like the specs.

[AngryScientist]

i'm curious to see what these new HED wheels will look like.

that said, i'm a huge fan of the Quills and the Eastons. I have been actively trying to kill a set of the Eastons on my gravel bike for a while and they have been bulletproof.

both the eastons and the quills i have found to set up very easy tubeless also.

[many_styles]

Angry,

Can you share the source of the new HED wheels / rims?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by many_styles

Angry,

Can you share the source of the new HED wheels / rims?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

doesnt look like they are available yet, but:


https://hedcycling.com/products/belgium-r-rims/

https://store.hedcycling.com/belgium...rake-clincher/

[AngryScientist]

I have to add that a lot of what we are seeing now with everything being out of stock and unavailable is probably just some jet lag from all this supply chain corona conundrum. i'm optimistic things will bounce back to better access in another 12 months or so.

it is annoying though!

[jamesdak]

I've got a few bikes running Kinlin rims in fairly light builds with lots and lots of miles on them. In fact my first two sets of custom built rims came with Kinlin 30mm and 27 mm rims. The 27 are still going strong at least 10 years later even though I sometimes let my weight sneak north of 200 lbs. The 30 were on a Williams System 30 wheelset and with over 8000 miles on them the rear cracked at two spoke holes. Bear in mind I ride rough chipseal roads everyday. No hesitation on my part about rebuilding that wheel with another Kinlin rim.

[bigbill]

I've tried a few. The R90SL's cracked around the eyelets. The R90SL rim replaced a Pacenti SL23 that failed. I unlaced the wheels and set the hubs to Old Potato and he built them up with DT511 rims. They have been great, no problems at all. I also have a set of wheels with Velocity Quill rims, they've been great as well, really easy to set up tubeless.