otavioexel

hello Forvm!

is it that difficult to find/buy Velocity Synergy rims?

I'm trying to buy a pair of said rims. the least you expect when you are doing international shipping (I'm here in Brazil) is to be able to combine shipping costs, right? but I can't find a single shop that sells a 700c-32H for the front and a 700c-36H-OC for the rear! what gives?

if anyone here have a good reliable shop where I can find such a pair of rims to reccommend I'd be very thankful!
I'm in such a desperate state that I didn't bother to mention "cheap"! :-)

[]s & TIA,

xyzzy834

Do any shops have a 36H for the front and a 36H-OC for the rear? The four extra spokes won't slow you down.

unterhausen

they recently started up production in Florida, so there was a period of low availability. My LBS wheelbuilder says that they are pretty nice

Chris Pringle

Try ProWheelBuilder. Their online engine to build wheels online (and get a quote) with components of your choice is possibly the best one I've seen. They carry the 700c Velocity Synergy in 32H and 36H.

seeker333

I just bought out their entire inventory of 2 700x36 Velocity Synergy OC rims here:

https://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...63c73ca67f1cbc

You must telephone order in, otherwise they'll never restock with more than 1 rim. I do not know if they ship to Brazil. Other sources are peterwhitecycles.com and ebay. Also, if you're clever you can find a coupon for 15% off - my order cost $102 shipped.

OP, below is a response to your earlier thread re. Synergy rims, which I suggest you read before you spend more time looking for Synergy OC rims.

-------------------

I have a new pair of Synergy O/C 770, made in Jax Fl, USA from the most recent production run in the last 2 months. They measure ~22.75mm wide OD (17mm inside width), specs claim 23. Measured ERD is 602-603mm, spec is 604. They weigh 480g vs claimed 490g. I have not built these new 700c rims, so I can't comment on tire fit with this pair of rims.

I have owned/built 10 26" Synergy rims over the past decade, about 7 OCs used mostly on rear (some on front disc). I've never had a tire fitment problem with these rim. I also read of the 650b fit problems, sounds like manufacturer (Velocity) error to me.

I had one rear OC rim destroyed when the tire blew out, parked at night. The blowout ripped a 3-4" section of rim wall out. I don't know if the rim failed causing the blowout or vice-versa. It's a mystery from ~2005.

My biggest problem with the Synergy rim is cracking around the spoke holes. This has happened repeatedly, mostly on rear wheels used on pavement only, and occurs after 3,000-10,000 miles. All these wheels were built to a maximum spoke tension of 120 kgf (1200N), which is the spec quoted to me by Velocity. Tension measured with a Park tensiometer.

Prior to my last wheel build, I spoke to Velocity tech rep who manages the Velocity wheelbuilding shop in MN. I was told Velocity has had problems in the past with regard to variation in the AL extrusion - their raw material. Velocity does not make the extrusion, they contract it out. When the rims were made in Australia (up to late 2011 IIRC), their extrusion supplier was a huge Al extrusion plant, and Velocity was a minor customer, so according to the rep, they did not command a whole lot of control of the extrusion quality. Sort of a take-it-or-leave-it affair. This apparently resulted in rims of varying width, extrusion wall thickness, spoke bed thickness, etc. Furthermore, according to same rep, since moving to Fl Velocity is now supplied by a USA Al extrusion supplier who is anxious/desperate/etc for Velocity's business, and so supposedly this will result in more consistent raw material and better rims.

I asked the Velocity rep specifically about the recurring spoke hole cracks. He admitted some in the past were possibly due to thin spoke bed, then he changed tunes and claimed many were built with inadequate tension, causing the cracks. He had no good explanation for my wheels cracking with 120 kgf tension.

I try not to pay too much attention to anecdotal information, but I don't want to keep paying premium rim prices for wheels that have to be rebuilt every year or so.

I decided I didn't want to waste another $60-70 ea on crack-prone Synergy rims, regardless of Velocity's story/excuse. I bought some Alex TD17s for my latest disc wheelset build, only $22 ea shipped. I've read hardly any complaints on the similar Surly LHT std-equipment Alex Adventurer rim, of which they've sold many thousands, so I figure I've got little to lose. The TD17s built up OK, but of course the tension doesn't balance as well as Synergys with a 4mm drilling offset. I haven't ridden them yet so maybe they'll crack at the spoke holes eventually too, but I won't know for several months in all probability.

I'm sure the asymmetric drilling of Synergy rim is what drives 90% of their sales. This does result in more tension on the rear non-drive side. Presumably this reduces fatigue failure at spoke heads near hub. I've never had a spoke break on any wheel I built - only purchased machine built wheels. Recurring spoke bed cracking on Synergies makes me think the whole OC/tension balancing theory perhaps doesn't mean much wheel longevity/cost-wise. Getting Synergy OC rims at a good price is always difficult/impossible. I think I'll stick to cheap conventional rims for a while and see if it isn't better to just apply some common sense and go with cheap, heavier rims.

In summary, asymmetric drilling seems great from a wheelbuilding standpoint, but in reality, and especially in the case of Velocity Synergy OC rims, I don't know that it's worth the cost and trouble (limited supply) to use these rims. The old bicycle axiom "strong light cheap, pick two" may apply here. OP, consider Alex Adventurer as an alternative - hard to go wrong for less than half the price of Synergy.

https://classic.aebike.com/product-li...27-m1561-qc30/

otavioexel

hi xyzzy834,

> The four extra spokes won't slow you down.

indeed! but I've already ordered the hubs :-(
I figured as I'm building this bike from scratch I could allow myself this kind of subtle details...

otavioexel

hello seeker333!

> OP, below is a response to your earlier thread re. Synergy rims,
> which I suggest you read before you spend more time looking for Synergy OC rims.

boy, I'm touched! I really apreciate your taking the time to cross-answer my question! thanks!!!
I kept such a close attention on that thread (only for a few hours, I admit) with no replies that I almost forgot about it.

I guess I agree with you: it is hard to go against thousands of Alex Adventurers on LHTs around the world; unconventional ideas like off-centre drilling are desireable in a race bike but not in a touring bike (in an isolated region of a 3rd world country).

and also (as I've learned recently) an OC rim would be much more important to a 130mm Campagnolo hub than to a 135mm Shimano hub as it is my case.

thanks again for your attention and your wise advice!

[]s,

otavioexel

indeed, nice engine! it's a pity that their shipping costs are so high (I'm in Brazil)...

but I used the engine to figure the size of my spokes! now my question is: what is the tolerance (in mm) that I can accept in the spokes I order? I plan to order:
- 1 bag of 292mm for the front ( exact is 32 x 291.6mm )
- 1 bag of 295mm for the rear ( exact is 18 x 295mm and 18 x 293.6mm )

I've never ordered spokes before! is this ok?

TIA!

Shimagnolo

2 of my 3 most-used bikes have Synergy's with O/C rear. The oldest was built in 2006. I do 4000-5000 miles/year.

I've never had a problem with the quality. I've replaced a rim twice from hitting unseen rocks, (one on a tight blind curve, and the other hidden by the shadow of a tree).

My usual source is: https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/velocity.asp

SuperLJ

Boulder Bicycle is going to stock Synergys in a polished finish if you can wait a little while. They're taking pre-orders now.

https://www.renehersestore.com/servle...olished/Detail

I love shiny bicycle parts...

Shimagnolo

Dayum! That website is a treasure trove for the C&V crowd!

I just recently learned of the polished Synergy's coming.
Damn them, those would look great with the polished hubs both of my bikes have.

seeker333

"Note that for offset rims you want to use a smidge less spoke tension we find - too much and you may get cracked eyelets (we suggest around 100kg instead of 110kg). Even if you do crack eyelets, the rim can still typically be used for many more miles, it is almost never a catostrophic failure with Synergy rims."

According to Boulder Bike, >100kgf tension may cause cracks in Synergy.

According to Velocity, <120 kgf tension may cause cracks in Synergy.

I think they're both making excuses for a rim that is prone to cracking.

sstorkel

When I asked Velocity USA about spoke tension for the Synergy OC back in 2008 or 2009, they told me to use 100-110kgf "just like all of our other rims". I used Synergy OC rims front and rear, tensioned to that spec, on my touring bike and haven't had a problem... so far.

SuperLJ

They've got so much great stuff. I could drop $500 on that site in minutes if I had it laying around, which I don't...