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Alloy Rim of Choice?

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Old 11-27-18, 02:17 AM
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Alloy Rim of Choice?

For all those either building their own wheels, or selecting parts and having someone else build them for you: What alloy rims are you using? For what applications? And why?
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Old 11-27-18, 03:43 AM
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I don't have a single favourite. Maybe because I don't build enough wheels.

My favourites back in the 26", rim-brake MTB era were Mavic ceramics. Or for the rear, an OCR that I can't remember the brand of.
My favourites for 26", disc brake MTB were Notubes ZTR Olympic
For 700C utility riding I used double-eyeletted rims from a company called Extreme. Think they're Rosebikes "house" brand.
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Old 11-27-18, 04:24 AM
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Originally Posted by dabac
I don't have a single favourite. Maybe because I don't build enough wheels.

My favourites back in the 26", rim-brake MTB era were Mavic ceramics. Or for the rear, an OCR that I can't remember the brand of.
My favourites for 26", disc brake MTB were Notubes ZTR Olympic
For 700C utility riding I used double-eyeletted rims from a company called Extreme. Think they're Rosebikes "house" brand.
I built a crap ton of Mavic rims, back when they sold them in the after market, for both 26" and 700c. They were always a go to for me from the GL280 to the CXP rims for crits. Then along came carbon and no one wanted alloy anymore.

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Old 11-27-18, 05:22 AM
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I love my HED Belgium+ rims.Stong, light, tubless ready. A bit on the pricey side.

I have also liked my HplusSons Archetype rim. Built up easy and ride really nice.

For years Mavic Open Pro rims were my go to. But a few years ago I got a couple that weren’t great; seemed like maybe Mavic qc had dropped. Also, I like the wider profile other options provide. haven
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Old 11-27-18, 07:56 AM
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Bob,
A question please since you know a lot about Mavic wheels.
I have a new set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites which have 17mm inner spacing and the alloy Ksyrium's have been around for years.
My first set of these Mavic wheels.

Over bumps, the front wheel is 'noisy'. Anybody else experience this? It makes a bit of a twang over lightly bumpy road surface. Maybe spoke nipples resonating on the rim...don't know.

Took the wheel off the bike, removed the skewer to take the hub and skewer out of the equation and when I bounce the wheel on the ground it makes a high pitch twang.

Any experience?

Thanks

Last edited by Campag4life; 11-27-18 at 08:01 AM.
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Old 11-27-18, 08:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Campag4life
Bob,
A question please since you know a lot about Mavic wheels.
I have a new set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites which have 17mm inner spacing and the alloy Ksyrium's have been around for years.
My first set of these Mavic wheels.

Over bumps, the front wheel is 'noisy'. Anybody else experience this? It makes a bit of a twang over lightly bumpy road surface. Maybe spoke nipples resonating on the rim...don't know.

Took the wheel off the bike, removed the skewer to take the hub and skewer out of the equation and when I bounce the wheel on the ground it makes a high pitch twang.

Any experience?

Thanks
I've not really got much experience with those wheels but I've had other wheels that were similar in that they made that sound. I had a set of Fulcrum R1 that were particularly 'vocal'. I assumed it was resonance of some sort, spokes maybe. I never got around to figuring out the root cause. I'd be interested to hear if you do.
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Old 11-27-18, 09:04 AM
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I'm a big fan of the HED Belgium rims for road and Belgium + for cross/gravel/offroad riding. They're not too heavy, very strong and durable, and they build up easy. The only negative that I can think of would have to be the price.

Last edited by Jazzguitar; 11-27-18 at 10:21 AM.
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Old 11-27-18, 09:52 AM
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Another fan of HED Belgium and Belgium+ rims. I have Belgium+ on my primary road bikes and love them. Another favorite is the DT Swiss R460. Very similar to the HED Belgium but much less expensive. I have R460s on my fast commuter and they have held up extremely well with ~ 15 lbs of gear and use on the gravel trails that have on my commuting route.
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Old 11-27-18, 10:08 AM
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I'll be looking for something with the following:
  • Tubeless
  • 23mm+ wide at the track, 17mm+ internal
  • Disc specific, OC would be nice, but not necessary
  • 25mm+ deep
HED seem to be the gold standard, but pricey. I was really happy with my Archetypes for the price and would like to try the newer Hydra. Some Kinlin seem to fit the bill and have plenty of positive feedback, but I've never laid hands on them.
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Old 11-27-18, 11:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Bob Dopolina


I've not really got much experience with those wheels but I've had other wheels that were similar in that they made that sound. I had a set of Fulcrum R1 that were particularly 'vocal'. I assumed it was resonance of some sort, spokes maybe. I never got around to figuring out the root cause. I'd be interested to hear if you do.
Thanks. I am swapping front wheels right now and will also ride the Mavic wheel on another bike to see how much a stiff frame is an instigator of the sound.
If I figure it out, will let you know.
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Old 11-27-18, 11:13 AM
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Cannot believe nobody suggested Kinlin XR-31T. Crosses all your boxes - 31mm deep, 24mm wide, tubeless, very light. I built a number of wheels with them, both rim and disc and everybody loves them!
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Old 11-27-18, 11:40 AM
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Fwiw,

My touring bike had Mavic Mod 4, my CX bike, Mod 3,

my vintage road bike E2 , (the non CD anodized MA40)..
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Old 11-27-18, 03:23 PM
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I'm betting there are a lot of good choices out there. I've been using a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites for about 5 years. I have hit pot holes at approx. 35 mph and they have not needed truing in all the time I've owned them. I really like these wheels.
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Old 11-27-18, 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Bob Dopolina
For all those either building their own wheels, or selecting parts and having someone else build them for you: What alloy rims are you using? For what applications? And why?
h plus son archetype.

I've built a wheelset with them and have had 2 other wheelsets built using them.

I'm far from an expert at building wheels, but they were the easiest so far and probably not coincidentally the rounded so far too.

I like the look- not shallow box and not deep v. Nice middle ground.
I like that they are not heavy and that i can't feel the seam when braking.

I use them for road and gravel. 27mm true sized tire, 31mm true sized tire, and 40mm true sized tire.

I have used 5 different tires by 4 different brands and all different widths, but they all mount and come off easily. That's really nice.



If they were tubeless, I guess thatd be the one improvement.
but one in tubes on my gravel bike even, so I really don't care about it not being specifically designed for tubeless.
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Old 11-27-18, 04:59 PM
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So how wide is too wide in terms of internal widths? For road or gravel? Would something maybe 22mm or 23mm Internal be too much for gravel?
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Old 11-27-18, 05:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Jazzguitar
I'm a big fan of the HED Belgium rims for road and Belgium + for cross/gravel/offroad riding. They're not too heavy, very strong and durable, and they build up easy. The only negative that I can think of would have to be the price.
^this.
I have three sets of them. Two are Belgium+ set up tubeless. Love them. Wheel set weight is 1400g on DTSwiss 240's and with Saphim X-ray spokes. Hard to beat that.

J.
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Old 11-27-18, 05:51 PM
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I don't think 22mm or 23mm internal is too wide for gravel. One is likely running a 40mm "ish" wide tire for gravel.

I use a 29er MTB wheelset for CX and gravel. IIRC, the internal measurement on those is 25mm. No problem with 33mm or 40mm tires.
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Old 11-27-18, 05:55 PM
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I've built road wheels for myself with the KinLin XC 279 rim. I liked how they built up and they've been durable. Thinking of using the XR22T, if I build a tubeless climbing wheelset.
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Old 11-27-18, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by vtje
Cannot believe nobody suggested Kinlin XR-31T. Crosses all your boxes - 31mm deep, 24mm wide, tubeless, very light. I built a number of wheels with them, both rim and disc and everybody loves them!
indeed..
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/colle...-31deep-24wide

https://www.williamscycling.com/Wheel...count_p_8.html
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Old 11-27-18, 06:23 PM
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HED Belgium(+), as mentioned is a good pick. Another good one is the Easton R90SL. Both are expensive, but well engineered-and you get what you pay for.
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Old 11-27-18, 06:29 PM
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I'm building a set of wheels for my Sam Hillborne with Sun CR18s. Seemed like a good choice. Inexpensive, durable, shiny and wide enough for a 38c tire. I considered a bunch of other rims that were all so much more expensive I couldn't justify it to myself.
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Old 11-27-18, 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by kingston
I'm building a set of wheels for my Sam Hillborne with Sun CR18s. Seemed like a good choice. Inexpensive, durable, shiny and wide enough for a 38c tire. I considered a bunch of other rims that were all so much more expensive I couldn't justify it to myself.
I'd have to say that Sun rims weren't on my radar anymore. I'll have a look at that rim.

This rim looks interesting: Inferno 27
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Old 11-27-18, 06:40 PM
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DT Swiss also has some nice aluminum rims. I've built wheels using their R460 and RR411 rims.
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Old 11-27-18, 08:04 PM
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Originally Posted by rjones28
DT Swiss also has some nice aluminum rims. I've built wheels using their R460 and RR411 rims.
Yeah, They seem to be producing the right specs at a decent price. I like the R 500DB. This seems like a sweet spot for gravel.
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Old 11-27-18, 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Bob Dopolina
So how wide is too wide in terms of internal widths? For road or gravel? Would something maybe 22mm or 23mm Internal be too much for gravel?
so 23 Internal and about 29 external?

if I saw a rim that size which weighed the same as an archetype, had the same mid-V profile, and was a similar price- I wouldnt be opposed to it at all for gravel.

most any gravel bike will have at least 35mm tires, usually 38-43mm tires, and sometimes something wide like 48mm tires.
a 23mm internal could fit great for that that range.
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