Nyah

Silver rims will always be my preferred choice. Gum-wall tires make black rims acceptable though. Too bad. I shouldn't be making appearance into a deal-breaker but, that's how I get when industry tries to drive demand in this context.

seypat

What about black rims/machined brake tracks and either of the tire choices?

thinktubes 

Black/black - slimming, never out-of-style, etc...

tiger1964 

I'd normally vote "always silver", but your comment has merit. Yeah, the various bands of contrast add interest.

ThermionicScott 

"Various bands of contrast", that's a much better way of putting it than I did.

seypat

There's also the darker brown/reddish Conti GP Classic. It might look good on that bike.

RustyJames 

My general dislike of modern black rims is the HUGE labeling of brand, size, etc. I don’t need labels that can be read from 3 counties away. I feel the same way about tires. Small, discrete branding is fine but script that is 2/3rds of the sidewall of the tire is a bit garish.

Acceptable


Kinda garish especially since there is similar branding 180° opposite.

nlerner

Those solid rubber tires really don't ride very well.

RustyJames 

I only use them on the sand.

Andy_K 

I can certainly see your point. Personally, I don't mind the branding of these rims. My pet peeve is when the branding is a color (usually red, such as with the Velocity A23s). I feel like I can only use that if the color matches the frame in some way.

Many modern rims (the R460's included) use stickers for the graphics, so you can typically de-uglify them if you're so inclined. I've done that (with a pair of Alex rims similar to what you pictured as it happens). Usually, I don't bother.

ThermionicScott 

^ Dunlop nylon guitar picks in 0.60mm or 0.73mm thickness are my favorite for peeling off those stickers. They're sharp enough to get right under the edge, but soft enough that they won't scratch anything.

Kabuki12

I have very dark Mavic wheels on my Orange Medici and I love the way it looks. It is newer than your Stella and has less chrome but I like the orange/ black thing. I call it Halloween

orange Medici with black wheels, black/grey tires, and orange Colnago with polished wheels and tan side walls, I think they both look fine except for the oddball water bottle on the Medici

Flatforkcrown

Black/gum

rccardr 

Black rims with a MBS and blackwall tires. Used that on the Mooney and the Tempo, both of which are orange with off white panels like your Stella.
Liked the look a lot, but also used a black saddle and black bar tape.
So, there’s that.

dkatz1

I wouldn't care one way or the other, but my thoughts probably dont' help you. One way or the other.

ThermionicScott 

Aw, c'mon! You made the effort to come in here, type some words, and hit Enter. What do you like best? What would you do?

dkatz1

I had a bike that silver wheels, and when i went to replace, only black int he wheels I wanted was available. Didn't phase me. I might object to having them different colors, but that's as far as it goes.

SurferRosa

I was trying to think of an image when I was a kid that really haunted me. I really can't think of one that makes me shudder as much as this particular rim label does now. #evilincarnate

RustyJames 

Educate me. I read that getting tires on them is unpleasant but know nothing else. They came with Campy hubs and skewers that are worth more than what I paid for the whole set-up.

SurferRosa

Yeah, I uh ... struggled. A bead jack was a necessity.

GraemeB

Black with black for my money.

RustyJames 

You have laid down a challenge! I like sweating and swearing so I’ll report later.

canklecat

For C&V bikes, shiny and gummy.

For my newer bikes, I'm not picky. Black looks fine.

steelbikeguy

yeah, I've got a set of these Ambrosio rims too, and getting new tires with kevlar beads onto it is a struggle. Same for Continental tires, typically.
This is a good excuse to buy a little tire jack, to help when fixing a flat on the road.
The EZ Clincher is a recent development, and seems to do a good job...




Steve in Peoria

Trakhak

Skin-wall tires, please. To at least some of us who were riding European road racing bikes in the 1960s and 1970s, the only thing that looks worse than a set of gum-wall tires on a vintage racing bike is a set of black tires. Black tires = lowest of the low in that era: bikes from Western Auto, Montgomery Wards, etc.