Narhay

I'm looking to build up a silver rim wheelset with record high flange hubs and came across Mavic Open Elite rims.

https://shop.mavic.com/en-ca/open-el...3283&1035=3501

At $40 CAD they are inexpensive, the right drilling (36) and silver. At 490g not the lightest rims on the planet. I would prefer to use Mavic Open Pro C or H Plus Son TB14s but they are either 3x the price or unavailable in the colour or drilling. Any experience?

Dylansbob 

Pretty sure they're the same as the old Open Sport from a couple years ago. Bens was selling them in 32h for $25 delivered a few months ago, I bought 2 sets. Haven't gotten around to lacing any of them yet.

BradH

I bought some of the 32h open elites from Ben's a few years ago. They are really nice. I hope they come back in stock. I would not hesitate to use them again. The ERD measured out to 608 if I remember right.

Drillium Dude 

Have you a link for those of us not familiar with Ben's? Looking to pick up a pair of the same rims as the OP, in black.

Thanks!

DD

Dylansbob 

BensCycle.com

Looks like I may have spoken prematurely. I'd bought mine in August, but it looks like they're all gone now.

rccardr 

I’ve used them A BUNCH- great rims, very solid, to me seem just like an Open Pro but only eyeletted on the outside.
Have a set mounted up to the 78 Davidson’s first gen DA hubs since the original Weinmann concaves were so uncooperative with nice modern tires.
If I recall, hard to find in 36 drilling and sometimes hard to find at all in black. But nice rims!

SurferRosa

I got a ton of responses when I asked the same question last Summer.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...e-his-c-v.html

dddd

Good rims, not Maxtal alloy like the Open Pro or Ksyrium, so are heavier-walled, but quality control and all-around sturdiness are both very good.

Narhay

I am going through, box by box, all the unfinished projects in my bike room. These wheels had been laced but not tensioned, dished or trued. I finished them up yesterday.

The rim brake track is soft - my feeler gauges easily shaved bits of aluminum off as I was truing. The seam joint was off by about 1-1.5mm for roundness in the end but trued up laterally fine. Good enough but not perfect. Spoke tension was harder to equalize than previous rim builds for some reason. I did my best but there are still variances that I can't quite account for. Could be a combination of skill and material.

The finish will do nicely but polished might have been better.

dddd

The rim joint is I believe sleeved instead of welded as on their better rims, which can allow the two ends to drift apart slightly and creating a step along the braking surface.
But I have been able to tap such rims into alignment (after building) using a hard-plastic hammer next to the rim joint, with the other end resting on a block of wood if that makes sense.

Wasn't the MA3 another such rim around this same lower price point?

El Chaba

I used a pair of Open Elites in rebuilding a wheel set on older Campagnolo Veloce hubs this past winter. They built and tensioned very easily and evenly. As was noted in another post they do true laterally a little better than concentically, but it is all a manageable. I have not used them enough to report on long term durability.

smd4

Wonder why they weren't able to get the rim decal placed opposite the valve hole?

TugaDude

For Axel Rose's solo album perhaps? Or Hub, as in renowned bassist Leonard "Hub" Hubbard?

Schweinhund

Axel Rose?? I mean had you said Machine Head or even Pigeon Hole I'd have been there, but Axel?

TugaDude

Good point! Maybe I SPOKE too soon!

Schweinhund

i got it the first time, but still....