weed eater

The SPD-sandalled Santa gave me a set of Phil hubs for Saturnalia, and now I am preparing for a nice winter wheelbuilding project. I am debating among a few different rim options and want your opinions and hard-won wisdom.

The hubs are 32h, high flange SLR rear, low flange front. They are fixed gear, or the rear one is, anyway.

I am looking for a traditional-looking rim, or at least not a deep aero, and no funny colors. Silver. Braking surface required.

My goal is to build a set of strong, lightweight wheels suitable for urban conditions, sometimes with <20 pounds of cargo or so, and the occasional fire trail.

Thus the rims will need to accomodate a 32 to 35mm tyre.

The rims I am considering so far are Velocity Dyad, Salsa Delgado, and Sun CR-18.

Since I am unaccustomed to working with such high-end parts, I have to admit feels silly to lace a pair of phancy Phils to reasonably-priced rims such as the CR-18s or Delgados. The Dyads fit the bill but look a little high-tech for my tastes (at least on screen). I like the Suns but if I'm going with that price point, the Delgados are about 50g lighter the pair...

So what do you think? Is it dumb to lace up Phil hubs to lower-shelf rims? Am I forgetting any good rim options? Any experience with the listed rims?

Your input is most appreciated.

Regards

Patrick.

mattface 

why not use open pros or MA3?

weed eater

too skinny/light-duty (or so I surmise, perhaps in error).

Actually I like MA3s, but it's the same thing as the CR 18s.

dolface

+1

weed eater

so it's ok to run 32mm tyres on a 19/20mm rim?

(edit: not tryin' to raise hackles, but I understood that I needed a rim of at least 22 or 24 mm width.)

dolface

i think so, i'm running ritchey speedmax's (32) on mavic open4 cd's, and haven't had any problems.

i don't have a lot of experience with tires that big though, maybe check in w/ the cx forum?

weed eater

good plan...i'll cross post. Thanks.

12XU

The width of the tire has no bearing on the allowable rim width. You can definitely put some wide cross tires on a standard 700x20 rim.

goldener

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire_sizing.html

scroll down to "width considerations"

neverwrite

I have a 36 hole phil/CR-18 road bike wheelset and I think that the polished CR18s look nice with the polished hubs. CR18s are cheap and sturdy but sometimes they come with imperfect joints or hops. Nothing that causes any problems on a track bike, but not quite perfect. The MA3s are nicer, sturdy, and narrower than the suns. For price, wide tires, and off road riding go with the CR18s.

An old copy of QBP lists the CR18s at 484 grams, the 700c Delgados at 515g, and I think the MA3s are a little lighter than the CR18. None of these rims are super heavy. For comparison, open pros list 425g and Deep Vs list 520g.
-james

goldener

Oh yea, MA3s are no longer made. Local shops may have a few NOS, though.

12XU

I suppose I should have added: "within logical parameters." Who in their right mind would mount a tire narrower than the rim?? Also, it's kinda obvious that cross tires aren't suitable for the narrowest possible rim you can buy (13?!?!).

trespasser

I'd go with Open Pro. light yet strong rims. and they will handle 32~35 just fine. I heard some people use them on 29"ers.

ryan_c

As an aside, you should have at least a 15mm interior rim width to be safe with a 32 (in theory), but i think you could pull it off with something a little narrower. I don't know the interior rim width for the rims in mention.

genericbikedude

I've build on CR18's 3 times, then I build on something else and it was a revelation how much the CR18s suck for building. They have always had a hop, and the seam has a ridge that makes the vertical true really annoying. Make sure that the rim you get has a smooth joint.

rosiewoodboat

MA3's are now known as "Open Sports".

I suggest Mavic CXP33s. They are a little aero, maybe too much for your taste, but stronger than Open Pros (and not gobs heavier). CXP33s are my new favorite rim.

Aeroplane

Seems like there is just no love for the Delgados here... I have two wheelsets built with them, and I love 'em. They are strong, light, and inexpensive. They are built for CX, so they can handle whatever I dish out.

weed eater

hmmm ,well according to this chart the Open Pro (19.5mm) and the MA3 (20.2 mm) are fine with 32 and 35mm tyres...so maybe Mavic it is. I do like the idea of phils and open pros.