Aardwolf

Hiya Folks,
I got back into cycling a couple of years back when I spotted a 1982 Holdsworth Avanti on Ebay a couple of miles away - I bought one new in 1983.
But this one turned out to have tubular wheels, something I had no experience of.
Long story short, after 2.5 years now I only ride tubular and I love them.

My Avanti came with Mavic Monthlery Route which is a workhorse training/road rim, well suited to roads in London.
I built a 1961 Holdsworth Cyclone last year so I stepped up my game slightly: Mavic Monthlery Pro

Campy Nuovo Tipo large flange (1253) + Mavic Monthlery Pro:



But the question I keep asking myself is what other rims should I be considering ?
Obviously I prefer polished silver - not anodized, and double eyelet 36 hole.
I've also seen comments that rims below 400g are too light for potholes.
I also want to try black/tan tyres at some point (Vittoria Corsa Control ?) - perfect excuse to build more wheels.
Or maybe I just need to buy another vintage frame.

Here's the list I've come up with so far:

So can anybody suggest a suitable rim I haven't listed ?
Any other advice welcome too

non-fixie 

I haven't much experience with tubulars, so nothing to add, alas.

But I do have a fairly large collection of tubular wheels waiting to be tried, so thanks for that list! Very useful.

Aardwolf

Yep, exactly the reason I'm asking.
There are lots of comments around about particular rims but I can't find a list anywhere, so I'm making one.

PhilFo 

I've never ridden one, but in the past I built up a set of Constrictor Conloy tubulars on a pair of Racelite hubs for a customer.
On Sheldon Brown's site, you can find a link to Spocalc, which has a pretty comprehensive list of rims. With some cross checking and internet image searching, you could find which are white aluminum and 36 hole.

Aardwolf

Well spotted, I actually have a local copy of Spocalc.xls - it lists 182 tubular rims but not Mavic Monthlery Route.

Aardwolf

I went through Spocalc and checked against Velobase, added a few (most were anodized)

kroozer 

What kind of riding would these be for? Also, I would think the tires would make a big difference.

Aardwolf

I ride on London roads and the local parks, so far: Battersea Park and Richmond park.
So the main danger to rims is from potholes.

I'm currently using Vittoria Rubino Graphite 2.0 28mm tubulars (75 psi) and like them a lot.
Butyl tubes so they stay up for months, but the ride may be better on latex.

I'm considering trying Vittoria Corsa Control tubulars, 28mm again. But they're latex and available in tan wall.

jamesdak 

I hand polished the Arc en Ciel's on my Opus before mounted the tubulars a few years ago. They still look great and have been trouble free laced to some Superbe hubs. This was a 1981 wheelset supposedly.

Aardwolf

Damn that looks good, I've definitely got to try some tan wall tyres.
I've got roughly the same saddle bag and a Wrights Swallow to try in the summer.

Having spotted the Araya 16B (road) version I'm coming to the conclusion that 350g might be a reasonable weight to try - same as yours.

chain_whipped

Nisi Sludi 290 offered in various drillings. With eyelets and nicely polish up.

Aardwolf

Velobase says they don't have eyelets
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...b91ab&Enum=107
Velobse comment: "Light weight with hidden eyelets and reliving of area in contact with tire."

I thought eyelets were a good idea for road rims, I could be wrong though.

Classtime 

Vintage rims under 400g are only for good roads at high pressures. Eyelets? Ambrosio or Mavic Reflex (silver).

Aardwolf

As a matter of interest what tyes are those ?
I'm guessing Veloflex ProTour, which are £64 (28mm) on BikeInn.

Any idea how they compare to Vittoria Rubino / Corsa ?

Aardwolf

Mavic Reflex: https://www.velobase.com/ViewCompone...=107&AbsPos=64

Blue Andonized; Ceramic Coating;
Gray; Hard Anodized

masi61

If your frame has clearance you can add Velocity Major Tom tubular cyclocross rims to your list. These are for 24/25mm width tubular tires minimum. 27-33mm tubulars might be best. Also these should be very strong despite not having any spoke ferrules.




Also these are not clear anodized so the polished finish will develop water spots when ridden in the rain. The polish can be maintained using Mother’s Mag Wheel Polish, then maybe followed up with a car wax product like the Meguiar’s cleaner wax I use. This will “seal” the porous aluminum somewhat and help resist water and keep a shine a bit longer.

BTW: Velocity Major Tom rim extrusion is the tubular version of Velocity’s A23 clincher extrusion. These have a triangular semi-aero shape that may work for certain bikes. I have used double sided tape to attach my tires, the rear is a 30mm Schwalbe with a basketball tread. The front is a 25mm TUFO.

RCMoeur 

I think I raced on Medaille D' Ors in the early 80s.

Classtime 

silly.
Plenty of silver rims. Alas, not polished.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/38578726085...mis&media=COPY

Aardwolf

Good point.
I'm going to say Velobase is wrong, or maybe just misleading (grey = silver ?)

They look pretty good, but they are anodized:
From https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/mavic-re...ver-rim-p15569

• High performance tubular road rim that builds into a light and strong wheel
• SUP rim has a stronger arc-welded joint which is then milled to form an invisible join, eliminating juddering when braking
• Maxtal alloy is 30 % stronger than 6061 without any extra weight
• Anodised finish to reduce wear and corrosion
• UB Control gives the rims a higher coefficient braking surface and a smooth joint due to the digital milling process after anodisation
• Drilled for Presta valve tubes
• Weight: 375 g

Maybe I should do a table for silver anodized.

1989Pre 

Only single-eyeleted, but I recommend Nisi Corsa Stretto at 420g.

Aardwolf

Not sure I can see the difference with "single eyed"
https://www.pedalpedlar.co.uk/produc...0c-tubular-rim

Table updated with rims listed on www.pedalpedlar.co.uk:
(Also added Velobase ratings, may not mean much)

jamesdak 

They are Roubaix's. I'm a Veloflex Tubular snob and don't think I've ridden any Vittoria tubs.

chain_whipped

obuckler

Regarding the weight quoted in the chart for Monthlery Route (420 g): I’ve built up two wheelsets with this rim. Weighed each rim at 400g +/- maybe 2g.

Aardwolf

Rats, I've built some too but I didn't weight them.
Velobase: 420g (Spec)
PedalPdeler: 397, measured presumably.
I'll put a comment in the table.

1980 Mavic catalogue