New wheels or rims

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
Post Reply
User avatar
geomannie
Posts: 1093
Joined: 13 May 2009, 6:07pm

New wheels or rims

Post by geomannie »

It's that time again. Over the last 10 years I seemed to have settled on Shimano 105 hubs and 36 spoke OpenPro rims.it seems a good combination, strong, reliable, reasonably light and affordable. A good compromise.

The OpenPro rims however seem a bit thinner in the walls than I might like, ergo needing replacement more frequently than ideal.

Can anyone suggest an alternative rim, strong, light and reasonably priced? Use will be for light/medium touring and day rides.

Thanks
geomannie
Brucey
Posts: 44519
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by Brucey »

H Plus Son archetype. A little bit heavier, a little bit wider (so not so good with 23s, perfect with 28s), a LOT stronger and have thicker braking surfaces than the old model Open Pro (now known as open pro C). Not cheap though and they still wear out...

FWIW weights seem to vary a little bit; from those I've measured the polished silver ones seem to be lighter than the others.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Samuel D
Posts: 3088
Joined: 8 Mar 2015, 11:05pm
Location: Paris
Contact:

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by Samuel D »

An alternative approach if you build your own wheels is to use inexpensive rims and accept that a slightly shorter life is okay because replacement is cheap (and aluminium is recyclable).

Whether a Mavic Open Elite would be strong enough is debatable although with 36 spokes it might be. I used these rims to build a pair of 36-spoke wheels for a heavier guy (at his request), and he had no problems until the bicycle was stolen several months later. That made me think they might be okay in the long term for a lighter rider like me (or you?). Depends on the rear hub geometry too, though.

But you did ask for “strong” and the Open Elite is hardly that.
Brucey
Posts: 44519
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by Brucey »

if you want cheap and strong then Kinlin rims are worth a look;

eg

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b195s116p3641/KINLIN-XR-270-Symmetric
Image

for the front and

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b195s116p3640/KINLIN-XR-27R-Asymmetric
Image

for the rear. Both available in 36h. ERD is (allegedly) about 287mm. Claimed weight is ~450 to 465g, which (if true) makes them slightly lighter than the Archetypes (which I have measured between 468 and 490g). I think they are slightly thinner in the spoke drilling bed though; so was the first version of the Archetype and that tended to crack. Since the spoke tensions are better balanced with an asymmetric rim maybe this won't happen in the same way.

These rims differ from other Kinlin rims in that they are not meant to be tubeless compatible; they charge more for very similar rims that are meant to be tubeless compatible..... There is a write-up here

https://dcrwheels.co.uk/products/rims/700c-rims/kinlin-xr200/

which tells you a little more. IIRC 'Hunt' wheels use rebranded Kinlin rims, and so do others. A quibble is that the braking track is not very thick (hence the light weight) and rather narrow, (as it is with many rims) so you need to keep a careful eye on brake block adjustment.

FWIW A Mavic Open sport (now known as Open elite, ~previously known as MA3....) is a single eyelet rim that doesn't build into a particularly strong rear wheel if it is very dished. It also has a low tension limit, which if exceeded, usually causes cracking, esp in wheels that see the weather. If you do go for those rims, you will probably need threadlock on the NDS nipples.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
geomannie
Posts: 1093
Joined: 13 May 2009, 6:07pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by geomannie »

Thanks Folks

Some good options. Pony up and go for the H Plus Son archetype or use something cheaper such as the Kinlin rims and replace as required. Decision time. My current wheels will limp on a bit so its not an urgent decision, perhaps come the spring?

I can and do build wheels but I am very slow at it so if I add in my time, I think that H Plus Son archetype might be the way to go if it gives a longer life.

Cheers
geomannie
althebike
Posts: 242
Joined: 10 May 2018, 12:58pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by althebike »

I have used kinlin xr31 all summer , including a joggle with a loaded bike, my winter wheels are from a kinlin 22t .The xr31s have done about 3000 miles this summer, and have been bullet proof so far.
fastpedaller
Posts: 3435
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by fastpedaller »

Brucey wrote:if you want cheap and strong then Kinlin rims are worth a look;

Since the spoke tensions are better balanced with an asymmetric rim maybe this won't happen in the same way.


cheers


Which prompts me to ask ...... If using one of these asymmetric rims on a 7 speed cassette hub, is it possible to end up with zero dish?
hamster
Posts: 4131
Joined: 2 Feb 2007, 12:42pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by hamster »

Ambrosio Excellence work well for me.
Brucey
Posts: 44519
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by Brucey »

fastpedaller wrote:
Which prompts me to ask ...... If using one of these asymmetric rims on a 7 speed cassette hub, is it possible to end up with zero dish?


if you build to 135mm OLN, respace/modify to reduce the dish (normally the largest sprocket is further from the spokes in 7s, plus there is a generous gap on the RHS near the dropout) then you are left with a handful of mm of dish. The extra 2.5mm from an asymmetric rim will just about equalise the spoke tensions, I reckon.

cheers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
User avatar
iow
Posts: 416
Joined: 27 Jul 2010, 11:01am
Location: isle of wight

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by iow »

I've built up a couple of pairs of kinlin xr31s - rim thickness seems to compare with the archetypes. c. 1.6mm and they're just weighing in at sub 500g. they're tubeless compatible but gp4000s can be fitted by hand.
mark
User avatar
Gattonero
Posts: 3730
Joined: 31 Jan 2016, 1:35pm
Location: London

Re: New wheels or rims

Post by Gattonero »

If that was day in-day out use, 10 years of service is not bad IMO!

One word of advice: some rims like the H+Son Archetype have a narrow braking track, which doesn't work well with cantilevers and most v-brakes...
It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best,
since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.
Thus you remember them as they actually are...
Post Reply