Cycling UK Forum

Anyone used these and have experience of their longevity?

https://www.velocityusa.com/product/rims/atlas-584

I hade some made up in 650b size on a custom frame build up and have probably done no more than 600 miles. The shop that built the frame/wheels/bike build are doing a service prior to me starting to use the bike for a 20 mile a day commute and say the rims are junk as the braking surface is dangerously curved.

Any thoughts?

why didnt you just get some Sputniks, far cheaper and have a good reputation?

Because I wanted 650B size? because I wanted different aesthetics?

Back to the question. Anyone used these and have experience of their longevity?

You could do a search on the 650B forum for people's experiences: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/650b.

Is that teardrop shape in the extrusion profile a wear indicator?

I've not used these rims but I'd suggest that at this low a mileage the curvature of the brake surfaces (photo?) is most likely due to the rim distorting rather than wear.

This rim might well distort through the tyres being at high pressure than the rim can sustain; the rim's design effectively contains two pivot points (because of the wear-indicator shape) and it seems quite likely that the braking surface will just kink outwards at some pressure. The critical pressure will be lower with fatter tyres.

Is it possible that high pressures have caused this deformation? Is there a stated pressure limit vs tyre width for this rim?

FWIW this rim is billed as super-strong but it simply isn't heavy enough to be that way; it weighs 620g in the 622 size.

cheers

The tyres are run at 50 PSI so I would not have thought that would be the problem.

I can't do a photo as the bike is in the bike shop.

botty wrote:The tyres are run at 50 PSI so I would not have thought that would be the problem...

a) does the bike shop know that; they may have 'helpfully' pumped your tyres up.... and/or
b) is the gauge that is normally used in good calibration?

cheers

Get the bike back and measure the thickness of the rims.

Sadly when I went back to pick up the bike with rebuilt wheels they had disposed of the rims..........

Poor service from the bike shop. There is no way those rims should have failed if that little mileage had been done on them. The manufacturer should have been contacted about it.