Rims for Audax Bike with Dynamo Hub

[Hey_Presta]

Hi, I’m hoping to build a pair of wheels for my audax bike and I’m looking for recommendations for the rims. I’d prefer 36 holes with eyelets. I’ll be using 622 x 32/35c tires with disk brakes and may go tubeless. I’m not sure if it makes any difference but I’ll have a dynamo hub on the front, 10-speed cassette on the back.
I tend to use Spa Cycles so it would useful if they sell them.
This is my first post so please be gentle
Thanks

[alexnharvey]

Spa sell kinlin, h+son archetype, exal lx17 and other rims that would seem a good fit depending on your budget and how shiny you like them. If you are using ten speed then you should probably look for an asymmetric rear.

Have you thought of asking spa?

[PH]

My poshest bike has H PLUS SON Archetype rims and my more often used one Exal LX17.
In a blind test, on the same bike with the same tyres, I doubt I'd be able to tell which. Whether that's because of me, my bikes or the rims I'll leave others to judge.

[Hey_Presta]

Hi, thanks for speedy replies. I have been in touch with Spa. I’m waiting for them to call me back as they’re short staffed. I thought I’d draw on your collective wisdom too as I’ve never built wheels before...
Cheers

[PH]

I’ve never built wheels before...Cheers

Sorry I missed that you were building yourself - As a novice wheelbuilder I found the Archetypes very easy, despite not having any eyelets.

[Samuel D]

How much do you weigh and how wide are the flanges of the dynamo hub?

The Archetype is shiny but also very stiff for its weight, which allows high spoke tension (around 130 kgf). Ten-speed hubs aren’t as bad as 11-speed. Unlikely you’d strictly need an asymmetric rim with 36 spokes and a 10-speed hub. What is the rear hub for that matter?

[Des49]

How much do you weigh and how wide are the flanges of the dynamo hub?

The Archetype is shiny but also very stiff for its weight, which allows high spoke tension (around 130 kgf). Ten-speed hubs aren’t as bad as 11-speed. Unlikely you’d strictly need an asymmetric rim with 36 spokes and a 10-speed hub. What is the rear hub for that matter?

I agree the Archetype are very good, they are strong and I run one on a 36 hole 10 speed hub (though only with an 8 sp cassette), with 130kgf on the drive side it builds up well.

Only thing is they wear a little more than I would like for an expensive rim (got 2 years on the rear of a well looked after bike) and find the brake tracks are a touch narrow really. Also found the newly re-rimmed rear with quite a bit of water in it recently, which surprised me as the rde wasn't that wet. Just meant I took the tyre off and drained and let it all dry out.

The grey finish is lovely, but hard to find as mostly people seem to have black or silver in stock.

Recommended.

[Brucey]

the archetype grey finish varies from batch to batch. I couldn't find an exact match between a 32h and a 36h grey rim; fortunately it is only obvious when the rims are side by side, not on the bike.

FWIW with any deep section rim you can drill drain holes which let the water out as you ride. Some rims (eg shimano ones) often come with these holes as standard.

cheers

[Hey_Presta]

Hi, thanks for your replies, to answer your questions:

Regarding the flange on the dynamo, I was thinking of something like this:
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s133p35 ... trelock%29

I weigh about 70kg

I read that eyelets are recommended, will I miss them?

Someone mentioned brake tracks, I’ll be using disk brakes. Should I go for a disk-specific rim?

Thanks again

[Hey_Presta]

Sorry, I missed the rear hub question... I was thinking XT as it’s for a Croix de Fer frame. Alternative suggestion welcome though...

[Samuel D]

Good choice of dynamo. I recently came across probable evidence that the SON hubs warrant their price premium.

Shimano rear hubs have about as good bracing angles as you can get and XT hubs are wider than classic road hubs, so no worries at the back. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with an asymmetric rim. There are people who would tell you 36 spokes are already too many for your weight, not that they could tell you what you’d save by omitting a few of them. More spokes gain you strength and durability and tolerance for running with a broken spoke.

I think eyelets can enable slightly lighter box-shaped rims, but the Archetype has a favourable shape and stiff enough spoke bed to do without them. These rims aren’t famous for cracking at the spoke holes. I have built wheels for others with them (including a pair of disc-brake wheels for a ~130 kg rider last year with no problems yet), but I haven’t used them for my own wheels. Too expensive!

[Des49]

the archetype grey finish varies from batch to batch. I couldn't find an exact match between a 32h and a 36h grey rim; fortunately it is only obvious when the rims are side by side, not on the bike.

FWIW with any deep section rim you can drill drain holes which let the water out as you ride. Some rims (eg shimano ones) often come with these holes as standard.

cheers

Drilling a drain hole in the rim isn't something I considered. I haven't owned any rims that came with this feature. I still have my worn out Archetype, I could cut a section to see exactly where to drill and practice.

What size are these holes normally, one each side 180 degrees apart?

[Hey_Presta]

Thanks, I’m thinking the polished silver dynamo hub and the polished silver archetype rims will match up well but I seem to recall XT hubs being matt black. Can anyone recommend a nice shiny rear hub..?
Cheers

[Steve O'C]

My poshest bike has H PLUS SON Archetype rims and my more often used one Exal LX17.
In a blind test, on the same bike with the same tyres, I doubt I'd be able to tell which.

I also have this combination and agree with the above. If you are planning on using the Archetype rims then I would recommend making yourself a nipple driver like this:

https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117817

Steve

[Brucey]

Drilling a drain hole in the rim isn't something I considered.

What size are these holes normally, one each side 180 degrees apart?

they are about 1mm diameter, so small that you don't see them if you are not looking for them. Next time you see a set of shimano wheels take a look. The exact correct position varies with the design of the extrusion. IIIRC I've seen two or four per side.



these are about as large and obvious as they get, in a C50 wheelset a few years ago.

cheers