What are the brands of hoops (rims) you are riding?

[teleguy57]

Archetypes are becoming popular here, too.
I've build a few and still have to adjust myself to the higher spoke tension required; and I'm not too sure about the drilling angle for the nipple, as I've had a couple of wheels with Lh spokes loosing tension. But, hey, some riders can mess up anything

Curious what you've been building where the Archetypes require higher tension?

Me:
Nemesis on Chorus (32h of course, 3x F and DS, 2x NDS)
TB-14s hard ano on Miche (I call these my Nemesis clinchers; 32 3x)
Neucleon tubs (factory wheels).

I have a set of silver Record 32h here and thinking about what to build up on them. If I did clinchers likely Archetypes, but open to other recommendations both tub and clincher...

[Gattonero]

Shouldn't be a surprise that were hubs with a Lh flange offset bigger than usual, like Hope and Campagnolo Centaur 2008 (the latter less critical).
I am thinking that there isn't a good angle between rim and nipples on the Lh.
On about a dozen of wheels, two problems is already too much and will require action.

[dgaddis]

Roadie/Commuter/Gravel: Joule3 front dynamo hub, Shimano 105 rear. SL23 rims, Revolution spokes on rear, Wheelsmith DB14's up front. 32x3-cross front and rear, black alloy nipples.

MTB:
Wheelset 1 - American Classic hubs, Crest rims, Comp. spokes with alloy nipples.
Wheelset 2 - Nox Composites XCR-29 rims, Hope hubs, Revolution spokes, alloy nipples.

[David Tollefson]

Geez, let's see if I can remeber them all...

Mavic Open 4CD
Wolber something or other
Velocity Aerohead
Velocity Deep-V
WTB Freq I19
WTB Lazerdisc Trail (2 sets)

I know I'm missing something in there.

[Jason Musgrave]

I'm down to almost nothing at this point. I have:
XTRs laced into ZTR Archs on the 29er
Dura Ace 9xxx into HED Belgiums on the road bike.

Both pairs have been rock solid as you might expect from anything built up by Andy Grabowski.

[Saab2000]

Since I last posted here I have not changed my Nucleons. Can't kill the effers and they ride as well as they did the first day I bought them.

And I have four Ambrosio Nemesis rims that are superb tire stretching devices hanging in my garage. I will be shocked if I ever ride them again. Dead and heavy and WAY overbuilt for most riding if you're not Tom Boonen racing over the stones at 37 MPH. And nobody here is doing that. So there.

I do have a whole ten (10) miles on a pair of the Pacenti rims that Ergott Industries laced up for me for the Hampsten single-speed bike I occasionally ride. They are absurd. It is the most impractical bike I've ever owned and have it set up at the moment with a 53x16 gear and hope to ride it 30 or 40 miles tomorrow afternoon. But yeah, they look really nice. 28 rear, 24 front. The wheel set probably took a pound off the bike and it doesn't make me one second faster but they're cool, with the White Industries hubs and all. And they do seem like really nice rims. These wheels do not require any offset but I do wish it were available for a standard road hub because I believe in the even tension they provide so much. But for this bike and the ss setup this is perfect.

For my next trick I may try a set of the 11-speed hubs laced to a set of those DT Swiss rims with the offset on the rear 28/24. I may try some clinchers for a minute on a truly proper set of wheels. But for now, these are my clinchers. They're sick for a bike that hardly gets ridden but is fun when it is and I know they'll last forever. And White Industries exhibits at NAHBS.

[boots2000]

I have a couple pairs with Pacenti SL23 rims- one of the sets is Ergott built.
I really like the wheels but I dislike how tight tires are on them.

[Saab2000]

I have a couple pairs with Pacenti SL23 rims- one of the sets is Ergott built.
I really like the wheels but I dislike how tight tires are on them.

The tires were tight to install, no question. But not as bad as the Stan's on my IF Gravel Royale, which were incredibly difficult to install first time around. For a couple reasons entirely unrelated to Ergott's high quality build, they may well be replaced with a new wheelset in the not-so-distant future.

The world survived for a long time with rims that didn't need Superman grip to mount tires and suddenly it's gotten very tough and it's a trend I don't like.

[teleguy57]

The world survived for a long time with rims that didn't need Superman grip to mount tires and suddenly it's gotten very tough and it's a trend I don't like.

There are still tubulars, Saab. Maybe the Nemesis are the right rims for your IF and gravel....

Come back from the dark side!

PS. The Ergott Pacentis on the WIs do look sweet. The WIs are right up there with silver Record hubs in my book.

[boots2000]

Agreed- in the future I may go back to Hed rims. Tire install was fine on those.

The tires were tight to install, no question. But not as bad as the Stan's on my IF Gravel Royale, which were incredibly difficult to install first time around. For a couple reasons entirely unrelated to Ergott's high quality build, they may well be replaced with a new wheelset in the not-so-distant future.

The world survived for a long time with rims that didn't need Superman grip to mount tires and suddenly it's gotten very tough and it's a trend I don't like.

[ineff]

I have on road bikes:

Aeroheads - not good luck, dented easy, bad hop, didn't build well.
A23 - not my favorite but pretty good. Soft brake track and hops at the seam.
Hed 25mm - Excellent so far but need more miles.
H plus son archetype - very good, little bit of pulse in the brake track after 2000+ miles
Open pro - wish they were wider, such a good rim in all regards.
Reflex - like em, rode 60+ cross races on four pairs of these, no issues.
Enve 3.4 tubulars - the best.

[blasdelf]

The tires were tight to install, no question. But not as bad as the Stan's on my IF Gravel Royale, which were incredibly difficult to install first time around.

The world survived for a long time with rims that didn't need Superman grip to mount tires and suddenly it's gotten very tough and it's a trend I don't like.

If you use the proper mounting technique it's trivial, but TLR rims will not abide just blustering through it with no methodology.

Make another pass to push the bead into the center channel around the entire circumference before mounting the last part of it, and do the valve last.

You're just maximizing the length of free bead, which was extremely helpful before with stubborn tires, but is mandatory now that rims are made exactly to spec.


P.S. If you're one of those dinguses that refuses to use the tire lever right in front of you for installation...

[Saab2000]

If you use the proper mounting technique it's trivial, but TLR rims will not abide just blustering through it with no methodology.

Make another pass to push the bead into the center channel around the entire circumference before mounting the last part of it, and do the valve last.

You're just maximizing the length of free bead, which was extremely helpful before with stubborn tires, but is mandatory now that rims are made exactly to spec.


P.S. If you're one of those dinguses that refuses to use the tire lever right in front of you for installation...

Yeah, I did finally get the memo on this installation method and yes, it helps a lot. Still, it's not great. But I'll try tubeless at some point just to give them a shot and then I'll have a better idea on them. Still, I've used levers with mixed results and punctured tubes with them. And the first tire I installed on those Stan's rims broke a lever right off, and they're pretty strong plastic. Never done that ever before in 30+ years of riding.

There are still tubulars, Saab. Maybe the Nemesis are the right rims for your IF and gravel....

Come back from the dark side!

PS. The Ergott Pacentis on the WIs do look sweet. The WIs are right up there with silver Record hubs in my book.

The Nemesis won't likely see service again, at least on my bikes. I'm not enamored of the ride and think my old Synthesis on the Grandis have a much nicer ride quality. And they feel a bit dead to me. But they're very good at keep tubulars stretched!

There's plenty of dark side left in my world too.... Here's a pic of the Zanconato last week with 12-14 year old Nucleons I can't kill with a Challenge Strada that refuses to die and still holds air, so I keep riding it.



Just finished a 4-day trip. The hardest part of my day left is making a bike selection but I believe it's going to be the Hampsten single-speed this evening for a 90 minute leg loosening spin.

[j44ke]

Mavic Open Pro
Mavic Open Pro CD
Mavic Reflex
Velocity A23

I like the A23's, primarily because they've changed my impression of Vittoria Open Paves from meh to favorite. Purely subjective I am sure. But it has me trying tubular wheels again, thus the Reflexes.

My wife has a pair of Velocity Pro A23 wheels with the OC rear rim. I guess the design is better, but I gave up on rim strips and just lined the rim with strapping tape & cut it to width to keep the tube out of the OC spoke holes. Very light and she's not so careful about obstacle avoidance, but they stay straight and round even with abuse.

[zetroc]

In no particular order...

H+Son TB14
WTB something or other
Ambrosio Nemesis
HED Belgium C2
Mavic Open Pro
Mavic Reflex

Favorites are the Open Pro and the Reflex.

[Lionel]

bora ultra two
hyperon ultra two
shamal ultra tubular
shamal ultra clincher
Nemesis/record/cxray
neutron ultra clincher

campy wheels rock

[nrs5000]

HED Belgiums
Open Pro CDs
Nemesis
Nucleons tubulars inbound

[duende]

2 pairs of 32 Mavic GP4's (1 Sew-up/1 clincher)
1 pair Open Pro's
1 pair H Plus Sons

Loyal Mavic user for decades, but wanted a wide profile rim for a new build. So far, I'm very impressed with the H Plus Sons. Tough rims!

[doomridesout]

DT RR465xCK Classic
DT RR440xDA9000 w/Sapim CX-Ray and alloy nips
H+Son TB14 hard ano with straight gauge spokes on the fixed gear (so far, bombproof)
H+Son TB14 high polish on Ultegra 6800 w/ Revolutions-- Regretting that spoke choice for the cross bike (why weight weenie a 500 gram box section rim? The rear wheel needs frequent truing. I might rebuild at some point but I'm just living with it for now).
DA C24-TU-- These are the JAMS.

And I am soon to build a WTB KOM to CK for an incoming 29er.

[dgaddis]

And I am soon to build a WTB KOM to CK for an incoming 29er.

The KOMs are VERY nice. I'm eventually going to rebuild my Crest/American Classic wheels with some KOMs. Or get a set of Hope hubs and lace them to the KOM rims.

One thing to be aware of, the graphics aren't decals, it's like they're painted on or something.

I like the little gold details.


Very nice straight spoke path.