Replacement rims

thecraig
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 12:34 pm

Replacement rims

Postby thecraig » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:09 pm

Not sure if this should go here or in the retro section - apologies if in the wrong spot.

I bought a set of wheels sight unseen and had them inspected at the LBS and have been told that there are flatspots on the rims and they need replacing. The shop doesn't do it.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where I can source some good, lightweight and reasonably priced (don't want much!) rims to replace Alesa 913's (onto Shimano tricolour 6oo hubs)?

Thanks in advance

User avatar
open roader
Posts: 3642
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:05 pm
Location: Dueling Banjo Country, Otway fringes, Victoria

Re: Replacement rims

Postby open roader » Wed Jul 11, 2018 6:11 pm

Good + lightweight + reasonably priced might be mutually exclusive..............

Personally I've built up 2 vintage roadies and three wheelsets for them, two with trad box rims and one with modern machined brake track box rims. As much as I like that rounded corner box profile with brassed eyelets look that the Alessas have - the more reliable braking from the machined rims tops gorgeous antique profile and brassed eyelets.

Because you are looking for clinchers you can have most of the above with the H+Sons TB14 which feature my 'holy trinity' of :- polished silver finish with eyelets and machined brake tracks. (I ride tubulars and could not find a polished tubular rim with the holy trinity in existence) Better still they are nice and wide at 23mm and come in multiple drillings.

If I wanted to build a classic looking set of polished clincher wheels I'd be trying these rims.

Another option is to go for pot luck and ring Greg at TWE (Sydney) and see what he has in his shed.

http://www.twebikewheels.com.au
3rd class cycling is always better than 1st class walking

User avatar
Derny Driver
Posts: 3039
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 12:18 pm
Location: Wollongong

Re: Replacement rims

Postby Derny Driver » Thu Jul 12, 2018 8:02 am

NOS and good secondhand retro rims are quite plentiful. Grab some nice Weinmann / Fiamme / Mavic / Ambrosio rims and rebuild them using your 600 hubs.
Head to the nearest retro swap meet or try the facebook retro marketplace.

User avatar
tallywhacker
Posts: 1775
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 3:21 pm
Location: Perth

Re: Replacement rims

Postby tallywhacker » Thu Jul 12, 2018 9:21 am

just a word of warning with the H+Son TB14. They look good and compliment any retro build but they are really soft and do not wear well. Be prepare to replace them after a couple of years

thecraig
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 12:34 pm

Re: Replacement rims

Postby thecraig » Thu Jul 12, 2018 10:08 am

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will check out all options.

in regards to the specs on some NOS or secondhand - what are the specs I am looking for in terms of sizing and spoke count etc. Wheels are a new beast to me.

Craig

User avatar
Derny Driver
Posts: 3039
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 12:18 pm
Location: Wollongong

Re: Replacement rims

Postby Derny Driver » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:30 pm

thecraig wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. I will check out all options.

in regards to the specs on some NOS or secondhand - what are the specs I am looking for in terms of sizing and spoke count etc. Wheels are a new beast to me.

Craig
I think your rims may be 27 inch? Look on the rim sticker. And count the spokes if you intend to rebuild using the same 600 hubs. Probably 36 holes.
So you buy another pair of rims and take the rims and your old hubs to the shop and ask them to re-lace them with new spokes. If you get 27 inch rims you will find it hard to get tyres in that old size. And you wont get many options in 27 inch rims, they are a bit scarce these days.
If you get 700c rims, tyres and rims are plentiful but 700c is slightly smaller diameter than 27 inch so you will need brakes with a longer reach. That may be a slight problem if you are using 600 tricolour brake calipers. You may need to file the brake block slots to make them a bit longer. Old style calipers like Weinmanns came in long reach and are easily sourced.

User avatar
Duck!
Expert
Posts: 9849
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Location: On The Tools

Re: Replacement rims

Postby Duck! » Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:06 pm

If it's got 600 brakes on it, the wheels will be 700c & not 27" - the calipers won't fit around 1 1/4" tyres.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Replacement rims

Postby singlespeedscott » Thu Jul 12, 2018 2:19 pm

For a reliable, retro style, box section rim at a reasonable price I suggest polished SUN M13 II. You can pick them up on eBay fairly cheap. The design has been around for nearly 30 years so they are proven.

They don't have the fancy tech of newer rims and are old school narrow, but I have found them very reliable. Reliable enough to have many of the dirt road Strava descent KOM's from North Brisbane to the the Sunshine coast on them. Being narrow they do need a true up every now and then, but given how badly I treat mine its not a surprise.

They fit up to a 32mm tyres.

Mine are 36 spoke, setup on 7 speed Shimano 600 tri colour hubs, my favorite retro hub ever.
Image

User avatar
familyguy
Posts: 8354
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:30 pm
Location: Willoughby, NSW

Re: Replacement rims

Postby familyguy » Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:31 pm

Or go a touch wider? Sun CR18 are an option. I'm halfway* through building a set with Ultegra 6700 hubs, they seem pretty good. You can get silver, black, or polished. At 22mm wide, I would be comfortable putting anything from 23 to 35 on them.

Jim

* may have been 'in progress' for a couple of years.

User avatar
10speedsemiracer
Posts: 4904
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office

Re: Replacement rims

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Thu Jul 12, 2018 7:11 pm

thecraig wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. I will check out all options.

in regards to the specs on some NOS or secondhand - what are the specs I am looking for in terms of sizing and spoke count etc. Wheels are a new beast to me.

Craig
Hi Craig, as others have said, need to determine if these are 27" (630mm) or 700c (622mm). Check the side of the tyre on the wheel at the moment (or whichever tyre was on the wheel) the sidewall will give you some measurements like 32-630 or 28-622 etc. Spoke count matches what is on your hub/s at the moment. Old school 27s are still available from Velocity (very tasty) but if 700c then you have more options. Where are you located?
Campagnolo for show, SunTour for go

thecraig
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 12:34 pm

Re: Replacement rims

Postby thecraig » Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:20 pm

Thanks to everyone for the responses - you can't buy experience.

To confirm, the wheels are 700c - whihc is good I guess.

10speedsemiracer - I am in Adelaide.

Craig
10speedsemiracer wrote:
thecraig wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. I will check out all options.

in regards to the specs on some NOS or secondhand - what are the specs I am looking for in terms of sizing and spoke count etc. Wheels are a new beast to me.

Craig
Hi Craig, as others have said, need to determine if these are 27" (630mm) or 700c (622mm). Check the side of the tyre on the wheel at the moment (or whichever tyre was on the wheel) the sidewall will give you some measurements like 32-630 or 28-622 etc. Spoke count matches what is on your hub/s at the moment. Old school 27s are still available from Velocity (very tasty) but if 700c then you have more options. Where are you located?

User avatar
10speedsemiracer
Posts: 4904
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office

Re: Replacement rims

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:50 pm

Ok, you can source Velocity rims locally. There are a few places in Adelaide that can get them, like Standish Cycles, Hyde Park or Whippets Workshop, Stepney. There are others in Adelaide itself and other suburbs, I just grabbed those two names as were vaguely familiar (probably from this forum).

The Dyad rim would probably not look too out of place and come in various spoke configurations (I'm guessing 32h) and if good spokes are used and the build is decent, a Shimano 600 hubbed Velocity rimmed wheel should be quite tough.

Image
Campagnolo for show, SunTour for go

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Replacement rims

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:00 pm

I have always found Velocity rims to be soft and easily dented. They also don't have the deepest of spoke wells that can make fitting a tyre difficult.
Image

thecraig
Posts: 29
Joined: Mon May 30, 2016 12:34 pm

Re: Replacement rims

Postby thecraig » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:28 pm

I actually went into Whippet's Workshop (Now Bikebug) and they have Mavic Open Pros for around $70

https://www.bikebug.com/mavic-open-pro- ... 87488.html

Not dismissing the others mentioned - just comparing against the Mavics.

Thanks

Craig

User avatar
10speedsemiracer
Posts: 4904
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:38 pm
Location: Back on the Tools .. when I'm not in the office

Re: Replacement rims

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Mon Jul 16, 2018 10:20 pm

Mavic Open Pro get a lot of love, and may be a better option at that price, plus are available in spoke configs from 28h-36h so should be able to match up to your hubs. Back in the 90s I had some of those hubs laced up to Mavic CXP30 rims which I think were 32h, and were pretty much bomb-proof.

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I believe the Mavic Open Pro would be the pick. Hope it works out well, good luck. Post some pics when you get them sorted.
Campagnolo for show, SunTour for go

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Replacement rims

Postby singlespeedscott » Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:57 am

I've got a few sets of wheels built using Open Pros and they have been reliable. They don't quite have the polished, vintage, box section look but they aren't to bad.
Image

RhapsodyX
Posts: 449
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:59 pm

Re: Replacement rims

Postby RhapsodyX » Tue Jul 17, 2018 10:31 am

singlespeedscott wrote:I have always found Velocity rims to be soft and easily dented. They also don't have the deepest of spoke wells that can make fitting a tyre difficult.
+1, and the new US-sourced ones seem to be even softer (who would have though _that_ was possible). Years ago I dropped a wheel while changing a tube - bent the brake track in. I also had the brake tracks move outwards on a new-ish Deep-V wheel after inflating a Panaracer tyre to 130psi (max 140psi - I just wanted to see how it felt, and it cost me a wheel!). And, in the wet, they wear REALLY quickly.

I switched to H-plus-Son, Archetype. I raced the AG Fondo (before my spine went) at 91.5kg on a 20/24 combo... still true at the end. If you go Archetype, don't bother with the hard anodised version, it comes off with the first wet ride. Bloody nice rims though, not a PITA getting a true wheel - also unlike the velocity's with their wobbly pinned joint and the need for longer nipples at that point. :evil:

And in the context of box-section eyleted rims.. Open-pro would be my choice. Not pretty, though.

User avatar
Duck!
Expert
Posts: 9849
Joined: Tue May 21, 2013 8:21 pm
Location: On The Tools

Re: Replacement rims

Postby Duck! » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:55 pm

Another vote against Velocity here. I had a bad run with them on my HPV racer. Forever breaking spokes from bending so much, and eight of the bloody things literally blew apart - split & collapsed inner wall and sidewalls blown off. Typically 80-90psi depending on race track surface, and drum brakes, so no rim wear.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

User avatar
MelodyWheels
Posts: 136
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:30 pm
Location: Fremantle, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Replacement rims

Postby MelodyWheels » Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:08 am

The TB14's have been our go to for retro styled wheel builds and vintage rebuilds.

Unfortunately I've seen a large number of people buying second-hand and NOS vintage rims who have come unstuck with rims that are massively out of round. Its not necessarily the sellers fault, but the have no real way to QC-ing their rims and many of the older rims were never that good(round) to begin with. I always recommend getting a new rim if the bike is to be ridden and not hung on a wall.

Regarding 27", you can still get Velocity Aero's in 32/40 drillings. The are not eyeleted but have a relatively shallow profile (and are Australian made), and will look good on a post-war 50s era bike.

User avatar
singlespeedscott
Posts: 5510
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2008 4:35 pm
Location: Elimbah, Queensland

Re: Replacement rims

Postby singlespeedscott » Thu Jul 19, 2018 7:24 am

MelodyWheels wrote:The TB14's have been our go to for retro styled wheel builds and vintage rebuilds.

Unfortunately I've seen a large number of people buying second-hand and NOS vintage rims who have come unstuck with rims that are massively out of round. Its not necessarily the sellers fault, but the have no real way to QC-ing their rims and many of the older rims were never that good(round) to begin with. I always recommend getting a new rim if the bike is to be ridden and not hung on a wall.

Regarding 27", you can still get Velocity Aero's in 32/40 drillings. The are not eyeleted but have a relatively shallow profile (and are Australian made), and will look good on a post-war 50s era bike.
Velocity has not built rims in Oz for about 6 years. The owner moved back to the US in 2012 and opened a new factory there.
Image

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Newcastle Dave