Which rim? 28-38mm high, durable not to heavy

[PaulMD]

I want to build a new wheelset for allround purpose. I already have a zipp 404 clincher wheelset but I want a stronger, cheaper and lighter wheelset for every day rides which I also can use in the alps and Belgium's ardennes (bad roads). For the hill climbs it must be lighter than my 404 and it must be a little higher than 23mm because I want to just it in cyclocross next winter.

I narrowed my search to an aluminum rim with a height of 28-38mm with a weight < 550 gram. Spoke count approx. 24 holes front and 28 holes rear. In the rear wheel I will build a powertap sl 2.4 hub.

What do you recommend? I am a 160lbs rider.


Niobium 30mm rims? (not easy to buy in Europe/The Netherlands)
DT Swiss RR 1.2? (heavy with 585 gram)

Easton has for 2008 a new wheelset called the "EA90 Aero" which has 32mm rims. Do you know who makes those rims? Are the available as rim only?

[daveornee]

I want to build a new wheelset for allround purpose. I already have a zipp 404 clincher wheelset but I want a stronger, cheaper and lighter wheelset for every day rides which I also can use in the alps and Belgium's ardennes (bad roads). For the hill climbs it must be lighter than my 404 and it must be a little higher than 23mm because I want to just it in cyclocross next winter.

I narrowed my search to an aluminum rim with a height of 28-38mm with a weight < 550 gram. Spoke count approx. 24 holes front and 28 holes rear. In the rear wheel I will build a powertap sl 2.4 hub.

What do you recommend? I am a 160lbs rider.


Niobium 30mm rims? (not easy to buy in Europe/The Netherlands)
DT Swiss RR 1.2? (heavy with 585 gram)

Easton has for 2008 a new wheelset called the "EA90 Aero" which has 32mm rims. Do you know who makes those rims? Are the available as rim only?
How does Velocity from Austalia do in The Netherlands?
Velocity rims: Fusion meets your criteria if you can get them, or Deep V just makes it at 550 grams.
Alex Rims Crostini R1.1 front and R1.2 rear is a great combination.

[USCswimming]

Niobium 30mm rims? (not easy to buy in Europe/The Netherlands)
I just had a set of 30mm kinlin niobiums built up around a powertap. The rims came in at:

Rim weights:
Front rim: 451g
Rear rim: 468g
Front hub: 73g
Rear hub: 425g
Front spokes: 126g
Rear spokes: 141g
Front nips: 8g
Rear nips: 9g

Final weight:
Front: 663g
Rear: 1050g
Total: 1713g

28h radial front - w/ Sapim CX-rays
32h rear, 3x NDS, 1x DS (with all DS heads-in)

If you went with decently light weight front hub (ie white industries H1) and did say a 20-24h front with a 24-28h rear, you could get this set down to about 1650-1700grams. Thats semi-aero and light.

My next set is going be a 27mm kinlin niobium, white industries hubs, sapmin cx-rays and I am hoping to get down to 1400grams.

I would highly recommend the niobiums. I have only had my powertap set for 100 miles but I am more than impressed with them.

[USCswimming]

Oh and here is a link to a thread that detailed the build I mentioned above. Its from bikeforums.net.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=381303

Also, this setup is going to be totally bombproof. Here is a link to the US importer of the kinlins. The rims are cheap but I have no idea how much it would cost to ship to Europe.

http://www.alchemybicycleworks.com/ABW%20Price%20List%2010-02-07.pdf