Torelli Master Rim Problem

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 14:02:18 -0500, "Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I bought a pair of Torelli Master rims from Rivendell about a year ago, and
just got around to building up a rear wheel with one of them. It laced up
beautifully with nice even tension all around. But when I tried to mount a
tire, it was a REAL struggle.

Welcome to Torelli Masters. I built up a set of 36 spoke wheels for
my tandem and I use 700x32 tires. I usually don't use any tools to
remove tires. With the Torelli rim, I broke a tire lever.

Arthur Harris said:

I bought a pair of Torelli Master rims from Rivendell about a year ago, and
just got around to building up a rear wheel with one of them. It laced up
beautifully with nice even tension all around. But when I tried to mount a
tire, it was a REAL struggle.

I placed my old Sun M13II rim up against the Torelli, and the outer diameter
of the Torelli was 4-5mm larger than the Sun rim. Can there really be that
much variation among 700c rims? The Torelli's have a label inside (where the
rim strip would go) that reads: 18-095. Does that mean anything to anyone?

I was finally able to get a well used Avocet Road tire mounted, but I'd hate
to have to struggle like this if I flatted on the road.

Thinking the problem might be my Velox cloth rim strip, I tried mounting a
well worn teflon bead Michelin tire with NO tube and NO rim strip. Still a
major chore.

Was this rim from a bad batch or are they all like this?

Art Harris

Dear Art,

Months ago, people argued about Torelli Master rims:

http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl=en&lr=&selm=8bbde8fc.0402061257.2bcc1591%40posting.google.com

Joe Kubera mentioned that the rims may have been redesigned
after complaints like yours--you bought your Torelli about a
year ago, so maybe you got one of the older, higher rims?

So yes, the Torelli Masters had a reputation for being foes
worthy of your tire levers.

D'Artagnan

Arthur Harris said:

I bought a pair of Torelli Master rims from Rivendell about a year ago, and
just got around to building up a rear wheel with one of them. It laced up
beautifully with nice even tension all around. But when I tried to mount a
tire, it was a REAL struggle.

I placed my old Sun M13II rim up against the Torelli, and the outer diameter
of the Torelli was 4-5mm larger than the Sun rim. Can there really be that
much variation among 700c rims? The Torelli's have a label inside (where the
rim strip would go) that reads: 18-095. Does that mean anything to anyone?

I was finally able to get a well used Avocet Road tire mounted, but I'd hate
to have to struggle like this if I flatted on the road.

Thinking the problem might be my Velox cloth rim strip, I tried mounting a
well worn teflon bead Michelin tire with NO tube and NO rim strip. Still a
major chore.

Was this rim from a bad batch or are they all like this?

Art Harris

Torellis aren't the only ones. Add Ambrosio to the list.Some is this cr@p is virtually impossible to get a tire on,and some tires are worse than others. Then try getting them back off...LOL the cr@p is just a joke.I Think Rivendell is a proponent of the Crank Bros tire lever.Maybe with good reason.Maybe it works.I duno. Guess I'll give it a try if I plan on using some of the cr@p rims I have on anything but a trainer.

As Carl pointed out, this is an old issue with Torelli Masters, which
BTW are made by Ambrosio for Torelli. There was a quality control
problem with some rims being slightly too large. FWIW, the Master is
being discontinued as Ambrosio doesn't want to make such small runs.

A good, non-anodized, socketed rim is the cycling equivalent of the
dodo bird. Mediocre to downright bad design has won. People
apparently want colored rioms that weigh more and break more often.
Gotta love market forces.

I believe Rivendell quit carrying the rims for this reason.
B

(remove clothes to reply)

Isn't Gita the distributor? Might be worth a call to them.

gitabike.com

PB

I've had mine for two years, and yes they are very hard to mount and unmount
tires. Interesting to see that it seems to be a universal experience.
Except for that I really like everything else about these rims.

"Arthur Harris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I bought a pair of Torelli Master rims from Rivendell about a year ago,

and

Quoted message said:

just got around to building up a rear wheel with one of them. It laced up
beautifully with nice even tension all around. But when I tried to mount a
tire, it was a REAL struggle.

I placed my old Sun M13II rim up against the Torelli, and the outer

diameter

Quoted message said:

of the Torelli was 4-5mm larger than the Sun rim. Can there really be that
much variation among 700c rims? The Torelli's have a label inside (where

the

Quoted message said:

rim strip would go) that reads: 18-095. Does that mean anything to anyone?

I was finally able to get a well used Avocet Road tire mounted, but I'd

hate

Quoted message said:

to have to struggle like this if I flatted on the road.

Thinking the problem might be my Velox cloth rim strip, I tried mounting a
well worn teflon bead Michelin tire with NO tube and NO rim strip. Still a
major chore.

Was this rim from a bad batch or are they all like this?

Art Harris