H Plus Son Archetype rims nipple length

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e-rider

crappy member
Location
South West
So, here is some advice for anyone thinking about building some wheels using H+Son archetype rims regarding correct nipple length becasue I searched everywhere on the web for info on nipple length and couldn't find anything. I also emailed H+Son and other 'professional' wheel builders that sell these rims and not one reply!

My comparison is with MAVIC CXP PRO rims that have a similar profile but are slightly narrower and have a non standard eyelet (more of an insert really). Archetypes are non-eyeleted.

Mavic state that CXP pro rims require 14mm nipples. I have built many of the these and they do indeed require 14mm nipples as the default 12mm nipple is too short. So I was thinking that this could be the same for Archetype rims.

Now having bought the archetype rims and having done some measurements to set the record straight. The spoke nipple protrudes 1mm more from the rim than a CXP pro rim and the spoke holes are offset alternate sides (CXP pro holes and bang in the middle). This means that it is possible to build with a 12mm nipple but it is very tight. You will need to be very careful to avoid marking the rim surface with the spoke key in the early stages of the build. Or, use 14mm nipples as they only protrude 1mm more than what 14mm nipples do on a CXP pro rim when finished. In short, 12mm nips on archetype rims is very borderline and 1mm less and I'm sure H+Son would be issuing advice to only use 14mm nipples.

My default mindset is that all rims should be built with 12mm unless otherwsie necessary. The archetypes have given me sleeplesss nights becasue they sit right on the fence! I used 14mm nips first, then rebuilt with 12mm, mainly because the spokes were 0.5mm too long with 14mm nipples. The wheel looked better with 12mm nipples and they build up ok too.

In conclusion, use 12mm nipples for these rims and just take a bit of care.
 
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