Wanted: general purpose rims

[Sham69]

I'd appreciate any advice/guidance or opinions on suitable rims...

The rim circumferential wear indicator grooves have just disappeared so I need to replace front and back rims on my general purpose mid-range, alloy framed hybrid bike which is used for commuting, excercise, touring with load - everything except tough off-road duty. I use the SRAM i-motion 9 rear hub with 32 holes and have a standard Shimano hub at the front (36 hole) which I will retain. Current rims are WTB dual alloy 700C and I use both 32mm and 35mm tyres which I'm happy with.

I would like the cheapest reliable sturdy rims possible and I'm not fashion or brand concious - for me, it's purely a functional decision. I'd be grateful for a few pointers as to what rims or features to look out for (or avoid)?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

The decision is pretty much made for you. They will be WTB Dual Alloy 700C rims and just about nothing else.
If you only want to replace the rims and not the rims and spokes, then you have to go with the same size rims. Rim sizes are on the one side dictated by the tyre size i.e. 700C in your case, but on the other side (the rim's inside) by the rim's depth or profile. This determines the length of spokes. There are so many different sizes and the variations are critical enough that unless you're lucky and find rims of exactly the same size to within 1mm, you will have to go with what you have.

 

[Sham69]

Thanks for your reply, Yellow Saddle, and I take your point about spoke length.

I'm glad I asked the question because I hadn't given a thought to spokes - I'd assumed the new rims would automatically be fitted with new spokes. The current spokes are 14G stainless and are 'crossed' three times (if that's the correct terminology?).

Suppose I chose to replace rims and spokes, could you suggest good alternatives to the WTB rims as they certainly wore out quicker than rims I had on my previous touring bike (whatever they were) - but then again, rims on the old tourer didn't have wear indicators and actually broke right through.

My old tourer came with 4x crossed spokes. Is it worth having spokes on the new rims fitted with 4X crossing rather than three? I do carry moderate loads at times.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

You only go 4X if you have 40 or more spokes. As for rims, I don't know what's available in this country. Sorry. But @Spoked Wheels has now been pinged and he will help you, I'm sure.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

QUOTE="Yellow Saddle, post: 3587857, member: 39857"]You only go 4X if you have 40 or more spokes. As for rims, I don't know what's available in this country. Sorry. But @Spoked Wheels has now been pinged and he will help you, I'm sure.[/QUOTE]

A cheap, strong, multy purpose but with some touring included. .. I can think of the Rigida Sputnik
www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s116p67

Another one to consider is the Ambrosio Evolution for about £25

I hope that helps.

 

[Sham69]

Thanks for your reply, Spoked Wheels, it certainly does help. The rims you mention are the sort of decent budget priced rims I hoped were out there. Strength, durability, longevity and price are far more important to me than rim weight or current trends.

Maybe I'm looking at the wrong websites but I can't see what type of valve hole these Rigida and Ambrosio rims would have. There doesn't seen to be a valve choice and I haven't yet seen a picture showing any. As I've already got innertubes, spare innertubes and rim tapes with Schrader valve fittings (or holes for), I'd ideally like to make use of them and stick with Schrader - unless there's a good reason to change.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

These are presta valves.

 

[Sham69]

Ah, OK, thanks. From what I've seen, the vast majority of 700C rims at around 20mm width are made for Presta valves so it seems I'll have a wider choice if I change to Presta valves. Decisions, decisions.

 

[andrew_s]

Bear in mind that if the new rim effective diameter (i.e. to where the spoke should end) is more than a mm or two different to that on the old rim, you'll need a new set of spokes.

 

[the snail]

I've got sputniks on my tourer with shrader valves. Your first step is to find out what the ERD of your current rims is, as that will determine what you can use with the existing spokes (as well as spoke count and desired width). Definitely best to reuse spokes if they're in good nick, it makes the job a lot easier - just tape the new rims to the old ones and move the spokes over.

 

[Sham69]

Thanks for the advice and guidance folks. I feel both more educated on the subject and a little disillusioned by the complexity of the task

I never intended to build the wheels myself but wanted some ideas before I approached my LBS. In terms of reusing existing spokes, I'm all for it as it could save around £20 to £30 but can now see that matching the existing spoke lengths to a new rim will be a nightmare as few of the rims available on-line state the ERD. Also, according to the WTB.com website, my existing rims are no longer available so a like-for-like replacement isn't even an option (unless there are a couple of rims collecting dust somewhere - though not too keen of L-F-L replacement as the WTB rims seemed to wear quickly - could be wrong though). I'll discuss options with the LBS as I'd like them to build the new wheels.