...anything about Alex DH19 rims

[reohn2]

It looks as if I'm being backed into a corner for rims in that the only available 48hole 700c rims that will suit are the above.
The story is,our Santana Tandem needs new rims and they are 48hole,I was on the brink of buying Rigida Grizzly's,available from SJS, when quite by chance browsing Spa cycles website found that they were stocking 48hole Sputniks so I ordered a pair,they arrived today.
Things aren't good,firstly though advertised as 690grms each which was right on the edge of acceptability weightwise,I weighed one and its 800grms .
Secondly, on one of the rims two of the spokeholes are cracked radially .
Thirdly the braking surface wasn't machined,which they always have been in the past.
Fourthly, theres no stickers on the rims or etched information ie, telling of rimwear indicators,size etc,which,frankly I find disturbing.
On closer inspection I found the eyelets on some spoke holes didn't cover the drillings

I've had these rims in the past and been been pleased and impressed with their performance,build quality and price,a price which I always thought was very cheap by any standards.The ones I've used in the past were made in Europe,now I believe Rigida have factory in Taiwan whether this is anything to do with it I don't know .

This is no way any reflection on Spa as I've always found them great to deal with, thoughI will be returning them to Spa ASAP.

With all that said by way of explanation I'm now left with two alternatives either, Alex DH19 rims,or completely renewing the wheels for 40hole as these can be bought from a number of companies but the cost new good quality tandem hubs would be be high.

So hence the question does anyone use or know anything about Alex DH19 rims,the reason I didn't buy these in the first place was that they are single eyelet and it worries me for tandem use.

[Freddie]

Secondly, on one of the rims two of the spokeholes are cracked radially .
Thirdly the braking surface wasn't machined,which they always have been in the past.
Fourthly, theres no stickers on the rims or etched information ie, telling of rimwear indicators,size etc,which,frankly I find disturbing.
On closer inspection I found the eyelets on some spoke holes didn't cover the drillings

So hence the question does anyone use or know anything about Alex DH19 rims,the reason I didn't buy these in the first place was that they are single eyelet and it worries me for tandem use.

Cracked spoke holes aren't good, are these rims hard anodised, as this can help propagate cracks into the metal.

Non-machined braking surfaces are a bonus, as machining serves no purpose but to stop squeal on the initial run. It leaves you with a rim wall of lesser thickness which will eventually become smooth anyway.

I can't understand your sticker comment, a caliper will measure rim wall thickness and these stickers don't say anything a reasonably knowledgeable cyclist wouldn't be able to tell just from looking at the rim.

Why do single eyelet rims worry you?

[reohn2]

Cracked spoke holes aren't good, are these rims hard anodised, as this can help propagate cracks into the metal.

Non-machined braking surfaces are a bonus, as machining serves no purpose but to stop squeal on the initial run. It leaves you with a rim wall of lesser thickness which will eventually become smooth anyway.

I can't understand your sticker comment, a caliper will measure rim wall thickness and these stickers don't say anything a reasonably knowledgeable cyclist wouldn't be able to tell just from looking at the rim.

Why do single eyelet rims worry you?

I don't know the difference between hard and ordinary anodised so I can't say.

The non machined braking surface and lack of stickers or absence of any etching had me concerned initially as I've used these rims before and the braking surface has always been machined,likewise they've always had stickers informing of size and safety wear line.
After speaking to Spa today the lack of stickers has been explained in that because the rims are 48hole, the standard Rigida stickers won't fit between spoke holes.
The lack of machining on the brake surface was explained by the fact that they are a special batch of 48hole rims,which could explain why the rims are heavier, though 800grms is a lot more than the advertised 670grms.

Single eyelet rims have always worried me since I had a pair crack around the spoke holes in an alarming way on a solo bike,with not many miles on,though in fairness I have ridden non eyeleted Sun Rhynos (very beefy) without problems.
Are you familier with Alex DH19 rims?

[Freddie]

I think hard anodising is limited to dark colours, which would be black in todays market.

Single eyelet rims have always worried me since I had a pair crack around the spoke holes in an alarming way on a solo bike,with not many miles on,though in fairness I have ridden non eyeleted Sun Rhynos (very beefy) without problems.

Yes, but has that anything to do with eyelets?. Could of just been a poorly constructed rim (Which rim was it?), afaik eyelets are used so the thickness of the non-spoke bearing parts of the rim can be reduced, maybe they went too far with this reduction.

Are you familier with Alex DH19 rims?

Nope, can't say I am. On a different note, I may be able to source some 48 hole rims, they would be box section, polished or maybe silver anodised, no eyelets, couldn't tell you the weight....these older designs aren't liable to crack though.

[cycleruk]

If the rims don't suit then send them back to Spa and inform them of your reasons.
Maybe they will send that message on to Rigida,s importer?
It's obviously a quality control issue.

Here is a bit about anodised rims:-

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/anodized-rims.html

[goatwarden]

The Alex rims are what Pete Bird supplied as standard on his Landescape tandems. We have two sets (700 and 26") and they work fine, albeit we are using Discs. The braking surface is machined but I can't tell you anything useful about it as we don't use it.

There must be lots of Vee braked Landescapes around and I haven't heard any complaints.

[reohn2]

If the rims don't suit then send them back to Spa and inform them of your reasons.
Maybe they will send that message on to Rigida,s importer?
It's obviously a quality control issue.

Here is a bit about anodised rims:-

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/anodized-rims.html

Yes I've spoken to Spa yesterday and I will be sending them back with a covering letter.

Thanks for the link

[reohn2]

I think hard anodising is limited to dark colours, which would be black in todays market.

Single eyelet rims have always worried me since I had a pair crack around the spoke holes in an alarming way on a solo bike,with not many miles on,though in fairness I have ridden non eyeleted Sun Rhynos (very beefy) without problems.

Yes, but has that anything to do with eyelets?. Could of just been a poorly constructed rim (Which rim was it?), afaik eyelets are used so the thickness of the non-spoke bearing parts of the rim can be reduced, maybe they went too far with this reduction.

Are you familier with Alex DH19 rims?

Nope, can't say I am. On a different note, I may be able to source some 48 hole rims, they would be box section, polished or maybe silver anodised, no eyelets, couldn't tell you the weight....these older designs aren't liable to crack though.

The rims that cracked were Vuelta,I know these aren't the best rims money can buy but at around 3,000miles you don't expect any problems such as that.
May be the thickness of the rim in the spoke hole area wasn't enough,who knows

Just to give little background.As 48's aren't available from stock in many places in Europe and given that the tandem they'll be used on is the one we take on the continent.I/we need pretty bullet proof rims,We are currently running Mavic 217's which have been good rims,so given the opportunity I'd have Mavic again,though that would have to be 719's(today's equivelent) if I could source some at a price that wasn't crazy.
But so far haven't found any
An other alternative is to change the hubs for 40 hole (of which I have a front one) but need a rear 40hole preverably Shimano tandem hub,but its not that simple,as the tandem is a Santana the rear OLN is 160mm and Shimano tandem hubs are only available as 145mm and cost £160 plus having to then buy a suitable axle/spindle say another £20(?) things are starting to get pricey! to say the least.
So it looks like biting £180 bullet and going to 40's which then opens up some choice Mavic,DRC,and maybe others (I haven't checked),or try the Alex DH19's

[reohn2]

The Alex rims are what Pete Bird supplied as standard on his Landescape tandems. We have two sets (700 and 26") and they work fine, albeit we are using Discs. The braking surface is machined but I can't tell you anything useful about it as we don't use it.

There must be lots of Vee braked Landescapes around and I haven't heard any complaints.

Thanks for that feedback,its comforting to know someones using them without any problems,TBH I'm probably worrying about nothing as both Pete Bird and JD's are supplying them on their tandems.

[Tandem Man]

We had Alex 19 rims on our Landescape ( now rebuilt as an Orbit ) from JD's,no problem at all.

Ian

[reohn2]

We had Alex 19 rims on our Landescape ( now rebuilt as an Orbit ) from JD's,no problem at all.

Ian

Thanks for that Ian

[Starfire]

I have Alex TA19 rims on my mountain bike, they are 32 hole, single eyelet, double wall 559 x 18, disc braked. They have done about 6,000 miles and are 5years old. Recently, when out on a ride the rear wheel suddenly went out of true as I was riding along on tarmac. I stopped and examined the rim and discovered that several spokes had pulled through the rim causing a tear along the center of the rim. Over many years of riding I have never experienced this type of failiure with a wheel before, I don't like to think what might have happened if I was travelling at downhill at speed.

[Freddie]

I'm inclined to think all this rim cracking is down to...

A: Anodizing
B: The raised shape rims produced today. When they started producing them they of course had to be at least as light as a standard box section rim, so that meant less metal spread over more area, hence a rim more liable to split.

Had anyone heard of rims splitting with any regularity in the 80's and earlier, prior to these things (fads IMO, planned obsolescence perhaps?) being introduced.

[PW]

I had some Mavic E3 Argent which split around the spoke holes around 1984. They were one of the early hard anodised types I think, can't check 'cos I binned the last one a couple of years back (no it hadn't been ridden all those years, it was in a back corner bunging up the shed!)

[mick146]

I was browsing the forum a couple of days ago and came across this thread...it's a bit old now,and lost me in it's technicalities...BUT....

My Orbit bike has Alex DH30 rims...there are then 8 dots after the letters...it has double butted spokes front,and single butted rear (whatever that means) according to the leaflet that came with the bike when it was new 6 years ago...and there are 36 spokes in each wheel.

Stainless steel spokes are fitted,and they are thicker at each end than in the centre....the blurrb says 13/15/14g....supposedly to reduce metal fatigue...I don't know...I just ride it,and it keeps going well.

Those wheels have now done over 18,000 miles on salted roads,rocky mountain passes and muddy tracks,and no spoke has needed adjusting,and there's no sign of cracking or any other wear on the rims...I have disc brakes,so can forget about wear caused by braking.

Just thought you may like to hear about good rims.....sorry if I show my ignorance...but ignorance is bliss !!....ride and enjoy!