Wheel No. 00027

Wheel No. 00027

After a flurry of wheel building during 2012-2015, I have rebuilt a number of wheels in recent years ... but until today it has been quite awhile since I built up any entirely new ones. 

In 2020/21, I rebuilt each of my Imezi wheels after damaging the rims (my fault). 

In Spring 2019, after the rim died in Tasmania but before Paris-Brest-Paris and the other cycling planned for a European trip, I rebuilt Wheel No. 00024 with a new rim, but reused the lovely Dura Ace 9000 hub and the still okay Sapim CX-Ray spokes.* 

My plan is to convert the Ti Travel bike to SRAM Force AXS eTap 12-speed groupset -- for the next decade of use. That requires a rear wheel with a SRAM XDR hub. I got an XDR conversion freehub adapter for my Imezi 167 carbon chincher wheels, but also wanted a new, aluminum clincher rim wheel for everyday use, travel, and Audax.

XDR freehub, DT Swiss 240 classic (J bend) rim brake hub

I could find a DT Swiss 240 "classic" 28-hole hub and DT Swiss RR411 asymmetric rear rim, plus Sapim CX-Ray black spokes, on a German mail order retailer's website. The package arrived within two weeks and I built up the wheel.

The RR411 looks really nicely built. so does the DT Swiss 240 hub. The SRAM XDR cassette attaches really nicely to the freehub -- very secure and easy installation using the same tool as for a Shimano or legacy SRAM freehub. 

I have not used an asymmetric rear rim before, but the idea is that the right and left sides can have more even spoke tension than a typical rear wheel build, where nearly all the tension is on the drive side. In the end, with the wheel tensioned and trued, the right side spokes are around 125kgf and left side around 75-80kgf. In a typical aluminum clincher rear wheel the right would be the same, 120-130kgf, and the left would be I think no more than 50kgf. My hope is that this design, plus the super-strong Sapim CX-Ray spokes and the long, brass spoke nipples that I used, will make this a very strong wheel despite the 28 (vs my usual 32) spokes.

The RR411 is 22mm wide outside, 18mm wide inside, not so different from the H Plus Son Archetype (23mm/17.5mm), but not as wide as many of the rims being made in the past few years for use with 28mm, 30mm or wider tires. (Velocity Aileron rims and Gokiso GD2 rims are 25mm wide on the exterior, the Imezi rims are 26mm). The RR411 width is just fine, as the Ti Travel bike's chain stays do not allow a tire wider than 26-27mm in any event. In recent years, I use a 28mm tire on the front of the bike, for extra comfort, and a 25/26mm rear. I also use a 27.2mm seat post with an adapter for a bit of added flex and comfort, as the bike feels a bit stiff for ultra-endurance with a 30.6 seat post. 

I have DT Swiss 350 hubs on the Imezi wheels, but this is my first experience with the DT Swiss 240 -- the higher-end model, lighter weight for road racing, but I expect very similar in terms of maintenance and durability. The freehub is very quiet.

The fully built wheel, without cassette/tape/skewers, is 838 grams. That is excellent for an aluminum clincher rear wheel. For comparison, Wheel No. 00024 was 913 grams when new. The DT Swiss 240 rear hub is 212 grams (vs 247 for the Dura Ace 9000). There are 28 (vs 32) spokes. And the rim is 435g (vs 485g for the H Plus Son Archetype). I used slightly longer (and heavier, brass) spoke nipples as compared to the aluminum nipples that used to come paired with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. 

And the DT Swiss RR411 rim came with washer-like supports (PHR washers) that  fit around the inside edge of the spoke hole, where the spoke nipple presses into the rim, to compensate for a rim that does not have any grommets around the spoke holes. These supports are wider than the base/head of the spoke nipple and are shaped to fit snuggly into the inside of the rim bed and give additional support around the edge of the spoke hole. 

I used the black brass Sapim Polyax 16mm spoke nipples I ordered with the spokes, rather than the set of DT Swiss silver alloy "Squorx" nipples that came with the rim. I now see some instructions on other retailers' sites to the that the wheels "must be built" with not only the PHR washers but the Squorx spoke nipples. Hmmm. 

Did I mention that, with the right rim tape, the RR411 rims are "tubeless ready"?

The rim, hub, and spokes all made for an easy build. I expect this to be an excellent wheel with which to launch the second decade of the Ti Travel bike! 

10-36 12-speed SRAM Force 1270 Etap AXS hub (with QR skewer inserted). 
With 46-33 crankset and 10-36 cassette, the AXS drivetrain will offer a barely bigger high gear than my current 50-11 compact setup, and a much lower low gear (33-36 vs 34-32)
for spinning up the steepest hills, exhausted and with some gear on the bike.

*Wheel No 00024 now could use another rebuild, after thousands more kilometers. The rim probably could last another few years, though it is showing some wear along the brake tracks. But a number of the bladed spokes have bound up in the spoke nipple or are badly twisted from 6+ years of adjustments, and are essentially stuck. At this point, instead of mixing 7-year old and new spokes, I think it is best to again re-use the Dura Ace hub, with a new replacement H Plus Son rim and a full new set of spokes. Another winter project!