Re: [CR]Strong rims...soft rims...???

(Example: Framebuilders:Chris Pauley)

Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:09:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Strong rims...soft rims...???

I have seen 3 instances where a bent rim could not be straightened. One was a steel rim. Two were heat-treated TREK MATRIX TITAN rims, from a 1985 trek 500. In the two latter cases, I went down a pothole with the MATRIX TITANS, causing them to bend, and the heat-treating made the rims so rigid and strong that the LBS could not get them true again (I'm no lightweight at about 210 lbs when this happened.)

So personally I prefer soft, compliant rims, like the original weinmann 210/256 rims, because they can be straightened, and they can be trued.

I have a set of concave rims, but have only ridden them about 10 times, and have not had problems with them. they came on a bike - a well-worn raleigh pro - that had been "all over the UK" and the rims were an obvious retrofit, and are the earlier, eyeletted type, so the rumors of durability ring true to me ...

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA