Marcus-
They are Japanese brand that made rims for Nishiki, Fuji, Azuki, etc. they made a wide variety of rims and many clinchers. They were a competitor of Araya also out of Japan. the ones you describe sound like very nice ones. They may be found stock on ITL, BSC or FRN bikes, but I am sure they ride just fine.
best regards
Nels Cone
Seattle WA
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> From: marcus.e.helman@gm.com
> Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2009 16:57:10 -0400
> Subject: [CR] Ukai rims?
>
> I just bought two NOS tubular rims from my second choice LBS. I went in
> to ask if they could do anything for my wheel, which has a flat spot and a
> bit of a dent. The chief mechanic said that he could not fix it, and that
> there were starting to be cracks in the ferrules around the spoke holes. I
> wasn't really buying the cracks theory; they looked ok to me. Then he
> said that he had some old rims in a box upstairs. After some sorting, I
> came up with this pair of Ukai rims. They are silver, but not polished.
> they have a red decal that says Ukai Yanagihara Kogyo C. LTD. They do not
> have ferrules. I hope that is the right term. A Mavic GP4 has brass
> colored pieces that go from the outer surface of the rim to the inner. I
> have always called them ferrules. I think every rim I have ever built has
> them. These Ukais do not. I asked, and the mechanic said that they do
> not require washers, and indeed it does look like there is some
> reinforcement around the inner surface. You can see a rivet in the tire
> bed on either side of the joint. The rivets have been filed flush with
> the bed.
>
> The rims felt light, but what do I know? The bike store had no scale.
> Does anyone know about Ukai rims?
>
> Best regards,
> Marcus Helman
> Feeling a little better thanks to Roger Penski in
> Detroit, MI
> _______________________________________________
Windows Live\u2122 SkyDrive\u2122: Get 25 GB of free online storage. Get it on your BlackBerry or iPhone.