Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
What do you do with them after they've seen their last ride?
Buy a new rim, lubricate its nipple sockets with anti-seize via an acid brush with half the bristle length chopped off, remove rim tape, loosen the spokes so they're on their last few threads, tape the new rim to the old, transfer spokes one at a time re-lubricating as I go and replacing any nipples dinged in road side repairs, tension, true, re-use rim tape.
I've had a pair of
Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels for about 14 months, and put around 4,700 miles on them.
I have 15 years on my favorite set of Mavic Open pros (originally Reflex clinchers) laced cross-three to Campagnolo Chorus hubs with DT Revolution 2.0/1.5 spokes front and rear non-drive side and DT Competition 2.0/1.8 spokes rear drive side and alloy nipples. I never true them except to get home after bending one and when replacing rims. I've never broken a spoke on them either.
I was computer free for a bunch of years, but measured about 4000 last year and couldn't ride less than 1500 a year if all I did was commute.
They're on the second (or maybe third?) front rim due to crash damage (although the ten year old front was getting concave - living in an alpine dessert or Silicon Valley you don't get much rain and grit on the wheels, and I built a second set on which I mounted cyclocross tires for Boulder, CO snow days) and at least the third rear.
The brake tracks are noticeably concave, and LBS says they'll get me through the winter, but I'll need to replace them or my teeth soon. These go for $200 to $250, and I've seen them for less, so, buying new rims and having them rebuilt probably isn't cost effective.
I'm now paying $75 a rim including shipping for replacement rims. Four alloy nipples around the bends at my last replacement had become trapezoidal from an incompletely seated spoke wrench so I replaced them for $0.52. I don't bother re-using the acid brush so that adds another $0.20. Probably a few cents worth of anti-seize - a $4 tube lasts a very long time even when applied to other uses like building engines.
The labor is free (I like building wheels).
Velocity or Kinlin rims would keep the price closer to $50 at rebuild time and something deeper would be more bend resistant.