Bicycle Mechanics - White Industries H2 w/ Aerohead OC rim?

Hello bike lovers, I was doing some research and couldn't find much info on the H2 hubs. From looking at pictures and reading the description, the rear hub seems to balance spoke tension the following way:

The rear shell design features a high flange drive side and low flange non-drive side to balance spoke tension.<link> (http://www.wheelbuilder.com/store/product.php?productid=16275&cat=275&page=1)

Now i was wondering what would happen if i were to lace this hub to an Aerohead Off-center rim? Would the spoke tension become unbalanced from the addition of the hub and rim effect? Or would it be even stronger/more balanced?

Not even an opinion? a guess maybe?

I'd try it.
My guess it would even balance the tension more.
That and $5 gets you a cup of Starbucks, though.

Go for it. I highly doubt the combination would cause the tension to go the other way. You will still find more tension on the drive side, but it will be much closer than a normal wheel.

Thanks for the answers, this should give a strong and light wheel.

Aeroheads suck. Find a better rim.

Then what about Mavic Open Pros? they're in my price range and frankly i prefer the lower profile.

Then what about Mavic Open Pros? they're in my price range and frankly i prefer the lower profile.

Low profile rims are inherently weaker than deeper section rims. Open pros are probably one of the most overrated rims on the face of the planet.

Deep rims feel too harsh for my needs. I go on 100k rides on weekends and ride some pretty rough streets during the week. I'd rather go with higher spoke count and suppler rims.

Aeroheads suck. Find a better rim.


Open pros are probably one of the most overrated rims on the face of the planet.

Any constructive advice? What are the problems with these rims? What would be better alternatives?

As long as you're using enough spokes, Aeroheads are fine. However, if you can deal with the "harsh" ride, the deeper rims are in fact stronger as Operator said, and the Kinlin XR-270 or XR-300 isn't much heavier than the Aerohead.

Any constructive advice? What are the problems with these rims? What would be better alternatives?

Like any wheel, don't under build it. If you are light in weight, 32 hole with good DB spokes makes a nice rim. The people I've heard complain about how the Aerohead sucks were big and heavy, riding on wheels built up with light spokes on crappy hubs, 28 hole drilling. Or they've never used Velocity rims at all...

Deep rims feel too harsh for my needs. I go on 100k rides on weekends and ride some pretty rough streets during the week. I'd rather go with higher spoke count and suppler rims.

I know a lot of people that like the Velocity Razor rim. Classic low profile, eyeleted. Nice rim and still pretty light. I'd say it's similar, but superior to, Open Pros.

Now i was wondering what would happen if i were to lace this hub to an Aerohead Off-center rim? Would the spoke tension become unbalanced from the addition of the hub and rim effect? Or would it be even stronger/more balanced?

Using a rim with an offset spoke bed will make the wheel stronger.

According to White Industries's website (http://www.whiteind.com/rearhubs/cassettehubs.html), the H2 has a center-to-left-flange dimension of 36.0mm (Shimano freehub) and a center-to-right-flange dimension of 18.0mm. Since the difference in spoke tension between left and right sides is dictated by the ratio of the left and right spoke bracing angles, the significant difference in left-right flange distances from center will overshadow any minor increase in right flange diameter. The offset spoke holes from a rim such as the Velocity Aerohead will offer more effect to equalizing left-right spoke tensions than a 14.5mm increase in right flange diameter.

Running the numbers for a Velocity Aerohead-sized rim with the H2 hub yields a left-right tension of 50% (i.e., left side tension is half of right side's) if the Aerohead has no offset. With a 4mm offset, the same rim/hub yields a left-right tension of 70%. A more even tension generally means a stronger and more durable wheel.

Interestingly enough, if we decrease the right flange diameter to match the left's, we get no change in tension difference at all. This means that either I did my math wrong (;)), or the feature has no appreciable effect on wheel strength/durability.

FWIW, I have a set of Aerohead rimmed wheels. They're fine although I wish the machined braking surface was a bit taller. In addition, as previous threads on this forum has shown, Velocity is a very service-oriented company that is well worth supporting.

Interestingly enough, if we decrease the right flange diameter to match the left's, we get no change in tension difference at all. This means that either I did my math wrong (;)), or the feature has no appreciable effect on wheel strength/durability.

debunked :roflmao2:

Thanks for the knowledgable answer