Classic & Vintage - SUN CR 18 rims

I'm about to order some SUN CR-18 rims for my 1970 Paramount P-15 tomorrow and was just wondering what people thought of them. My rims are pretty much shot and im rebuilding the wheels with the original Campy high flange hubs. I have looked for a comparable 27" touring rim and found this on Harris Cyclerey from sheldon browns site. I have debated going 700c but I would need to drill out my calipers and i just dont want to do that. Before I order tomorrow i just figured id get some opinions from you guys. Is this a good rim to dress my bike with of is there a better 27 incher out there for a decent price(in my case less than 50 bucks each)?

It's a good quality double-walled rim. I've had a 700c version on my commuter bike for the last several years and it stood up pretty nicely. In fact, it's still in business. Recently I bought a 27 inch set to build up for an old Fuji S10-S. Also note that you can pick up the 27 inch rim for $29 at Alfred E Bike (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?pageid=30&action=details&sku=RM8486) in either 32 or 36 holes.

Thanks gerv! That'l save me over 12 bucks on what I was originally going to pay!

Thanks gerv! That'l save me over 12 bucks on what I was originally going to pay!

Yeah, but, with rims, you should always watch the shipping. It might even be worth your while to compare what an LBS could bring them in for.

My LBS charged me $35+tax for polished CR18s. Velo Orange charged me $36+$7 shipping. Sometimes buying locally is a better deal.

I'm building up a set right now - literally - ok, so I'm taking a little break this very instant. They look well made, and they're building up nicely.

I'm not a huge fan of the CR 18 rims - nothing wrong with them but they don't quite look vintage. Are you sure that the Paramount won't take 700s without modifying the brakes? That seems odd but I'm not a Paramount guy. 700C would give you more aesthetically correct choices than 27".

I have Sun CR18 rims on several of my bikes, and they hold up well to the sometimes rough road conditions where I live. I weigh 190 pounds, so that's a good test for rim strength.

The CR-18's are good rims. Mine lasted for a couple years, including winter commuting, until the sidewall wore out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/rites2005/pages/rites042.htm

Moral: replace the rim before it gets too concave.

The CR-18's are good rims. Mine lasted for a couple years, including winter commuting, until the sidewall wore out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/rites2005/pages/rites042.htm

Moral: replace the rim before it gets too concave.

Dang. What were you using for brake pads?

I'm very happy with the CR18s. I have three sets, one laced to high flange Schwinn Approved hubs, one laced to HF Campy Tipo hubs (both 27"), and a set laced to vintage Phil Wood mid flange hubs (700c). My roads are rough and I'm a heavy guy. No problems.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Super%20Sports/P1000421.jpg

+1. Good rims. About the only one left for reasonably priced 27" rims. Of course, with wheels, the final results depend highly on the wheelbuilder's skill.

Velocity makes the Twin Hollow box rim, the Synergy which looks like the CR-18, and the Dyad, a tandem or loaded touring rim, in 27".

Synergy also comes in 650B.

The CR-18's are good rims. Mine lasted for a couple years, including winter commuting, until the sidewall wore out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/rites2005/pages/rites042.htm

Moral: replace the rim before it gets too concave.

:eek: Ok that does it, I'm replacing the rims on my mountain bike. I've been putting that off but...

I understand that they no longer make the polished version. That's okay with me becaused the polished rims are too much work to keep up. I wish they would produced a polished and clear anodized version like some old Mavics I have.

I'm not a huge fan of the CR 18 rims - nothing wrong with them but they don't quite look vintage.

I agree, its the ridge down the center, but they're available! Functionally they seem like good rims.

this may be a bit late if you already ordered them, but I have a 27" on my fixed gear. had it about a year. has worked great and still looks good if i would remove the road grime. so, ive been happy. also it's kind of hard to find a good double wall 27" rim for a decent price, so I'm curious about what others will say.

:eek: Ok that does it, I'm replacing the rims on my mountain bike. I've been putting that off but...

Yeah- fortunately I was JRA on a bike path when it let go. It was quite a bang, too. It left me sitting in a bagel shop, dripping wet, for 3 hours while my wife rode home to fetch our van.

I used a set when i converted my Super Course to 700c. I think the look improves vastly on C&V bikes if you take the big black and red sticker off em.

I used a set when i converted my Super Course to 700c. I think the look improves vastly on C&V bikes if you take the big black and red sticker off em.

I think the same goes for most all modern rims.

it might even be kind of cool if Sun had a vintage-look CR-18 Sticker as an option. I don't mind showing off my CR-18's, I just hate the big stickers

The CR-18's are good rims. Mine lasted for a couple years, including winter commuting, until the sidewall wore out:

Moral: replace the rim before it gets too concave.

The late, great Sheldon Brown gave us an objective measure for chain wear -- replace when it reaches 1/2% elongation = 1/16" per 24 half-links. Does anyone have an analogous metric for rim replacement? I routinely ride on old rims, and I am starting to get paranoid.

They only offer the 36 hole in polished though, i was hoping for satin too, hell even black. I got a kool lemon paramount and the tape, rack, pump and everything on it is black so i kinda got this bumblebee thing goin on...Im gonna see if my LBS can get them in satin though.

The late, great Sheldon Brown gave us an objective measure for chain wear -- replace when it reaches 1/2% elongation = 1/16" per 24 half-links. Does anyone have an analogous metric for rim replacement? I routinely ride on old rims, and I am starting to get paranoid.
I was wondering the same thing. I have a CR-18 on my winter commuter. Has been on there for almost 4 years . It is a little concave too.

They only offer the 36 hole in polished though, i was hoping for satin too, hell even black. I got a kool lemon paramount and the tape, rack, pump and everything on it is black so i kinda got this bumblebee thing goin on...Im gonna see if my LBS can get them in satin though.

:eek: I'm guessing a kool lemon Paramount is a 70's bike? I remember reading somewhere that in the great epic movie 'Ben Hur' the extras playing the Roman soldiers can be seen in some scenes wearing wrist watches. Apparently it wasn't caught by wardrobe when they were in costume. I kind of look at satin anodized or black anodized rims on pre-80's bikes like that.

I figure if you want a practical bike that you can use everyday with little maintenance, get a mid to late 80's bike. That way standard thread parts, anodized components, indexed shifting and the like will not be out of place.

For a 70's Paramount or similar older vintage bike, Grand Bois makes new rims that would maintain the period aesthetics while providing a moderately wide rim like the CR-18 for 28mm or larger tires. For narrower tires, you're SOL. Nobody makes those new. Yet.

The CR-18's are good rims. Mine lasted for a couple years, including winter commuting, until the sidewall wore out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/rites2005/pages/rites042.htm

Moral: replace the rim before it gets too concave.
Ouch! Makes me glad I have drum brakes on my commuter...

Rim post-mortem: I knew the rim sidewalls were getting thin. The brake tracks had acquired a concave shape that worried me.
However, I thought I'd have more warning before the rim let go completely. The rim was fine when I was cleaning the bike this week, and showed no distortions when I started to ride to Gateway this morning. It was only after we'd started along the path that I started feeling a slight pulsing in the brake- which I thought might have been a slop of oil on the rim. Beyond that, I had no warning: just BANG! and I was riding on the rim.

"Beyond that, I had know warning..."? It reads like a 70's era disaster flick. Concave braking surfance, pulsating brakes...What's next a sharkfin in the water?

jeez, I never WORE out a set of rims in my life. I guess I do have too many bikes...

jeez, I never WORE out a set of rims in my life. I guess I do have too many bikes...
Just rebuilt a wheel using a CR-18 rim to replace an old Mavic that was showing too much concavity for comfort and I sure hope it lasts a lot longer than a couple years. I have worn out a number of rims over the years, but only the fronts since I use that brake much more frequently. Chose the CR-18 largely because it had an ERD similar enough to allow reuse of the old spokes, but it built up easily and has a nice smooth braking action.