Tandem Cycling - Velocity Rims??

What is your experience with velocity rims? We had 2 sets split before we ditched them and switched over to Rhyno Lites and they've been fine. Now, some friends of ours are having their 4th set of Velocity rims shipped down to them in Paraguay. I suggest they switch to something else, but I'm not sure what their options are.

They have a 40-hole Phil Wood hub, so need 40 hole rims. What are their options?

We had a rear Velocity rim split with 1000 miles on it. Velocity replaced both rims since the front was replaced at the same time as the rear. We took the wheels to Velocity's headquarters in Grand Rapids Michigan to have the rims replaced. Velocity said that they got hold of a bad run of aluminum that caused the rims to split. They assured us that the new rims would not be a problem and that all of the problem rims were gone from their warehouse. There still could be some problem rims in shops.

The Velocity rims on our other tandem are six years old and have gone farther than any other tandem rims that we have ever had.

We had a rear Velocity rim split with 1000 miles on it. Velocity replaced both rims since the front was replaced at the same time as the rear. We took the wheels to Velocity's headquarters in Grand Rapids Michigan to have the rims replaced. Velocity said that they got hold of a bad run of aluminum that caused the rims to split. They assured us that the new rims would not be a problem and that all of the problem rims were gone from their warehouse. There still could be some problem rims in shops.

The Velocity rims on our other tandem are six years old and have gone farther than any other tandem rims that we have ever had.

that's the same thing they told us - a bad batch of aluminum. We dealt with two sets of split rims before changing to the Rhyno Lite. Our friends, however, are on their 4th set! Velocity is sending these out to foreign countries, which costs a fortune, so I'm sure they wouldn't send defective ones. I dunno - I can't imagine dealing with split rims every 500 or 600 miles.

Which model Velocity Rim? Just curious...

Anyway, there aren't a lot of 700c options beyond several different Velocity offerings: Sun metal Rhyno Lites, Mavic A719 and when they're in stock daVinci's V22 rims.

they have 26" rims, not 700 c. I don't what model Velocity, but I would imagine that Velocity is sending them the absolute strongest they have since it costs $700 each time they send them out.

they have 26" rims, not 700 c.

The same three rims I listed are available in either 26" or 700c.

Wheelsmith make 40 hole 26” rims, but I wouldn’t recommend these as split free. My Santana Rio MTB came with a set of WheelSmith rims. The rims lasted about 4000 miles before suffering a major meltdown; split apart from the seam and peeled open like a banana.

I have one set of Velocity deep V built to replace my MTB wheel set. My latest road conversion for this bike uses a 36 spoke Velocity Fusion rim and Chris King hubs. Great ride quality! Only have a few hundred miles on the road wheels, so I can’t say if they’ll last.

I've had overwhelming good experience with Velocity rims. I have built over two dozen sets of wheels, primarily used on single bikes from their Aerohead and Deep V models for myself and for friends with no unexplained failures. I built a set for our CoMotion road tandem in 2003 from the Velocity Fusion rims with 36 spokes and this past summer with 22K miles on the rear, I finally had a crack around a nipple that caused me to have to replace the rim. The front wheel rim is still going strong with over 23K miles. Based on this, I would not complain about the service they have given me.

Of course there are many variables involved. I have used my wheels for road riding exclusively and do my best to avoid potholes and the like. Off road use or riding on rough pavement would have a tendency shorten a rim's life. The build quality can have an effect on the life of a rim, as can the handling of the wheels when in transit or storage. Another variable is tire pressure that exceeds the design limits of the rim, especially with wider tires often used on 26" rims.

I have no ties to the Velocity company and I also like most Mavic rims a lot too. Maybe they did have a bad batch at some point, but fortunately I have not felt the effects of this.

Just out of curiosity, why are they paying $700 for a set of rims that shouldn't cost over $150?

I have also had very good results with Velocity rims.
I have used Aeroheads on several single bikes and Fusions on two tandems with no problems what so ever. Their customer service is also very good.
On my new tandem I started out using Kinlin Niobium rims because they were a few grams lighter than the Fusions, but they had terrible brake pulsing so I returned them and went back to Fusions which work great.

Just out of curiosity, why are they paying $700 for a set of rims that shouldn't cost over $150?

I believe this may tie back to the mention of Velocity's shipping costs for sending rim's to Paraguay. Seems a bit steep, but perhaps it's the local delivery costs in Paraguay that come into play.

I can't fault Velocity's customer servicce at all - they overnighted two sets of rims out to us and paid to have the wheels rebuilt. They even paid for a hotel while we were laid up waiting for the rims to arrive.

they are also doing the same for our friends - but it costs a fortune to have rims express mailed to other countries. They had one set sent to Guatemala, another to Peru, and now more to Paraguay. Velocity pays the shippping each time, which is running between $500 and $800 depending on the country. Our friends are paying the customs duty which can be pretty high, depending on where they are.

That being said, it just doesn't seem like we should be dealing with this many split rims!

That being said, it just doesn't seem like we should be dealing with this many split rims!

Is it possible that they are using 26" x 2 inch tires with 120 psi or something like that? That sort of combination will foreshorten the life of most aluminum rims.

They were running the 2" tires but with something like 50 or 60 psi. They talked with both Schwable and Velocity and were told to up the pressure to 80 or 90, so that's what they have been running since.

I have a pair of Velomax tandem wheels [Easton bought them out a few years ago]. They used Velocity rims [Deep V]. Even with 28 spokes and a large team [400lbs], I have not had an issue.

I've had nothing but good luck with Velocity rims, but my favorite tandem rims are Salsa Gordos. Available in 32,36,40 and 48H.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to run 2" tires at 80 or 90 PSI. We run our Big Apples at 45 PSI on pavement or 35 PSI or less on dirt roads.

I don't understand how so many people have had good experiences with their Velocity rims. With so many problems between us and our friends, it appears as though something is amiss.

We've been riding Velocities for 3 years (4000 miles) with no problems. I rode the Deep V's on my single for around 40,000 miles and they were the toughest darn rims I've ever ridden. I have ridden home after a broken spoke without doing anything except opening the brakes up a little.

Frank

I don't understand how so many people have had good experiences with their Velocity rims. With so many problems between us and our friends, it appears as though something is amiss.

Sadly, without a lot more information about which rim, where the split occurred in each instance, the team's weight, how much total weight is being carried on the bike and so on it is even hard to venture a guess.

Again, there are hundreds of thousands of Velocity rims out there that have been providing their owners with thousands of trouble-free service. We've used the 26" AeroHeat rim (same extrusion as Dyad) since '2000 on our full-suspension off-road tandems which, admittedly, don't use rim brakes, but that take a pounding on aggressive downhill runs over rock fields and the like. We've probably logged over 50k miles on Deep-V rims over the years and, again, no issues.

So, given that you and your friends are doing 'trans-type' tours the questions that need to be explored are germane to your specific applications: where are the rims splitting (e.g., radial splits along the brake track or down the center due to spoke pull-through, etc), how much weight is being loaded on the bike (total: front & rear distribution), which rims are failing (front, rear or both), and does it occur when riding on relatively smooth roads, or after riding on unimproved, rutted roads (is it fatigue related or caused by blunt force). If spokes are pulling through, who is building the wheels and how much spoke tension are they putting into the network? Again, there are a lot of variables to consider even in your specific trekking / trans touring examples.

Finally, what else are you hearing in terms of feedback as I'm sure you've posted out this same question to various other forums, tandem related and otherwise?

Our rim that split was a 26" Aeroheat. At the Southern Tandem Rally post tour a couple split a 700c Velocity rim which was 4 months old. A friend of ours has has 3 Velocity rims on the front of his Rans recumbent tandem in a thousand miles because of cracked rims. The problem seems to be in all their rims. Let's hope that they have fixed the problem.

the four that split on our bike all split right down the middle along the spokes. We rode the Dalton Highway in Alaska, but other than that, all our riding had been on relatively good roads. The weight on the bike wasn't all that much in that we had a small child (about 75 pounds) on the back and most of the weight of the gear was in a BOB.

I believe our friends' rims split the same way - right down the center. They are running a lot more weight as they do not have trailers at all. They have split both the front and rear rims. They have ridden quite a few miles on rough, dirt roads, but only have about 4500 miles total on their bikes and have gone through 6 rims in those 4500 miles!

I run the Deep V's on my triple and never in the 10 years since I built them have I had a problem. And I have Deep V's on my Tandem as well. Could be the builders are not tensioning them correctly for you.
they have 26" rims, not 700 c. I don't what model Velocity, but I would imagine that Velocity is sending them the absolute strongest they have since it costs $700 each time they send them out.

We run Velocity Dyads in 700c. My only reservation is that some tires (wire bead Panaracer Paselas, specifically) have a scary-loose fit.
So far in 8 years and not a lot of miles (maybe 6K in that time) the Dyads have made a great riding wheel with the right tire, usually IRC Tandem 700 x 30 or Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy. This has included some self-contained loaded touring and a few hundred gravel road miles.

I've been running a 700cx48 spoke Dyad on one rear wheel for about 25000 miles (one year old) and a 700cx40 spoke Deep V on my other rear wheel for about 1500 miles (also one year old). We probably weigh about 400 pounds. Either Schwalbe Marathon or Panaracer Pasela 700x32 tires at 95psi. I agree, the tires are scary-loose on the Dyad rim when you're putting the tire on, though as long as I'm careful to make sure it is hooked up properly, we've never had an issue.

Have deep V 40 with phils built last July. Braking is like there is no pads . 5 year old fusions also 40 h with phils are smooth & quiet. Cleaned braking surface many times is ok for a while then goes back to being scrapey sounding/feeling. Bontrager has this split problem also
cheers

25,000+ miles on 700c 32H Velocity Aerohead rim on front of tandem. Chris King hub, DT Revolution db spokes, alloy nipples. Running fine.
Rear rim on tandem 36H Velocity Aerohead got whacked out of round real bad and no longer trueable after 24,000 miles.
Rear rim was same setup as front.
Only issue was choice of alloy nipples; broke a few at just under 20,000 miles.
Used same setup for next rear wheel, upgraded to TI spokes.
Only Mavic rims, back in the 80s and 90s, gave us that good of a service on our tandem(s).
Extremely satisfied with our Velocities.
Just our experience.
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

We put just over 30,000 miles on our Dyads. One broken spoke from catching a branch while leaning the bike against a tree. Those wheels are still standing by as our backup set.

As others have noted, I'd like to put in a VERY STRONG endorsement for Velocity's customer service operations.

In my experience, they respond to email inquiries very quickly, back up what they sell, and work hard to make it right if an issue arises.

Customer service just doesn't get much better than that.

Jim

I'm real curious about the negative experiences and if anyone has identified a root cause. I use Velocity VCX in my MTB builds and have only had to replace due to crash damage. The rim quality has been fantastic. I have a freshly built set of Aeroheat rims for my Recumbent Tandem and again have been impressed with the rims. Thats why I build with them.