Old 01-29-13, 12:19 PM
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seeker333
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I just bought out their entire inventory of 2 700x36 Velocity Synergy OC rims here:

http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?m...63c73ca67f1cbc

You must telephone order in, otherwise they'll never restock with more than 1 rim. I do not know if they ship to Brazil. Other sources are peterwhitecycles.com and ebay. Also, if you're clever you can find a coupon for 15% off - my order cost $102 shipped.

OP, below is a response to your earlier thread re. Synergy rims, which I suggest you read before you spend more time looking for Synergy OC rims.

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I have a new pair of Synergy O/C 770, made in Jax Fl, USA from the most recent production run in the last 2 months. They measure ~22.75mm wide OD (17mm inside width), specs claim 23. Measured ERD is 602-603mm, spec is 604. They weigh 480g vs claimed 490g. I have not built these new 700c rims, so I can't comment on tire fit with this pair of rims.

I have owned/built 10 26" Synergy rims over the past decade, about 7 OCs used mostly on rear (some on front disc). I've never had a tire fitment problem with these rim. I also read of the 650b fit problems, sounds like manufacturer (Velocity) error to me.

I had one rear OC rim destroyed when the tire blew out, parked at night. The blowout ripped a 3-4" section of rim wall out. I don't know if the rim failed causing the blowout or vice-versa. It's a mystery from ~2005.

My biggest problem with the Synergy rim is cracking around the spoke holes. This has happened repeatedly, mostly on rear wheels used on pavement only, and occurs after 3,000-10,000 miles. All these wheels were built to a maximum spoke tension of 120 kgf (1200N), which is the spec quoted to me by Velocity. Tension measured with a Park tensiometer.

Prior to my last wheel build, I spoke to Velocity tech rep who manages the Velocity wheelbuilding shop in MN. I was told Velocity has had problems in the past with regard to variation in the AL extrusion - their raw material. Velocity does not make the extrusion, they contract it out. When the rims were made in Australia (up to late 2011 IIRC), their extrusion supplier was a huge Al extrusion plant, and Velocity was a minor customer, so according to the rep, they did not command a whole lot of control of the extrusion quality. Sort of a take-it-or-leave-it affair. This apparently resulted in rims of varying width, extrusion wall thickness, spoke bed thickness, etc. Furthermore, according to same rep, since moving to Fl Velocity is now supplied by a USA Al extrusion supplier who is anxious/desperate/etc for Velocity's business, and so supposedly this will result in more consistent raw material and better rims.

I asked the Velocity rep specifically about the recurring spoke hole cracks. He admitted some in the past were possibly due to thin spoke bed, then he changed tunes and claimed many were built with inadequate tension, causing the cracks. He had no good explanation for my wheels cracking with 120 kgf tension.

I try not to pay too much attention to anecdotal information, but I don't want to keep paying premium rim prices for wheels that have to be rebuilt every year or so.

I decided I didn't want to waste another $60-70 ea on crack-prone Synergy rims, regardless of Velocity's story/excuse. I bought some Alex TD17s for my latest disc wheelset build, only $22 ea shipped. I've read hardly any complaints on the similar Surly LHT std-equipment Alex Adventurer rim, of which they've sold many thousands, so I figure I've got little to lose. The TD17s built up OK, but of course the tension doesn't balance as well as Synergys with a 4mm drilling offset. I haven't ridden them yet so maybe they'll crack at the spoke holes eventually too, but I won't know for several months in all probability.

I'm sure the asymmetric drilling of Synergy rim is what drives 90% of their sales. This does result in more tension on the rear non-drive side. Presumably this reduces fatigue failure at spoke heads near hub. I've never had a spoke break on any wheel I built - only purchased machine built wheels. Recurring spoke bed cracking on Synergies makes me think the whole OC/tension balancing theory perhaps doesn't mean much wheel longevity/cost-wise. Getting Synergy OC rims at a good price is always difficult/impossible. I think I'll stick to cheap conventional rims for a while and see if it isn't better to just apply some common sense and go with cheap, heavier rims.

In summary, asymmetric drilling seems great from a wheelbuilding standpoint, but in reality, and especially in the case of Velocity Synergy OC rims, I don't know that it's worth the cost and trouble (limited supply) to use these rims. The old bicycle axiom "strong light cheap, pick two" may apply here. OP, consider Alex Adventurer as an alternative - hard to go wrong for less than half the price of Synergy.

http://classic.aebike.com/product-li...27-m1561-qc30/

Last edited by seeker333; 01-29-13 at 12:24 PM.
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