Originally Posted by
Bob Dopolina
I really don't understand the appeal of this brand.
These rims are very heavy which, to me, is a design issue.
What is most troubling is the +/- 20g tolerance. That's 7%! The KinLin rims and the alloy rims we make are +/-5g. It's extruded alloy and a basic pin and sleeve. That should be pretty easy to control.
Glue on a non-structural faring and you have every rim they make.
Not a fan.
Bob, what I have been told is that as the extruder die wears, size of the opening increases, and the extrusion becomes heavier. This fits well with my experience in plastics molding and extrusion. As I understand it, most Al rim makers start with dies that give lighter than nominal weights and continue using those dies until the rims weigh the allowed amount over nominal. It is not as much about control as tolerance and philosophy. Companies that ship rims with +/- 20 g tolerance simply choose to run their dies that long to save money. They start them off really small and keep on going until +20g over nominal is reached. I have never had an overweight rim from Kinlin. Velocity is among the worst for wide weight tolerance IMO.