I've been taking my sweet time with this wheelset. It built very well to start with, but I was obsessing over minute imperfections. On the bright side, it was worth it. It's probably my best built wheelset to date. Also the priciest, even without taking my build time under consideration.
Last year I decided I'm not going to look for vintage rims any more, no matter their condition. NOS are way too expensive for what they are, and finding some in used but usable condition can still be a pricy option with potential problems attached. In search of contemporary, low profile and lightweight rims I considered quite a few manufacturers and models. Don't hold current Mavic rims in high regard (they should make the cheapest rims on the market, because that's where their quality is) and some other options were too heavy, but found Ambrosio Excellence and Ambrosio Excellight. Don't know when they started making them originally, I think Excellence back in the early 90's, but they are low profile and could pass for vintage rims. Not the cheapest, but the quality is very nice indeed.
This build is meant for a lightweight vintage French bicycle, hence using late 70's / early 80's French hubs. These were originally a Bianchi branded version of Maillard 700 professional (hub decals are repro). I was hoping for black Sansin Pro-Am, however, the only pair I found was a bit out of my budget (and 36H, not 32H like these Maillards), so some compromises had to be made. Maillard 700 (in whatever version) seemed appropriate for a French frame. I converted them to solid axle, first reason being weight savings (surprisingly, a hub with nut and axle is lighter than one with a hollow axle and QR skewer), second reason being making removal just a bit time consuming (they will get anti-theft nuts at some point). Spokes are Sapim D-Light with brass Sapim nipples. The wheelset without tape, tubes and tyres weighs just below 1800g. Which isn't bad at all. You can find modern alluminium wheelsets that will weigh less, but those usually have plastic hubs and 4 spokes between them. They also got one of the lightest tyres on the market (Pirelli P Zero Race Classic, 206g front, 210g rear) and I did cheat with the inner tubes a bit as they are Pirelli SmarTube TPU (38g each, sadly, version with 40mm valve doesn't seem to be easily available any more). Tape is very basic Wiggle LifeLine High Pressure (17g per tape). I was considering Veloplugs instead and actually have some on the way, but that's a saving of only 20g or so per wheelset and I'm not sure whether they will work with these rims. The wheelset as shown weighs just under 2300g. And, whilst it's not a fully vintage one, it's "C&V inspired" and I quite like it. They spin like a dream. Can't wait to try it on the road.
