Joshman380

I just bought a set of new 26" Alex X-101 rims. The bike store wouldn't give me too much information about these rims, other than "They're aluminum, and pretty sturdy.", and reviews seem scarce if not, non-existant, online.

Can anyone tell me what to expect out of these rims? Should I avoid dropping off curbs with these rims? They're just so light that I'm afraid of doing damage to them.....

bikinfool

Did you buy just the rims? Or a wheelset? In either case, they're fairly basic rims from what I can see with a quick google; properly built up into a wheel and with a properly inflated tire you should be able to drop off a curb just fine without damaging them...maybe even some sweet jumps!

wmodavis

How light are they?

Basil Moss

Alexrims are alright, but their quality control is rubbish- a lot of them, pull through at the spoke holes. If this doesn't happen, you'll have some OK training wheels which you'll have to true quite often, which is good practice if nothing else. You cant pull the spokes up as tight as you'd want to, because of the flimsy spoke holes, which is why they don't stay true very well.

Joshman380

Sorry, I didn't specify, I bought them seperately but as wheels, not just the rims.

wmodavis: They're pretty light. They feel like they don't weigh more than a pound or two.

Basil Moss: Good feedback. Hopefully it's been awhile since you've personally used a set, and they've improved their QC a little. I don't even know how to true wheels..I've tried and ended up making them worse. I'd hate to have to pay someone to true them every so often.....

Basil Moss

Don't worry, trueing is a skill that can be learned, and the Alexrims are a great chance to practice! Read up Sheldon Brown's instructions, and just remember that if you tighten one, loosen one on the opposite side, or you'll end up with a wildly tensioned wheel.

Steev

My experience with Alex rims has been quite different to Basil Moss. I've had a number of winter beater wheels built on the Alex DM18 rim. They've all given good reliable service until the winter grit chewed the brake tracks off.
I also have some road wheels built on the DA22 rims, they're my normal road wheels and have also been reliable and stayed true.

Joshman380

Well, I talked to one of the mechanics at my LBS, and he said that they're good wheels, and shouldn't need to be trued more than once (allowing for the natural self adjustments the wheel makes while riding when new). He told me that if the wheel was built right, I shouldn't have to true it constantly.

I suppose we'll see what happens after awhile......

bikinfool

With the proper spoke wrench, a little knowledge and patience, you can easily keep your wheels in true, too.
It's not nearly as hard as most think...

tjwarren

Joshman380 -- it's been a year since you bought the Alex X101s. How have they held up?