mrrabbit 

No experience with the Aeroheat yet...the Velocity wheels I've been building have been pretty much in the single speed ballpark...basically your DeepV's, Fusions, B43s and Chukkers.

Night!

=8-)

AEO

I've had velocity aeroheads with a lot of metal shavings and burrs left over on the tire side eyelets.
I had to use a rat tail file to clean all the burrs up and try to knock off the shavings.

Mr. Beanz

FTR, I had a shop build a V for me back in 98 (?). Dude at the shop built it without removing the shavings. I had to take the strip out to remove them. So that aint nothing new with Velocity that has happened in the last year. But I would have thought the shop would have removed the shavings before building it, they took my money to do it right.

But again, sometimes quality depends on the builder.

biknbrian

So, I'm not really a wheelbuilder, but I don't understand why you can't get a feel for rim roundness without special equipment. It seems to me that you could use a beam type compass to draw large circles on some surface. Then you could compare the rim to an "ideal" circle. You should be then able to eyeball roundness to at least within a milimeter or so. Do unbuilt rims really have to be more round than that?

blamp28

oops double post

blamp28

The quality always depends on the builder. Good parts and a quality build are where the value and longevity come from in a hand build wheel. I'm confident in my build quality but this is the first time I have been suspicious of the parts. I don't build often enough to ha run into the issues here. Nor have I used the deep V rims. My builds have been all MTB disc and Tandem wheels so far with Velocity rims so they have used the VXC and Aeroheat. The only issues other than the shavings in one Aeroheat 26" was crash damage and not related to the quality of the parts or build.

I'm very interested in following this issue have recommended Velocity to a number of friends and riders and do like to support them since their US location is right here in West Michigan. I will only do so If I can believe in their product though.

Kimmo 

That's hugely disappointing to hear about Velocity... guess I'll have to stop pimping their rims till I hear they've addressed this awful shoddiness.

That's a proper noun, not an adjective ; )

mrrabbit 

When it comes to Suntour...definitely a noun as well as an adjective...

=8-)

mrrabbit 

Machinery = faster and less painful...

Sure it can be done at home in the manner as you described among others - but quickly as in a matter of minutes?

Most rims non-deepv rims...mm might be okay...but when you start talking radial wheels...or high end wheels - I expect alot in the QA department before the wheel is released to the world at large.

...that's just nit picky me!

=8-)

davidad

Look at the WE 512. https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels/622.html

John Velocity

As preisdent of Velocity USA, I am quite familiar with Velocity rims, and the manufacturing process. Cutting corners in order to save a few pennies is not our style. We try to make the best rims possible, and we are always striving to improve. Knowingly allowing sub par rims to make it to market does not make any sense. We have formidable competition, so in order to grow and gain market share, we try our best to offer high quality product, and we back it up with exceptional customer service.

Mrrabbit, sorry to hear that you're advocating that people avoid us, and that you think we have become crap. Have you contacted us directly regarding the problems you have had with our rims? We welcome your phone call or email. Getting detailed descriptions of problems is really the only way we can improve. People should know that we have the best warranty in the business. I am reasonably certain that we have never refused a warranty claim. We preach 100% customer satisfaction and we live it. We often get taken advantage of due to this policy, but it has helped us become legitimite players in a very competitive arena.

CliftonGK1, you have every right to post this on the clydesdale forum, but let me just say that we have thousands of satisfied clydesdale customers. You may want to consider posting something with a little more accurate content.

Kimmo, you have not been given the straight story. We have not backed off our stance or efforts regarding quality one bit. You have nothing to fear, I appreciate you "pimping" our rims up to this point and I hope you'll choose to continue doing so.

So, I will attempt to address some of the quality issues brought up in this thread. The join of the rim is a tricky thing, and if it is off by just a little, it is very noticable. Aero rims are even more difficult to join, the taller they are, the tougher it is to make them perfect. We do have several quality control measures in place to help insure that we our putting good rims out, with good joins. Sometimes we blow it, but given the chance, we make it right. As for the metal shavings in the rims, I must admit, this is a source of frustration. We choose to drill our rims as opposed to punching holes because we feel it makes for more precise, uniform spoke holes, and we don't run the risk of deforming the rim by slamming a metal rod through it in order to form a spoke hole. As a result, we get lots of metal shavings in the rims. After a rim is drilled, we acually put the rim on a machine that we fondly call the "rattler". The rim is shaken and rattled vigorously for several minutes which does allow much of the metal shavings to exit the rim. We build a fair number of wheels here, our very fussy builders always remove any remaining shavings when they build the wheel. Quality is of paramount importance to us, and while our rim production has increased over the years, our comitment to quality has not wavered. We keep documentation on every rim that is returned to us and we use this information to address and fix problems. Our customers are an important part of the quality control process, we want to hear from you with any issues or concerns you have regarding our rims. You can call us by dialing 616 243 3400, or email us at velocity@velocityusa.com

That's all I have for now. Let me just say in closing, it is my opinion that making a call or sending an email to us is far more productive in regards to solving a problem as opposed to just venting on a forum. If you have a problem with our rims, I want to fix it.

canopus 

Thank you John for posting to this thread and showing us how a company can/should respond.
Thank you for pointing out something that always gets me in the field that I work in. That point being that you can't fix what you don't know about.

blamp28

I appreciate the feedback John. I was just a bit concerned after seeing a recent thread regarding touring rims that were splitting down the center and then this thread. I have been very satisfied with the Velocity rims I have used thus far but wanted to know more as I'm putting a set on our Rans Screamer for loaded touring. Thanks for responding here.

mrrabbit 

Just got off the phone with John. We had a very cordial conversation. I listed the four specific technical issues that I've noticed ocurring with DeepVs, B43s and Chukkers and he was happy to listen and takes notes for followup. I provided a simple tip to assist with QC in the future that would be simple and not overly time consuming and he was in agreement.

I am not going to apologize for being overly critical of Mavic or Velocity - that's my nature as a conscientious wheelbuilder - however it is only prudent that I be assistive as well - hence the tip. I really enjoyed building Velocity rims in the January thru August period of 2009 and I think others would nod agreement in with me that it would be nicer to experience that again rather than stumble thru the minefield of testing alternatives.

It just may be that the changes necessary may have already taken place. As I mentioned earlier, of the 6 Chukkers that I am building now - only two have visible defects - and they apear to more in the minor category as opposed to major.

One point John raised earlier was a pretty good one - and we discussed it. With regards to hole punching as opposed to hole drilling - the hole punching process may just be the source of the "manhandling" that results in a bump near the valve stem hole on KinLin's basic entry-level rims.

...learn something new everyday as they like to sing in Hawaii...

=8-)

noglider 

Thank you for that response, John. Your name isn't really Velocity, is it?

Have you noticed the dip in quality that several noticed through use of many of your rims? If so, have you addressed it, and if so, how?

It's good to know you're available to talk to. If I had a complaint with Mavic, I wouldn't know where to start.

mrrabbit 

Quote: "If I had a complaint with Mavic, I wouldn't know where to start."


Careful there...don't want to have to take any meds...

John Velocity

First I will answer the easy question: No, my name isn't really Velocity. Having that asked of me though, did make me smile!

As for noticing a dip in quality, I honestly have not noticed a trend at all towards poor quality. In fact, for the 18+ years doing this, I have noticed big improvements in the quality of our rims. Let me give you a little background.....My brother is also my business partner, he runs the factory in Brisbane and is the real brains behind the operation. Way back when he was working out of his garage, and I was working out of my basement, we had regular conversations about quality, the direction of the company, what our customers expect, life in general. We still have those same conversations. The production process is under constant scrutiny, my brother is constantly working on improving over all quality. Believe it or not, we have come a long way. Even so, bad things happen, we do screw up. It breaks our hearts when it happens, but it does happen. The problem is, when something bad does happen, it is months befroe we find out. Just shipping the rims from the factory takes six weeks before they hit our door. One container of rims means 8,000 to 10,000 rims. So while it may seem like a trend to some, it is really just isolated to one batch. It takes a while to burn through that many rims. By the time we realize there is an issue, the horse is out of the barn. I don't think I have specifically answered your question, but I hope this helps.

noglider 

It does help!

You've restored my faith, just by your responsiveness. If I find a bad rim, I'll return it. If I see a trend, I'll report it.

Nigal

Yeah the guy at the LBS uses the thread lock on the nipple threads. I trust my mechanic pretty well so if he tells me a wheel is done I believe him. This is the part about a bike addiction I hate. Waiting on the cash to fix a beloved bike.

onbike 1939

I'd like to express my appreciation of mrrabbit's posts in this thread as I feel that he's done a real service to his readers. When I'm buying and looking for opinions on the quality of a product, I'll always give precedence to the experience of a user over that of the producer. In this case mrrabbit's well-evidenced criticisms were answered in a genuinely constructive way by the producer and the result of this will be of benefit to all, and that includes the manufacturer.
Well done and congratulations to all involved in this thread as for me, it's been the most valuable thread in a very long time.

Kimmo 

Is his name Adam? That's the name of the bloke who replied to the email I sent with the link for this thread...

Glad to hear it... I've been a fan ever since I bought my first set of AeroHeads something like fifteen years ago.

...And sights like this don't hurt the love... : )

John Velocity

Yes, we are indeed producers, but please understand that we are also users. In fact, once a week or so on our blog, we feature a staff member and their bike. If you'd like to check out this week's feature, here it is: https://velocityusa.blogspot.com/

In fact our wheel builders log more miles than anyone else on staff. If we are not producing up to code, our wheel builders are not bashful, they let us know loud and clear as to what is on their mind.

John Velocity

[QUOTE=Kimmo;10662631]Is his name Adam? QUOTE]

Adam is not my brother, although I love him like one. He is very instrumental in regards to our operation, and when he is not racing cars, sweet talking his fiance, or working like a dog in the factory, he is riding one of the many bikes in his fleet. If you want to see what he looks like, go to our blog and scroll down just a bit. There you will see a life size Adam action cutout(A-PAC).

BTW, sweet penny farthing