Robvolz 

These are/were on my Dad’s Colnago Oro. Notice instead of a sticker is an embossed NISI badge. Pretty fancy. Never seen any wheel with such jewelry.

later notice the strange divots scooped out between the nipple access holes. Maybe to aid glue adhesion? Maybe to lighten it?

dunno. Also don’t know if these are strictly track wheels. Pop had them hanging in the garage, preferring to roll some French rims built by Seattle’s Wheelsmith.
Not a sticker, but a badge that I would suspect could throw off the weight balance


Two chunked out divots, not very well even

Again with the divots (2) between each nipple hole. They look so hastily done.

Road Fan

I've seen those divots on a bunch of Nisi rims, since about 1970. I don't have an explanation, but I think it's a quality rim.

GrayJay

Divots were likely a DIY modification to try to give the cement more grab on the rim.

Usually it is the rim joint (opposite valve stem) is the heavy/imbalance point of a wheel, often there is an internal spline inside the rim joint. Back in the 80's there were aftermarket bike wheel weights available that slipped over the valve stem which were intended to re-balance a wheel. Any/all wheel "imbalance" I have ever experienced riding was entirely due to lumpy tires, especially with cheap tubular. Ive had a few MTB tires that are so far out of round that they are hugely annoying to ride on smooth roads.

Robvolz 

I just noticed the "jewelry" is where the rim joint is. Perhaps it holds the thing together os maybe they had problems with separation and this was the just the lil bit more to insure everything stays put.

Andrew_G

In 1976, I bought gold anodized Nisi tubular rims for my first racing bicycle. My Nisi rims also had the drilled countersinking on the outside face, like yours. My rims had a sticker instead of a badge for the branding of Nisi. The overall appearance of the rims I owned vs. yours is otherwise very similar.


So, the drilled countersinking is done by the manufacturer. I believe it's done to lighten the rim.


I've not seen this countersinking done by any other manufacturer. I soon owned Mavic tubular rims (Monthlerery, others) right after I bought the Nisi rims.


I suspect that the ridges on the outside edges may be for improving the glue adhesion. I don't recall whether other manufacturers also had that feature.

oneclick 

Of the rims hereabout that don't have tyres on them, Martano and Saturne have a similar treatment.

satbuilder 

Given the condition of the rim sidewalls, I would venture a guess and say they were used on a road bike.

A few years ago I built up a set of Nisi Campione Del Mondo rims for the Bianchi, and do remember the dimples mentioned. I thought they were for balancing the rim. The dimple pattern if memory serves was random, and not what I would expect if they were for lightening the rim. The treads I think are for glue adhesion. The ones I built had decals, and not the embossed logo.

Nice rims.

Road Fan

No, I think they were factory, not DIY. I bought a bike in 1970 which had Nisi tubular rims, which had those same drillings, and little vertical hashmarks on the rim sidewalls. As time went on I needed a rim replaced and the shop had a fresh supply of Nisi. The replacement a few years after the bike was first delivered also had those features. I can't imagine they were DIY, though knocking heads with the shop guys (the old Turin Bicycle Coop in Chicago) we did not come up with any decent explanations for why the factory did that. I also have a pair of Nisi clinchers, and they don't have that feature.

So I don't see any reason why the factory did that, but those marks were made before the rims were received by my bike shop.

Road Fan

Yes, mine had some roughening on the tire seating area, and the drillings were not in any clear pattern. My rims had a "Nisi" winged decal and the name of the town "Moncalieri" in several places on the rim. I think they may have also been marked "Toro," but I'm not sure. In the early 1970s I did not own a handy electronic camera for which I did not have to get film developed. Last time I Iooked at Velobase about them, it said the company started in the 1980's !!!!!

SurferRosa

How to crop a photo on a smartphone, computer, or tablet

Lattz

Cicli Berlinetta just posted a pair of NOS ones with factory nylon packaging, and they have it as well...
https://cicli-berlinetta.com/product...622-20mm-290g/

I would say, it helpts ensure to keep the dang together but also a nicer way than a decal to burn their logo into your brain triggering the #wantitnow.....

I like their decal logo as well, but these look cooler in my book:

Robvolz 

no sir!!

I put the Weimaraner as background on purpose. 😁

satbuilder 

Ghost dog!

SurferRosa

<facepalm>