Mavic Module 4 rims..?
 

I need to build up some new (& more appropriate) wheels for my Peugeot TH8 tandem. I scored some Phil Wood tandem hubs (40h) for a decent price, and I've been looking for rims. Initially I thought, 'for sure I'll be able to find some 40h Sun CR18 rims for cheap....,' but thus far that hasn't been the case. I've come across a pair of NOS Mavic Module 4 rims for what seems to be a good price, but I can't really find much info about them. Stoker and my combined weight is about 280lbs, and we're unlikely to do any heavy touring on the bike (maybe a bit of 'CC touring' I suppose). Are Module 4 rims overkill here? They do have the advantage that they're nice and shiny...... and French......
thx

I have a set of these rims laced to phil wood hubs that I picked up on a trade. I think I'll use them on a '93 Trek 750 I'm rebuilding. They're built like tanks and seem like they'd be perfect on a tandem (and perhaps overkill for my 750 at 600 grams per rim).

You've likely seen this,

https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...3-484d47b1c592

Perfect tandem rims. Maybe stronger than you need, but except for a little weight, there's no downside. You're not counting grams on this tandem are you?

On our "racing" tandem, which we did actually race on but it's more of a day-ride and touring bike these days, we used similar-weight CXP-30 clincher rims, 36-hole. They're a semi-deep-section aero shape, which I wanted to try on the theory that it gives more surface area to radiate and conduct heat to the air. No hub brake on this bike. Dunno if the aero shape actually does anything, but we've never had a problem with the rims getting hot, verified with adhesive dots that turn from white to black if their temperature is reached. You stick a string of them on the rim with a range of tempratures on them, then look to see what's the 'hottest' one that turned black. I forget what the highest temperature we got was, pretty warm, but nowhere near the tires-blowing-off range or the brake-fade range. "Uncomfortably warm" to the fingers, I think is the best we could do, and that was by trying our hardest to get them hot — pedaling like mad while riding the brakes, on a downhill where we normally topped out at ~52 mph.

So maybe the aero shape helps, but i'm skeptical, and we know for sure no one needs rims that shape. And they look dumb on a vintage bike. For your bike, Module 4 = Nirvana.

Mark B

bulgie , wealth of knowledge, as always. I'm going to 'just do it'.... And yeah, aero rims on a vintage tandem? Uh, nah... Actually aero rims in general....

I have 40° MAVIC mod. 4 rims on my tandem. They've held up fine for nearly 40 years.

Well that suggests they will more than outlast me!

They are reliable and very robust rims,go for it