I've seen these for sale saying "red label". What does this mean? Are they of of higher quality or????

They're Mavic Module E knock-offs. They are decent wheels.

Oh wow. I think I have some....

I've got some 27" Araya red labels on the mixte here at the house; I like them quite well, and the quality is apparent. I wish they were a tad wider; they're better sized for 25mm tires than 32.

I'd like to see some pics.

Here's the straight scoop. The common Araya road clincher in the eighties was the redoubtable 20A.

https://www.araya-kk.co.jp/rim/archive.htm

J

I have a set on my white PX10. (Meanwhile, I have Mavic Mod E's on my Ue8. )

gold 20As

As a matter of interest, here's what I believe to be the same rim, circa late '70s, with a different label. I've searched for several years and I've never seen this rim anywhere except on my Nishiki Superbe.



A beautiful rim laced to Sansin Pro Am hubs. One of the prettiest and high class wheel sets I know of the time.

J

Nice. You need some Wolber gum walls on that. I ran an NOS pair awhile back that have been beautifully preserved. Wish I had a suitable French ride to put them on.

J

Cool, thanks for the link! My Eros has some of the black anodized 20As on it.

- Scott

Araya red label rims are of premium quality... they are a touch heavy but are damn near bulletproof.

Have some 1A semi aero red labels on my Cooper laced to Arvon cartridge bearing hubs... they were a gift from the boss (Arvon).

Sweetest wheels ever.

velo orange PBPs are very similar to 20As.

Afilado, I think one of those wheels is on Ebay right now if you are looking for another.

I find that the VO rims look nice, but they seem very tall.

Thanks for the link, afilado.

Most people didn't know what model Araya rims they had, but saw the red label.
Some late 80's models only had a red Araya label, with 700c on it and no other model name.
Since most of them were good rims and the experience was positive, the "red label" came to = good.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it....

The early bronze-anodized Arayas with the beveled shoulder were the SS-45, found on tons of models.

The coppery/gold Arayas that came out about 1986 have no model number on the label.
They appear a bit different from the A20's, more similar to the ADX models than the 16B gold.
While the 1985 Araya scan doesn't show them, the '86 Ironman specs say the coppery gold ones are A20's.
So, they must be. They are not hard-anodized, and with even wear, the sides appear to be machined.

The later CTL models were often known as "Super Hards" because the anodizing labels said that.

In 1988, the CTL-370 was so designated because Araya was pushing the 370g claimed weight per rim.
Triathlons and racing were generating weight consciousness like never before, so Araya wanted in on that.
The CTL-370's actually weighed closer to 380g, but close enough.

If I could lace all my hubs to NOS CTL-370's, I would, even the Italians....

I'm pretty sure the front wheel on the early 80's Motobecane I've got has one of these stickers, the rear has the standard red label. I assumed they were not the same but I couldn't find anything in the way of difference.

Sweet I have some They look to be Model 20A Wheels.

So are the red labels all 27's?

Re: 700c on the label. I have some 700c's as well.

I have a pair of NJS Araya rims with green lined reddish gold labels, the only pair I've ever seen. Anyone else every seen these?
[IMG]
IMG_7618 by Dawes-man, on Flickr[/IMG]

Oh, I've gotta snag pics of my different Arayas now.

I figured it was better to revive an old identification thread than start a new one...

I facilitated the purchase of some Mavic tubular rims for a guy on the Paceline the other day. The seller had these NOS Araya Red rims as well, so I snagged them. The discussion a few years ago in this thread suggested that people called them "red" because that was the color of the label. That is indeed true here, but "Red" also seems to be the model. They are anodized, so probably not earlier than early 80s, but they aren't. They are double eyeleted, so I'm guessing they are probably pretty strong. I didn't see a Velobase entry, so I'll probably add them. Anybody got an idea of the timeframe for these rims?

Answer my own question... Araya has a bunch of catalog scans on their website. Mine appear to be the super-hard anodized version of the 16B. Red means "road" (vs Gold for "track" or Blue also for "road"). The 1984 catalog shows the unanodized version but mentions that an anodized version is available. The 1985 catalog shows the anodized version.

These are not the same rims as previously posted, as your rims should be 16B tubular type. In 1985, Araya added colour descriptors to identify the 3 weights of its 16B tubular rim: Gold(310g), Red (360-365g,depending on year) and Blue (400g). The heavier blue lasted only a few years. Red lasted until at least 1999 but may have been renamed R-50. Both Gold and R-50 were catalogued as late as 2010.