markk900

I just got my new CR18s in the mail today - so excited. They look great but I did have a couple of questions for those that have swapped out their original steel rims for CR18s.

1. I assume the stickers come off without issue?
2. The CR18s are a good 10mm narrower than the original rims (on mine, stamped 26x1 3/8 Raleigh). I had understood them to be narrower but not by that much. Any issues with ride quality?
3. It looks like I will need to make new brake cables as mine has Raleigh pattern cables, probably 65 years old, and the adjusters are close to their limits. To take up 10mm of extra gap I will not be able to use the adjusters. Did anyone else find this?

I really am looking forward to much better braking and a general lack of ugly rust on the braking surfaces of my wheels, but was somewhat surprised that these are the rims most recommended for this conversion - they seem quite a bit more modern style than the originals. I suppose being the only reasonable quality game in town has something to do with it - last I checked ebay the guy in greece wanted something like $65CAD per rim (plus $67CAD shipping) for NOS.

lostarchitect 

1. Stickers are not super hard to get off.
2. I didn't notice mine being narrow, but no issues with tires or ride.
3. You should replace the cables anyway. I'd do pads, too. Kool Stop Continental will work.

These rims are recommended because they're affordable and come in the right size, not because they look super vintage. That said, with no decals they don't really attract attention either. They work well for the purpose.

markk900

thanks @lostarchitect: on #3 - they're already on there! Still don't work great against steel, hence the CR18s! I use the grey ones as they blend in better than the orange koolstops.

my surprise comes from the decades I spent on vintage motorcycles - trainspotters there are rampant, and this much of a change would not be acceptable....especially given the general "keep it original" theme both in that hobby and this one.

Originally was hoping for reasonably priced copies of the original Raleigh pattern.....copies/NOS are there, just not reasonably priced!

ThermionicScott 

CR18s are great rims -- don't be fooled by the low price. (The story I've heard is that Sun's tooling costs were paid off a long time ago.)

For #1 , use a thin guitar pick to pry off the labels.
#2 , sounds about right. I just measured my original steel rims at about 1-1/16" in the middle of the brake track. CR18s are about 22.5mm (7/8") wide on the outside. Probably helps save some weight overall.

I'm sure the gray pads work fine, but it's hard to top the salmon Kool-Stops. You don't care as much about how they look when you're trying to stop in the rain on steel rims!

mharter

I noticed that the holes in CR18 rims are staggered opposite to the Raleigh rims. I had to move the valve stem hole over by one spoke in order not to cross spoke the rim. I know I could have rebuilt the wheel instead of just transferring the rim, but I worried that the hub is seated to the current arrangement meaning that the wheel would take longer to break in. This was true on the 40 and the 32 spoke version of the CR18.

Velocivixen

[QUOTE=markk900;17483394]I just got my new CR18s in the mail today - so excited. They look great but I did have a couple of questions for those that have swapped out their original steel rims for CR18s.

1. I assume the stickers come off without issue?
2. The CR18s are a good 10mm narrower than the original rims (on mine, stamped 26x1 3/8 Raleigh). I had understood them to be narrower but not by that much. Any issues with ride quality?
3. It looks like I will need to make new brake cables as mine has Raleigh pattern cables, probably 65 years old, and the adjusters are close to their limits. To take up 10mm of extra gap I will not be able to use the adjusters. Did anyone else find this?

I really am looking forward to much better braking and a general lack of ugly rust on the braking surfaces of my wheels, but was somewhat surprised that these are the rims most recommended for this conversion - they seem quite a bit more modern style than the originals. I suppose being the only reasonable quality game in town has something to do with it - last I checked ebay the guy in greece wanted something like $65CAD per rim (plus $67CAD shipping) for NOS.[/QUOTE @markk900 - Please keep us posted on how it goes. I just ordered some CR18's yesterday as I'm going to attempt a first wheel build for my Phillips. The front wheel has a big flat spot.

You're building your own? What spokes you using, etc.?

Velognome 

Or a credit card for the less hip, pick-less folks

markk900

Credit card is fragile right now Luckily I am surrounded by musicians in my house.
@Velocivixen: will do - I've built a number of wheels now (usually using Alex Dm18 rims which I like)....this will be my first CR18 build. At this point planning to reuse the original spokes as they are good quality stainless steel (from the 40s) and I would like to reuse. Otherwise I will get spokes from teh LBS - I think the last set they sold me were DT but I can't remember.
@mharter: thanks for the heads up. I am planning to do a transfer but hadn't yet looked at the orientation of the holes. Offsetting by one spoke - did you end up with any clearance issues at the valve stem?

lostarchitect 

I've built 3 or 4 wheelsets with CR-18 rims, they all built up easy.

markk900

@mharter: just went and confirmed the valve hole needs to offset by one - if I go one direction no clearance issue with the stem, go the other way and the stem is located where two spokes cross....so thanks again for the heads up!

markk900

@lostarchitect: thanks for the encouragement. Just noticed in your sig the 1973 Wes Mason....I built up a Wes Mason from about 1975 - unfortunately lost track of it even though it was in my family until just a few years ago....I asked about it about a month after it was (gulp) thrown out....

mharter

I had no problems with valve stem access, but I know that some purists might have issue with that arrangement. The bike looks good and rides well with the CR18s, so I'm sure you'll be happy.

photogravity

It sounds like you have the Dia Compe Grey Matter pads. They work quite well. Have not been able to do a comparison with the KoolStops, but think they are quite similar in performance.

Velocivixen

I've had both the Dia Compe Grey Matter pads as well as the Kool Stop Continentals on a bike. For the life of me could not get the front Kool Stops from squealing, despite toeing in, bedding in, etc. Changed to the Grey Matter and they were silent from the get go. I have the Continentals on a different bike and they are silent. So.....brake calipers? Either way you'll do great.

Salubrious

I've installed CR-18s on five 3-speeds so far. I've been able to use the original brake cables in all cases. I use DT spokes- I don't like to change out the rim unless the original is beyond hope, in which case usually the spokes are too.

However, I found that to get maximum breaking, you want the brake pads fairly far away from the rim, so you have to squeeze the brake lever a ways before you get engagement. This seems to yield greater braking power; when you think about it, its all about leverage, the most important levers being in your hands. Its easier to squeeze hard with your fingers already partially closed than when the fingers are more extended.

mharter

The bike I fitted CR18s to has not brake adjusters. There are just drop bar lever ferules acting as cable stops at the brake. Even with a little slack space in the brake adjustment, the tire must be deflated in order to remove a wheel. This is partly due to the narrower CR18. I will be mounting Rubena V66 Flash 87 PSI tires. I wanted the ones with the reflective strip, but couldn't find them for sale.

rhm

If it does come to replacing the brake cables, it's not a big deal. Or you could just shorten the cable. Clip off the pear shaped doodad at the brake cable end, slide on a spoke nipple, and crimp that in place. It helps to use a proper crimper tool (I use a Bell Systems / ATT tool like this one).

JohnDThompson 

Same tool I use. When you crimp something with that bad boy, it stays crimped.

JohnDThompson 

As an alternative to deflating the tire, you can simply remove one brake pad to get clearance to remove the wheel. Personally, I find removing and re-installing the brake pad to be less effort than deflating and re-inflating the tire.

mharter

Here's my Sports with CR18s, just finished and ready to ride!

I'm very satisfied with the look, but it is not trying to be authentic.

noglider 

You might be right that hands have more leverage when half closed. I think the same is true of brake levers. Single pivot side pulls work best for me when adjusted loose, as you like them. Maybe they get a bad reputation because people don't know this.

My three speeds have original steel rims, but I have also installed CR18s on a couple of other people's three speeds. The results have been excellent. I don't remember if I relaced any of them. I know that in at least one case, I just transferred the rim, leaving the valve in the less optimal position, but really, that's not such a big deal for most people.

Salubrious

Its nice to know the same spokes will work- that makes the job go much faster!

OTS 

Suggestions on where to get those CR18 rims?
thanks

desconhecido 

I've bought them from both Niagara and from Treefort. Niagara sells them through Amazon.

Lots of others sell them, too.

desconhecido 

I looked at the Greek guy's ebay listing and it doesn't appear to me that he is selling any NOS rims that are appropriate for your bike. He has three style rims: two with raised center and one that's just a plain rectangular cross section. Neither of the raised center rims has the satin, non gloss center section that I am assuming your rims have. I have recently acquired a 51 Ladies which has these rims and they are things of beauty in a Rubenesque way. They appear to be very strongly designed and built and appear to have some sort of sulfate etched or galvanized inside. 63 years has allowed some rust, but nothing like you will find on later Raleigh rims. They are also round and relatively straight and the weld is well done and nearly invisible. The rims that came with my 79 Sports look like they were put together in a 7th grade shop class by slow students using dull tools and grinders running at about 7000 rpm.

Oh, and the stainless steel spokes have a little R on the end of each.

Anyway, if you can't get the proper rims or good reproductions, and I doubt you can, what's the advantage of an inferior, probably later model substitute as compared to a really nice, highly polished modern substitute like the CR18?

Probably should start a thread with all the wrong things I've done to my 79 Sports, like the Shimano generator hub laced to a CR18 and the German BM LED light.