Velocity Dyad?
 

Anyone riding Velocity Dyad? Looking for bulletproof yet smooth rear commuting wheel at 36h 3x.

Dyad is a very good rim. I'm 250lbs (plus load), commuting on Dyad 32H 3x on 105 hubs, never had any problems. 36H, properly built and tensioned, should indeed be bulletproof. If you haven't already seen it, here's Peter White's page on Velocity Rims.

BTW when I got my wheels built, I paid a little extra to get the reflective finish Dyad, IMO it was not worth it, the reflectivity is very faint, almost nothing compared to the reflective stripes on my tire sidewalls. So just get silver or black.

Yes, but the rim doesn't make the wheel "bulletproof" nor smooth. Build makes the wheel smooth and choosing the proper spokes makes the wheel "bulletproof".
'Proper spokes' are not whatever spokes the builder has handy.

I am riding Dyad's 3x 36h on Phil hubs. These are the first wheels I built myself and they have 50k+ miles on them. No complaints. Tough. Keeping true. All good. Given the chance, I would choose them again. 210-250lbs with me and the bike and the load. 30 miles round trip daily. Double butted spokes tensioned to max recommended by Velocity.

Velocity Ailerons.

Yep - thinking of having that shop build me up a Dyad rear wheel. Thing that sucks is that I just bought some Conti 4 Seasons 28 and they're closer in actuality to 25. I'd really like to put a 32 on this wheel.

How'd you learn to build - teach yourself?

Same +30lbs. Happy with the wheels (White Ind hubs and 40 double-butted spokes) and agree the halo reflective finish was not a good idea. In addition to its weak retroreflectivity it stains easily with oil and cannot be cleaned.

Sheldon Brown.
Wheelbuilding

What a day, sailing down the street on wheels I spec'd and built myself.

Velocity wheels with Aeroheat rims (406/559) on my commuter recumbent.

I've got three sets of wheels with Dyad rims that I use for touring and commuting. They all have been bulletproof. All of them have 36 spokes except one with an SP Dynamo hub that I use on my main commuter bike, and it has 32 spokes. Because Dyads are so wide, they will widen the profile of any tire that you use. Eg, the panaracer 28 Gravel King tires on my commuter measure 30 mm wide on the Dyads.

I have built 6 wheels using Dyads, including my first pair. Very easy to build and never had to touch them again. I also built a set on the A23, which were much more difficult, and have needed a fair amount of tuning up. All were 36h rear with 32h front, some with wheel smith and some with dt butted spokes.

Dyad is an excellent rim, not too wide, not too narrow, not too heavy, but solid.

I don't know what you were doing to the A23 but I've built with both and never found any difference between them in terms of build. Specification-wise, there is very little difference between the Dyad and the A23. The A23 is 75g lighter (not a huge difference when it comes to aluminum), 1mm narrower (again not much difference), and 2.5mm shorter in depth of rim.

Personally, I'd opt for the A23 over the Dyad to take advantage of the off-center drilling of the A23 and the advantages that it offers for wheel strength over the Dyad. That would increase wheel strength over any slight differences in the rim dimensions.

The only other complaint I've heard about A23's is that the tubeless version makes it hard to mount non-tubeless tires. I was still looking at it for my first wheel build since it still looks boxy enough to go ok on my Paramount.

Anyone have thoughts yet on the Quill, the new improved sequel to the A23? Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA

I wonder why the Peter White page doesn't mention the A23?

Looks as if the content has not been updated for several years, judging from this: "Velocity used to sell 305mm - 16" rims, but as of 2011, they no longer make them."

Good question. All the build parameters were the same: spoke count and type, nipples, same hubs. A23 are tubeless ready, Dyads were not. A23 were high polish, Dyads were black anodized. A23 were 650b vs 700c. I did change brands on the spoke prep, which might affect durability.

The tubless ready definitely requires good technique to remove the tire.

If you use Velotape, or equivalent, as suggested, tire installation/removal is a breeze. Just make sure the bead is down in the center channel for removal or installation.

Last I saw, the Dyad still has a proper well, which makes the tire a breeze to remove even with cloth tape. Tubeless ready rims have a very small and shallow well, so even with Stans tape, I wouldn't call it a breeze. Very doable without any tools.

I'm using good old Velox in mine and haven't noticed removal or installation to be a problem.

Don't discount those 4 Seasons before you try them out. I run 28 on my tandem and on my fixed gear bike.

The fixed has A23 rims and I run the 4 Seasons at 95/75. I weigh around 185lbs. I can comfortable ride on crappy roads and bash through small 6" or so potholes and cracks with comfort.

Fixed gear wheels are 32/32 spokes.

I also run the A23 and A23OC on my road bike with 24/28 spokes. All have held up well for me.