So I've got a NOS Araya SA30 rim, but its 16h.

My question, drilling the life-juices out of an SA30 to double the number of holes-- how much of a jackass would I have to be to accomplish this?

A jackass armed with math and power tools.

Hmm...












.....hmmm
















hmmmmm.......

I think you may have answered your own question.

It's still a relatively heavy rim. You should drill some extra holes in it to lighten it up while you're at it.

it was worth posting just for the .gif



I regret nothing. Itll make a nice 16h front wheel someday I suppose.

Sigh...

Don't do it. It's stupid. But Swiss cheese rims...interesting...

Drill the braking surfaces for better cooling and lightening at the same time. Win/win.

Good Lord!

I say do it.

The amount of weight that actually saved is so miniscule, it's ridiculous. People are so dumb sometimes.

It's slightly more common with BMX and some disciplines of mountain biking.



OP: I think you could drill it just fine, but unless you're a computer, this project is way too much trouble for what it is.

We used to drill components of our motorbikes back in the 70s (side covers, levers, etc.). I don't think we saved any real weight compared to just taking a dump, filling the tank partly full, wearing less leather, etc, but it individualized our bikes. I certainly wasn't serious earlier, but I see now that people are still practising the age old art. I don't think I'd mess with rims in a bmx or downhill environment.

But it's rotational weight.

my reaction when reading the op

Not worth doing.

Honestly, the best thing to do is just lose body weight. You won't notice any difference and you risk compromising the durability of the rims if you don't drill them properly. And no, I don't know the "proper" way to do it.

sounds like the biggest ****ing hassle i've ever heard of

You don't re-drill a rim for extra spokes. You're going to have a drastic effect on the structural integrity of the rim not to mention if you do try it and the holes you drill are spaced in the gap unevenly and/or not properly aligned with the other spoke holes will render a rim useless.

I know that it's been done with bmx and some mtb's. Thankfully that stuff stays in trials bikes. There's a reason that stuff vanished on the xc and dh aspects in mtb's. The stuff wasn't strong and the advancement in materials that are lighter and stronger than the materials of old have rendered speed holes obsolete.

Id like to point out that this same rim, in 650c came from Araya blank, ie drill your own holes. So its not exactly detrimental to the structural integrity unless excessive force or heat was introduced. But yes I agree that drilling this rim would not be worth it, even though its a cool (and somewhat rare) piece.


edit: Ill probably take the lazy way out and just lace it to this here 32h hub, skipping every other hole on the hub.
So why would I buy a 16h rim when all I have is a 32h hub? Well, since I ride ssfg, clearly Im just in it fo steez. XD

16 holes

Just make a template for the holes, measure twice and have at it.

And of course, drill by stepping up to larger bits as you go.

Caveat being, you must feel comfortable doing this.

I bet money that the same rim is used for a 32h rim as a 16h rim, just the factory drills less holes. You aren't going to ruin any structural integrity

"power tools" ??? - Do you have a nice drill press and proper tools to make a jig and measure everything out?