Wiggle

I'd like to have a new wheel built up with a SON28 disc hub for my Trek 520.

Can someone recommend an affordable but strong rim to use?

Should be 36H, and I'll be using 6-bolt disc rotor. Would be nice if it were black and reasonably similar looking to the Affinity TLR rim on the existing wheels so it won't look too odd if I swap only the front wheel on.

Long term plan will be to also build up a second rear wheel so I can have one set with my hardcase tires for touring and the other set running more of a gravel bias.

Thanks.

Thanks.

GamblerGORD53

You left out tire size, but we can assume it's medium width.
For 35/ 38 mm there is only ONE good choice. Velocity Dyad. It's all I have now on 3 IGH bikes. Eyelets are a STUPID abomination.
The first one I built in 2012 with a SA XL-FDD has 28,000+ miles on 3 bikes and 2 tours. I used 2.3/ 2.0 Wheelsmith spokes, still looks like new.

robow

Mavic 719, DT Swiss TK 540, and Dyad probably the 3 most respected heavy duty rims.
Toss in the Mavic 319 as possibly the best value

m.c. 

I also have a 520 that we will be building soon. The Velocity Atlas was recommended to me. I really don't know the difference between the different rims. The plan was to build the wheels with Atlas rims and a Shimano dynamo in the front and IGH in the rear.

How does the atlas compare to the dyad?

I was also going to use the Velocity Blunt for a 26" build.

Tourist in MSN

I used Mavic A719 for a set of wheels over a decade ago, was quite happy with that. Rim brakes. I have run 32mm and 37mm tires on them. That rear wheel is still in use 18 years later. The front wheel is in storage, it would still be in use if I had bought a dynohub when I built that wheel.

And five years ago built up another touring bike, used Dyad for that. On this bike, the rear is disc and front is rim brake. Having the Dyads with machined braking surface rims, both front and rear, the rims match although the rear braking surface on the rim has never touched a brake pad. I use 37mm wide tires on this bike. On this bike I used 32 spoke front and 36 spoke rear. I had trouble finding the dynohub I wanted at that time in 36, and I decided that since a lot less weight is on the front wheel, I would settle for 32 up front, I do not regret that decision.

That said, I am convinced that I am never going to go tubeless. If you might want tubeless, other rims might be better. I suggest you decide before you buy rims if you will be staying with inner tubes or going tubeless. Then if you might go tubeless, specifically ask what rim to buy for that.

Wiggle

Thanks everyone. I was looking at 700C x 38mm wide so at the upper end of what is suitable for the Dyads. No interest in tubeless.

Are they much better than the DT Swiss 540? I saw a good deal on those right now.

saddlesores

usually get good results with sun cr18 or rhyno lite, or alex dh19.

i don't worry about the rims matching......as long as color is the same nobody will notice.

and do you have the disc-specific tlr with the huge "bontrager" logo on the sides?

Wiggle

Indeed I do

Wiggle

Is 38mm a "reach" on those rims? I'm fine having that as an upper limit on these rims but should a hardcase 38mm be ok to mount?

But its me 

I’m running 42mm Soma Shikoros on Dyads with no issues.

Germany_chris

I have TK540’s on two bikes and they’re great rims but they’re rim brake, OP is looking for disc.

cyccommute 

Let’s begin with the Dyads. No, their 18.6mm internal width isn’t at the upper end of being suitable for 38mm tires. I use 55mm mountain bike tires on 17mm internal width rims without issue. I use 38mm tires on 14mm wide Velocity Deep Vs without issues. The charts for “suitable” tires for a given rim width are extremely conservative…almost to the point of being useless. For your purposes, Velocity A23, Dyad, Deep V, or Fusion would all work for your tire size.

Second, everyone makes a big deal about “strength” in rims. A heavy rim isn’t a “strong” rim…it’s just heavy. The Dyad, for example, is a 535g rim. The A23 is a 450g rim. That’s an 85g difference. That’s 31ml or about 2 tablespoons of volume difference in the aluminum used. That volume is taken up in the size difference of the two rims with the Dyad being 1mm wider and 1.5mm taller. Since we are talking about aluminum, that’s not much of a strength gain. In other words, opting for a lighter rim won’t be a detriment.

Since this is a front rim, the issue of strength is mostly moot any way. Even with the disc rotor, the front wheel is stronger than the rear because it is more symmetrical. That said, it would be better to build the wheel with a triple butted spoke like an Alpine III or Sapim Force because the spoke is where the real strength of the wheel lies. You can make a really strong wheel with the lightest (and supposedly weaker) rim as long as you use really strong spokes. Personally, I would have no problem riding on a $30 Alex rim with Alpine III spokes.

robow

I know the the TK540 is available in disc rim as well but maybe only 32 hole.

https://www.modernbike.com/product-2...BoCuk4QAvD_BwE

Germany_chris

Good catch, I didn't realize they made a disc version

robow

Btw, in most cases, you can always build a disc wheel using a rim brake rim as long as it has a correct number of spoke holes and you're not going to lace them in a radial fashion, though you might not care for the cosmetics.

M Rose

Why not use the stock 36h Affinity Rim? I am asking, because this was my plan for building a Dynamo Wheel.

Tourist in MSN

There is nothing wrong with a rim brake rim cosmetics on a frame with a disc brake. But you would want front and rear to match.

Wiggle

Do you mean re-use the stock rim or a new build based off that same rim?

Nothing against it, I just figured I'd see what were the best options were.

Wiggle

Thanks for all this info. I'm leaning towards the Dyad, I see several versions. Is it correct to assume "non-machined" means there is no rim brake surface ?

Yan 

Velocity rims don't have eyelets so it's an automatic elimination for me. Go to google and find countless reports of Velocity rims cracking around the spoke holes. Is it possible for a rim without eyelets to be strong? Maybe. Are all these crack reports entirely due to builder error and have nothing to do with the poor design of the rim? Sure, if you insist. But why would I spend my money on an inferior product when better choices are everywhere?

I used Mavic A319s on my last build.

rifraf

I’ve been running 36 spoke Velocity Dyads on my bikes for a quite a while now, currently with Son dynamo and IGH hub, both disk braked with zero issues (touch wood).
Never used a narrower tyre than 2.00 and up to 2.35’ x700c and even used “ghetto-tubeless” for a couple of years though not currently.
Been happy enough with them and see no current reason to change them, having had a trouble free run with them.

I think you could easily find lots of examples of trouble with a specific rim (including your Mavics) without too much difficulty online, so I’m not convinced by your suggestion you run a superior rim by any means, but I’m glad your happy with your choice and can understand your reasoning despite coming to an alternative conclusion

rifraf

I heard a lot about issues around 10 or 12 years ago when I got paranoid about my choice, from well intentioned members of a local cycling forum.
The more I read and researched about the problems the single correlation that stood out to me was people running high pressure (greater than 50psi) in high volume (2.00 x 700c plus) in what appeared to be (at the time) vast majority of cases I read about, and with another correlation being that at the time Velocity rims were manufactured in Australia.
I believe this is no longer the case and I’ve tended to run my 2’+ tyres no higher than 40psi and usually @35psi for tarmac duty.

https://www.velocityusa.com/about/about-us

M Rose

build off of the same wheel (new)

GamblerGORD53

All mine are black with machined sides, that helps a LOT for nighttime visibility. I still have one caliper brake on my old CCM now with 584 mm rims and 38/ 37 mm wide. They ride nice with 6 lbs less pressure. My Rohloff had a crap rim brake also for 13,500 miles, till I made a disc mount.
Alex eyelet rims are so cheaply crappy, that Aaron in Seattle refuses to deal with them. He has a lifetime warranty for wheels he does build with rims he sells.
LBS guys keep repeating the LIE about more material on Dyads not being better. LOL. What a farce. That extra weight is around the spoke holes. Plus the pointier profile is FAR superior for strength and rigidity. Eyelets need a hole 40% bigger. LOL. 90% of the busted rims on BF have eyelets. Everybody keeps claiming it's because of wrong tension. LOL.

rifraf

I’d strongly agree that spoke choice is important if your aiming for longevity in your wheels.
Some people expressed strong opinions (many negative) at the time of my rims and spoke choice (Cx-Ray), but the proof for me has been over a decade of heavy luggage touring (4 pannier, bar and rack bag and usually trailer) usage with no breakages and the rims remaining true.
They do get a annual service (tension check) but I’ve suffered no spoke breakage to date and still retain all my spares.