25c tire and rim suggestions for a Jr?
 

I'm looking at building up a wheelset for my kid to ride/race this summer, something fast and light. Unfortunately kids a limited to aluminum rims for some of the races so carbon is out. Right now I'm looking at

Raketa hubs, I haven't heard a lot of things on this brand but nothing negative either. They seem light at 350g for the set, I really like the CK style bearing preload, and they come in pink which my daughter will love. I did see some sweet pink/purple Phils but the price gets too high and they're badly back ordered.

Spokes will probably be 24/24 cxray.

Rims are where I start to stall out some. So far
Velocity A23- these are optimized for 23c tires, weight is about 450g so not bad, though not as aero as could be.

Velocity Aileron- velocity claims 465g on these, I've weighed 6 of them and all were within 2g of 450g so again, a decent weight. In their description they claim optimized for 23-28c tires, further down they say 25c. In a phone conversation with one of their reps he claimed 23c is fine and a lot of people are using them for track. Having fit a 23c it worked but I think 25c looks like a better fit. Also has the tallest profile.

Stans Grail is .3mm wider on the inside than the Aileron and they say it should use 25c, at 470g it is a little heavy but not bad, especially since I can get two of these for less then one Aileron and for the same price as an A23

H Plus Son Archetype claims to be 470g, so also on the heavier side, dimensionally it seems to be very similar to the A23 but maybe a slightly better profile?

I've followed a lot of the discussions on wider being better but in track how true is this? Will a 25c be just as fast as a 23 on the track or will it be a slow down with the weight offset? I usually fill her tires to 85psi, Kissena is a rough place to go higher pressure but when doing Masters and Rookies at TTown where its a lot smoother the 23 can take a fairly firm pressure to go fast with.
Aero is starting to matter, last years races she was averaging about 17mph on the track and sprinting around 25mph where aero starts to matter, so I'm anticipating that with a lighter bike, lighter and smoother wheelset and the amount she's grown aero will matter some.

Open to other rim suggestions and views on tire size. Right now I'm leaning towards the Aileron as it is a sturdy wheel, the weight isn't bad and the tallest profile. Also realize there's rims I'm probably missing out on. I have considered tubular but I'm not certain there's anything great out there unless going carbon.

If you are sourcing Aluminium Clincher rims Kinlin XR31

Are you sure her frame can handle 25s? I know my frame can go up to 23s.

Do you want/need a brake track on your rims? Are tubulars out of the question?

I had a wheelset with Aileron rims. They were nice.

I've also not heard anything bad about Raketa hubs. Another option would be Mack hubs. They are PW clones, for a lot less, and they come in colors.

I'll check them, I was certain I was missing options

Her frame will take a 25, I had to throw it together at the end of last season and the only spare 700c tires were 25s.
Brake track in unimportant, its a javelin frame I got NOS and isn't even drilled for brakes.
I'll check in on the mack hubs, thanks.

Any views on if the 25c are actually faster on a track over a 23c? Weight vs deformation when road shock isn't an issue on a smooth track over shorter distances.

23's are still awfully fast and will work well on any track.

If you're looking for a really fast aluminum option, I'd try to find some old Shamals or Gipiemme 416s. They're not super light, but they've both tested superfast in the tunnel -- really on par or exceeding some of the best modern carbon deep rims.

23s would be the most ideal tyre IMO. Then there’s the fact that all tracks aren’t the same. On boards, I’d be going high PSI 21 tubs. At my home track on asphalt I run 23s. I’ve raced on tracks where 25s at lower psi would be a benefit. Here in Oz, our juniors run on gear restrictions via rollout. I’ve seen lots of junior riders run 25s chasing that last little bit of rollout between gears to eke out every last advantage. Those riders have all been up at the top of their game so I wouldn’t say that 25s will slow your daughter down

Hey...My daughter is starting her second year of track racing. Can you point me to the regulation that says that juniors under 14 can't ride carbon rims? The only thing I can find in the rule book is that all juniors under 14 must ride bikes that are mass start legal for all events.

Where are you based? Rules like that are region dependent. That's the rule here in Australia, but it more relates to keeping youth sport on a more even playing field than anything relating to performance