[jasont]

I'd like to build a wheel with an all black anodized rim (no silver brake surface). I know the black will get worn off eventually but until then, I think it looks great.

I know about Open Pro CDs but are there any others? Oh and, I know you can get Velocity Deep Vs in various colors but aren't they pretty heavy? I'm looking for a lighter, higher performance rim.

 

[single1x1]

velocities still have machined braking surface

I'd like to build a wheel with an all black anodized rim (no silver brake surface). I know the black will get worn off eventually but until then, I think it looks great.

I know about Open Pro CDs but are there any others? Oh and, I know you can get Velocity Deep Vs in various colors but aren't they pretty heavy? I'm looking for a lighter, higher performance rim.

I believe all good rims will have a machined silver braking surface. My black deep road v wheels are very strong but pretty heavy, and they do have a machined silver braking surface. YOu might be able to get a all black rim if you can buy a OE alex rim, my friends jake the snake came with all black alex rims, the black wore off quickly and looked like crap, oh and there was a uneven braking surge caused by unevenness of the rim surface and a pronounced rim seam. I wouldn't recomend all black rims unless you don't use brakes, and probably not even then

 

[ergott]

I'd like to build a wheel with an all black anodized rim (no silver brake surface). I know the black will get worn off eventually but until then, I think it looks great.

I know about Open Pro CDs but are there any others? Oh and, I know you can get Velocity Deep Vs in various colors but aren't they pretty heavy? I'm looking for a lighter, higher performance rim.

You can get Aeroheads with a non-machined brake surface.

-Eric

 

[Juanmoretime]

Peel the stickers, that's what I did and your good to go.

 

[hairscrambled]

Hey Juan. What crank you got there?

 

[SDizzle]

Tubies, maybe? Whatever Sun's cheap tubie rim is (ME 19a?) is all black. Gotta warn you, though...the braking surface sucks. Machined braking tracks work.

If you want a 32h set of the Suns, email or PM me. I've got a not-too-used set hanging around that you can have for a song.

 

[jasont]

Peel the stickers, that's what I did and your good to go.

Heh yeah, carbon rims would be great. They definitely meat my criteria of black, light weight and good looks but they are a bit out of my budget ;-)

 

[jasont]

Tubies, maybe? Whatever Sun's cheap tubie rim is (ME 19a?) is all black. Gotta warn you, though...the braking surface sucks. Machined braking tracks work.

If you want a 32h set of the Suns, email or PM me. I've got a not-too-used set hanging around that you can have for a song.

I've noticed that there seems to be a lot of tubie rims that are all black but not many clincher. I wonder why that is. I don't think I'm up for the hassle of tubies but thanks for the offer.

FWIW, this is what got me started on this quest. I have an old lugged De Rosa and these bikes look great with all black rims.

<img src="http://alotofuseless.info/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=850&g2_serialNumber=1">

<img src="http://alotofuseless.info/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=854&g2_serialNumber=2">

 

[alienator]

Hey Juan. What crank you got there?

Thems be Stronglight Pulsions.

 

[Juanmoretime]

Thems be Stronglight Pulsions.

Very minor correction. Stronglight Pulsion CT2's.

;^)

 

[asterisk]

You can order most of the Velocity rims with a non-machined braking surface. I have two fixed wheelsets.. one with Velocity Aeros and another with Velocity Deep-Vs, both all black... they go with the bike...

 

[Kerry Irons]

Time perception

I know the black will get worn off eventually but until then, I think it looks great.

Unless you find such a rim with a ceramic braking surface, "eventually" will most likely be a matter of weeks.

 

[jasont]

Unless you find such a rim with a ceramic braking surface, "eventually" will most likely be a matter of weeks.

Really, that fast huh? I figured it'd be a little longer. Does the go for the "hard anodized" Open Pro CD as well?

It definitely looks nice but I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle for a few weeks.

 

[Mark McM]

Shimano used poor quality rims?

I believe all good rims will have a machined silver braking surface.

Do Shimano wheels now have machined rims? They didn't originally, and the Shimano web site doesn't indicate that they do now. In any case, does that Shimano wheels uses(d) non-quality rims?

 

[Kerry Irons]

Of course, YMMV

Really, that fast huh? I figured it'd be a little longer. Does the go for the "hard anodized" Open Pro CD as well?

Hard anodizes rims are a bad idea as they have a quite brittle surface and are much more prone to cracking. Hard anodizing will last longer as a braking surface, but it's a poor trade-off. Obviously, how long a braking surface will last will depend hugely on your weight, how much braking you do, your brake pads, whether you get caught in the rain much, how dusty your environment is, and the specific rims you're using. However, I can remember clearly a picture of Laurent Jalabert racing a spring classic and you could easily see the beginnings of the color wearing off his side walls. I'm assuming that those were pretty new wheels!

 

[Mark McM]

Hard anodize = poor braking

Really, that fast huh? I figured it'd be a little longer. Does the go for the "hard anodized" Open Pro CD as well?

Wearing off of the hard anodized brake track on a rim like the Open Pro CD is a good thing. The hard anodize layer provides less braking friction than bare aluminum - especially in the wet. Back in the days when I used hard anodized rims, I used to wait with anticipation for the hard anodize layer to wear through, so that I could finally get some good braking.

Another pad point for anodized brake surfaces is that if the brake track is at all uneven, the anodize will wear unevenly, and the brake track will develop a splotchy appearance when the anodize has worn off the high spots, but not yet worn through on the low spots.