It has come to my attention that there is some interest on the forum concerning these rims: just what exactly do they look like, what are all the dimensions and how does one properly build them into a wheel. Therefore I will make an effort to more thoroughly document and share that particular element of the build for the benefit of others.
I am apprehensive of a few things that will be firsts for me; radial, carbon rim, internal nipples, aero spokes, aluminium alloy nipples. I am not worried, I just intend to proceed with due care.
I remember reading somewhere that I should consider not lubricating the spoke threads in a radial build because friction is evenly distributed throughout the threads making self undoing more likely compared to a tangential build that has more friction on one side than the other. I don't fancy assembling any threaded parts without some proper lubrication and of course the nipple/rim interface should be lubricated in any case.
Whilst I have been waiting and continue to wait for Mack I have got some other parts.
I have been listening to German poetry and Moravian folk music whilst choosing. I ordered 40mm valve extensions from Planet X at the same time as the rims. A surprise upon arrival was the inclusion of two pairs of specific brake pads (inserts).
Maybe if I had asked before, they could have left out the pads, which I will not need and included the extensions instead.
I've made up my mind about pedals (DuraAce spd-sl) and pretty much made up my mind about chain (SuperToughness). I need to order one of the shims from SJS but I can't see how to choose between them. Some people, including me, might wonder why a bike would have such fancy pedals combined with a relatively cheap seatpost; I am selecting parts that should work very well but also be sympathetic to the aesthetic of the bike. The Cinelli post seems best for this.
Also, during this time I have been searching for internal nipples. I have asked in shops and have looked all over the internet. Normally when I've done that for something and not got an answer I go to one guy and he always solves the problem, he was stumped too.
In the end the solution was searching for inverted nipples instead of internal nipples. Although this mostly returned medical images of breasts I found what I wanted.
24/7 cycle shop sells the alloy ones for £1.30 a pair or £1.00 for four brass ones.
DCR Wheels doesn't list them, but I asked and he said he sells the alloy ones for 35p each.
I asked for them in Condor and they said no and pointed me to Strada Wheels. To Strada Wheels I wrote "I am looking for a source of Sapim aluminium alloy inverted nipples.
Do you sell these?" to which they replied "Thanks for your enquiry, we don't sell spokes individually as they are difficult to source and we prefer to keep them for our customers." and pointed me to 24/7 which I had already found.
It has come to my attention that there is some interest on the forum concerning these rims: just what exactly do they look like, what are all the dimensions and how does one properly build them into a wheel. Therefore I will make an effort to more thoroughly document and share that particular element of the build for the benefit of others.
I am apprehensive of a few things that will be firsts for me; radial, carbon rim, internal nipples, aero spokes, aluminium alloy nipples. I am not worried, I just intend to proceed with due care.
I remember reading somewhere that I should consider not lubricating the spoke threads in a radial build because friction is evenly distributed throughout the threads making self undoing more likely compared to a tangential build that has more friction on one side than the other. I don't fancy assembling any threaded parts without some proper lubrication and of course the nipple/rim interface should be lubricated in any case.
Whilst I have been waiting and continue to wait for Mack I have got some other parts.
I have been listening to German poetry and Moravian folk music whilst choosing. I ordered 40mm valve extensions from Planet X at the same time as the rims. A surprise upon arrival was the inclusion of two pairs of specific brake pads (inserts).
Maybe if I had asked before, they could have left out the pads, which I will not need and included the extensions instead.
I've made up my mind about pedals (DuraAce spd-sl) and pretty much made up my mind about chain (SuperToughness). I need to order one of the shims from SJS but I can't see how to choose between them. Some people, including me, might wonder why a bike would have such fancy pedals combined with a relatively cheap seatpost; I am selecting parts that should work very well but also be sympathetic to the aesthetic of the bike. The Cinelli post seems best for this.
Also, during this time I have been searching for internal nipples. I have asked in shops and have looked all over the internet. Normally when I've done that for something and not got an answer I go to one guy and he always solves the problem, he was stumped too.
In the end the solution was searching for inverted nipples instead of internal nipples. Although this mostly returned medical images of breasts I found what I wanted.
24/7 cycle shop sells the alloy ones for £1.30 a pair or £1.00 for four brass ones.
DCR Wheels doesn't list them, but I asked and he said he sells the alloy ones for 35p each.
I asked for them in Condor and they said no and pointed me to Strada Wheels. To Strada Wheels I wrote "I am looking for a source of Sapim aluminium alloy inverted nipples.
Do you sell these?" to which they replied "Thanks for your enquiry, we don't sell spokes individually as they are difficult to source and we prefer to keep them for our customers." and pointed me to 24/7 which I had already found.