If you’ve taken a look around the road aftermarket wheel landscape recently, you have probably noticed a trend toward wider rims. HED calls it C2 rim profile (available on their Jet carbon clincher wheels, Stinger carbon tubular wheels, and Belgian series aluminum clinchers). Zipp rolled out their new wide 303 carbon tubular and have now introduced the 101 – an alloy clincher with the wider profile. Velocity has also jumped on board with their A23 alloy clincher. I decided to give the Velocity A23’s a try, replacing my failing Ambrosio Balance rims.
The RimThe new Velocity A23 rims weighed in at 440 grams. A bit heavier than the claimed 426 grams, but most claimed weights are a little on the light side. The weight is around that of the Mavic Open Pro (a rim I considered to be a standard all around rim).
The depth of the rim is a good 20 mm. They measure up a little shallower than the HED Belgian series rim (24 mm) and a good bit shallower than the Zipp 101 (30 mm).
The width is what all the hubbub is about. The Velocity is a solid 23 mm wide, as are the HED’s. The Zipp is listed at 24.5 mm, but has a slight bulge below the brake track (what they call “toroidal” shape) so it is closer to 23 mm across the tire bed. For comparison, most road rims are around 19 mm wide.
The BuildI built these up somewhat old school (if you know me, than you know that is my style). DT Swiss Competition spokes and brass nipples (both in black) bridged the distance between my DT Swiss 340 hubs and the Velocity A23 rims in a 3 cross pattern – nothing crazy here. I like classic looks and durability. As has been my experience with most Velocity rims, the A23’s built up round and true quite easily.
The RideMount a 23c tire to any of these rims and it pumps up slightly larger than on a standard rim. I got about 1.5 to 2 mm more tire width. The same was true when I mounted a 35c ‘cross tire. The increased width isn’t the only factor to the ride. The profile becomes rounder as the sidewall of the tire straightens out a bit. Instead of looking like a light bulb, the cross section is more like a U. This gives a more consistent contact patch when cornering. Rolling resistance is reduced as well. Also, with the increased volume of the tire you can run lower air pressure. Instead of the normal 110 (there is really no need to go above that, even with regular width rims), you can run pressures around 90. I am still experimenting to find the sweet spot, but think it probably lies in the 70 – 80 psi range for me.
The ride of the wheels can be described in one word – smooth. Whether it’s the lower air pressure, the more consistent contact patch, or something else, these wheels just feel good. I have not had the opportunity to really push these in a corner to see if they stick better. As for wheel durability, ask me after ‘cross season as these wheels will probably see some time under the ‘cross bike later in the year. Prior experience with Velocity products would indicate that they will hold up well. I do not have enough miles on them to see how the rim width will impact tire wear.
SummaryThese wheels definitely have a good ride to them. I would say that the ride approaches that of a good tubular, even with a bomb-proof, heavy-duty training tire mounted up. Did I notice a sudden increase in speed? No. But these wheels did have a noticeably smoother feel. Would I ride wide rims in the future? Definitely. As a matter of fact, these may have spoiled me. I hope to get my hands on a set of the HED wheels to ride on the road.
As a side note – If you frequently change wheel sets, wide rims may not be for you (unless all your wheels have them) as changing the brake set up might be somewhat of a hassle.
Just for reference – Theses wheels are under my Ridley Damocles with Maxxis Re-Fuse tires.
If the wide rim revolution has you interested, come by the shop. If I’m there, my bike probably is as well. You can check the wheels out and take them for a quick spin if you like.
American, former coach set to face trial on hacking charges.
Birmingham Bicycle Company presents…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—New Department of Transportation guidelines that encourage investments that provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians have drawn heated response from Republican congressmen. 
For those of you that knew our beloved cat Walter, he passed away on Saturday, March 20th doing what he loved, hunting and being outside in the sunshine. We believe that he was bitten by a poisonous snake while hunting in our neighbors side yard. There were no signs of obvious trama and we do know that he would take on a snake if he came across one. Walter was a very loving, sweet cat that my wife, children and myself will greatly miss.
For its 2010 component range, Campagnolo presents a brand new 12-29 cassette for 11-speed drivetrains. The new cassette exceeds the commonly used 28 teeth of the sprockets offered by the competition and enables the 11-speed drivetrain to be even more versatile. In fact, the new 12-29 combination used with a compact 50-34 crankset generates metric developments analogous (2,49/8,84m) to those of a 53-42-30 triple crankset.
Big thanks to our awesome Jamis rep, Margo, she brought us a 2010 JAMIS EXILE II 29er to the shop for a demo. The bike is a 17" with a 590 mm (23.2") top tube and 749 mm (29.5") standover height. It has a 7005 series aluminum frame with a mix of Shimano XT and SLX with a Rockshox Tora fork. If you have not experienced riding a 29er stop by and hit your favorite trail with the Exile II. For more info and complete specs check out the Jamis website.
Our calendar guru Shawn has gone on a mission to make our shop event calendar super up-to-date and we believe that he has gone over the top. Please look over the events that we have posted and be sure to let us know if we have missed anything, so far for the year. If there is an event that needs to be listed, please let us know and we will post it. Please send all event updates to mike@bhambicycle.com and I will make sure they get posted!
30 heart souls showed up for this morning's edition of the Birmingham Bicycle League winter training ride. Today's ride is sponsored by Birmingham Bicycle Co., Scott Bicycle, Ion Sports Nutrition, Red Bike Coffee and Tracy's. The weather is in the low 40's with a light mist and wet roads but it looks like it's going to clear soon and be a good training day. We want to thank each one of our sponsors and encourage everyone to come out and get involved in Birmingham's best winter training series. Be sure to visit the Tria Cycling Team website @ http://www.bhamvelo.com/blog/ for the latest BBL ride updates and post-ride recaps.
Tuesday night I was doing a night road ride with 3 buddies. We were on Rex Lake approaching Grants Mill Rd. We were slowing for the intersection when we noticed a large buck running along beside us, 10-15 yards off to our right. I shined my light on him and said, "look at that big buck". Steve said, "wouldn't it be bad if he hit one of us?" and 10 seconds later I got ran over by a deer. This stupid animal came from my right, knocked me off my bike and popped my right forearm with one of his antlers (just a minor wound). After I hit the ground, I heard hooves slipping and sliding on pavement and as I looked around the deer was up on his hind legs with his front legs pawing in the air. Needless to say I freaked out and did my best to scramble off the road and out of his way. I can look back on this now and laugh because it is somewhat funny, but at the time I was panicking and totally freaking out.
