Ambrosio Nemesis/Campy Record.. some questions

[upside]

It's winter and need a project. I see Fairwheels have the Nemesis rims at a great price. I find the Campy Records also a great price compared to Dura Ace. So I am planning to build the Record/ Nemesis for a good solid and nice riding wheelset.

Question 1.
Is the braking surface on the Nemesis rim pretty durable, because once it wears off I think it looks quite bad.
Question 2.
There are many builders that swear by the Record and Dura Ace hubs. Are the newer Record hubs worth looking into.

This isn't going to be a weenie build, but a super durable, high mileage set-up.

[kgt]

The new record hubs (which are practically the same as the previous 9 speed version) are the best Record hubs ever.

[hasbeen]

The braking surface that you speak of is the anodizing that wears off. The braking surface actually lasts a long time. The ano does not. One wet ride and its rubbed down. This is a good thing as it makes the brakes work slightly better.
Record hubs are the jam.
on a side note, I know a fair bit about both because I have a set I built with nemesis, record, and sapim for sale in the sale section. just sayin

[LionelB]

I have that wheelset as well with black record hubs and black CXray. It's good, and yes the ano will wear off.

[Geoff]

Hard anodizing wears, true, but it is merely cosmetic. I haven't worn-off a hard anodized finish since the '80s, so it does take awhile.

[Mackers]

The anodizing on the Nemesis wears off pretty quickly.

[bm0p700f]

Ambrosio Nemesis rim on record or Dura Ace hubs is about as good as it get for a durable wheelset.

[beeatnik]

Just don't ride them in the rain.


That's a 20 year old wheel. 25K miles easy.

[LionelB]

My rear nemesis cracked around eyelets after less than 10K km, replaced it with another one but durability was disappointing.

[Geoff]

I have never heard of that happening before. If properly built, the wheel should normally be fine. I have several sets of Nemesis and have never seen that before. I have used Ambrosio rims for over 25 years, starting with my first set of tubular wheels (Ambrisio Synthesis Durex 36s on Record hubs) when I was a Cadet. I have a set of Nemesis that was completely bent by a Porsche Turbo (sheared the headtube off my C-40), but the eyelets did not crack or pull-through. Another set has seen two (2) Paris-Roubaix. They are one tough rim.

[LionelB]

It happened to at least two other people I know. Maybe a bad batch. Not sure. It was built by wheelsmith in the UK and he had seen more than a few as well IIRC. Still a nice rim.

[Calnago]

Hmmm... These cracked Nemesis, built by the same guy? Maybe he's over tensioning them.

And as for the anodization wearing off, yes, it will wear off quite quickly if you ride gritty wet wintery roads. I was surprised how quick actually since in the dry they don't seem to wear at all. But I don't mind the worn look at all. Kind of a patina that shows you actually ride the things.

[LionelB]

Hmmm... These cracked Nemesis, built by the same guy? Maybe he's over tensioning them.

I had them checked by one of the local wheelbuilder and the guy checked the tension it was good. That other guy also had seen a few others as well BTW. The one that replaced it looks ok but has still very few miles.

[bm0p700f]

What is good tension. Did he tell you. DS rear should be 1200N no more no less. Also unless the local wheel builder used a calibrated spoke tension gauge then how did he know. rims normally crack because the tension is too high and fatigue takes its toll.

Never had an ambrosio rim crack either or seen one for that matter.

[LionelB]

I do not have the specifics of the tension, but yes the local guy is a pro with all the pro tools and I think wheelsmith has built a lot of nemesis over the years. Anything can break and maybe it was too high tension.