I fancy having a set of wheels built using a pair of Reynolds 20/24 hubs I already have and CX Ray spokes. Using Kinlin 300 rims the wheelset will come in at about 1480g.

I'm happy with this as its for my second/winter bike but I've seen Alex Pro28 rims at 420g which would be a saving of 40g a wheel over the Kinlins.

Has anyone got experience of these rims and how do they compare against the Kinlins with regards to build quality stiffness etc

Thanks for any input

Dougan, I think you'll be looking at some very flexy wheels at that sort of spoke count with a rim that light.
Even at 24/28 the Kinlins are pretty flexible even for a middle weight, the Alex rims are even lighter.
I think you may be better served with a cheap carbon rim like a Gigantex or something that is both light and strong.

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Aye, I realise im pushing it but I already have the hubs and I dont fancy carbon rims over the winter. I'm under 11st but You're probably right, going any lighter than the Kinlins could spell trouble.

Hi, its myself thats got Dougans hubs (from another build) and we are strugging to find a decent alloy clincher in 20/24h.

I thought of the Alex but availability is sketchy for any alloy clincher in 20/24h to say the least.

What kind of tensions can these Kinlins take? Will they take 90kgf on the front and 100 on the rear ds?

Deep alloy clinchers are something I'm not too clued up on to be honest - like yourself Rob I did suggest carbon tubulars but alloy clinchers would be cheap and useable.

Any other ideas?

Remember that sometimes lighter can also be stronger depending on the rim treatment and design - as in the case of Excellence vs Excellight Ambrosio rims.

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www.wheelsmith.co.uk

Madcow sells Kinlins and has tested them over on FWB. He may be able to help with regards to spoke tensions.

You will have no problems with those tensions. I have been building the Kinlin XR300 rims at 100 to 110kgf in the front and 115 to 125kgf in the rear for almost 4 years now without a single failure.

For the lacing pattern I would radial lace the front with the elbows on the outside of the flange to make the effective bracing angle wider. The rear I would either do it 2x on the drive side and radial heads in on the non drive or 1x heads in on the drive side and 2x non drive side.

how about something from Velocity? OK, they're heavier, but they're solid rims and come in pretty colours... The velocity guys are usually pretty good to deal with, which is nice as they don't have a UK distributor. Just another option, really.

BrickLaneBikes in London do them but they've got nothing until January in the spec required.

Thanks anyway but I think its all sorted. Thanks bikemesenger for the tech info - good stuff there! That kind of info can save a lot of time and money!!

Anybody know any more about those Alex rims?

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what rim configuration and pattern would be suitable for a 60kg rider (me) ? I ordered some 20,24,28 30niobium rims. Still unsure which hubs and spokes and lacing patterns for it.

I have a set of Tune hubs laced to KinLin TB25 Niobium rims, and I also laced my Power Tap rear wheel to one (on Sapim CX Rays, for the record). They are plenty stiff, super strong, and can withstand high spoke tensions. I can't speak to the quality of the clincher rims though, as I tacoed mine in my first race on the thing ([/i]bad crash...)

The one quibble I have with them is that the braking surface seems a bit soft, and it looks as if metal shards can come off easily. I found that with my stock Cannondale brake pads, I was constantly picking metal out of them. This changed when I got Dura-Ace pads though...The braking on them also isn't the greatest, but that could partly be due to my Cannondale C1 brakes, which are awful...

My vote would go out for KinLin; the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.

I've had similar issues with my XR-300 Kinlins.

Braking with DA pads and KCNC CB1 brakes is very good in the dry, but can tear up the brake track in the wet. Kool Stop salmon seem to be the best in the wet (don't cause as much damage as DA when wet) but dry braking performance is not as good as with DA pads, though still ok.

Thanks all,

The only Alex Pro28 rims I could see were on low end budget bikes and I've been unable to find any positive reviews so I've gone with the Kinlins.

I'm building up a Look 585 with the wheels from Leloby so I will post pictures and the specification when its finished.

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Bikemesenger,

I have a set of your wheels with Niobium 30's laced to Mig70/Mag180's with CX-Rays (frt-18 radial - Rr-24 2xNDS 2xDS) I bought used from a WW member. They were in perfect shape and I might add that they ride beautifully! Unfortunately I was not able to buy them new from you last year due to the availability of the Tune hubs and timelines so I settled for Rolf's. The front has the elbows out. Was this build done this way due the flange width of the Mig70?

- Mike

I have the XR300's laced radial 16 front, half radial 24 rear. The front is quite stiff with the wide bracing angle on a straight-pull M5 hub. The rear is a little flexy, mostly because the speedcomposites hub forces the NDS spokes to curve as they attach to the hub. I weigh about 75kg.

Yes, the braking tracks have torn up a bit with both DA and Swiss greens, but they seem to have stabilised a bit.

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Graham