Light Bicycle wheel rims?

[Alastair2308]

The siezing of aluminium nipples is something that is fairly easy to work around. A drop of linseed oil or similar on your nipples every month or two will keep things fresh and free. And if you are someone who is on top of their bike maintanance this should not be a difficult thing to add to your mantanance regime.

I'm calling BS on that. Even with meticulous maintenance any wheelsets I've had with alloy nipples have corroded and broken to one degree or another over time. Usually 1-3 years.
This is across three countries so weather conditions and winter salt were all different.

All wheels were ceramic coated once a year, and cleaned / lubed post ride.

This is across my current 11 wheelsets which are a mixture of factory, and custom builds.

and yet I have yet to have alloy nipples sieze on me. 3x wheelsets with alloys. 1x prime, 2x AR56's

[duckit]

if budget permits

would you guys suggest going for aa or bb
i understand that the " pro " has better finishing and durable and longer warranty ?
anyone who owns both care to share
thank you

AA) Falcon Pro AR 45 Disc/ ( Non UCI approved ) / costly platform / heavier platform
BB) Falcon AR 46 Disc / ( UCI approved ) / cheaper platform / lighter platform

[openwheelracing]

AR45 Pro.

[wheelbuilder]

if budget permits

would you guys suggest going for aa or bb
i understand that the " pro " has better finishing and durable and longer warranty ?
anyone who owns both care to share
thank you

AA) Falcon Pro AR 45 Disc/ ( Non UCI approved ) / costly platform / heavier platform
BB) Falcon AR 46 Disc / ( UCI approved ) / cheaper platform / lighter platform

The "out of the mold" finished product is actually pretty damn spectacular on the Falcon Pro AR stuff. Particularly the build quality of the X-Flow rims. I've avoided Chinese dtc rims for almost 2 decades and finally bought a pair of AR375 rims and built them to my own DT180 sinc hubs with Aerolites. Working on a full review.

[Alastair2308]

I would love to see the AR56s get some Pro treatment.

[duckit]

okie ordered.
final spec as follows
ended up with the pro ar45 disc

[AsphaltAddict]

One of my ordered wheels has just gone one step back from QC to rim detailling, so obviously it did not pass QC.
I now worry I might get a wheel of inferior quality (even though it will have to pass QC again).
Did this happen to anyone else here?

[Steve Curtis]

One of my ordered wheels has just gone one step back from QC to rim detailling, so obviously it did not pass QC.
I now worry I might get a wheel of inferior quality (even though it will have to pass QC again).
Did this happen to anyone else here?

If you were getting an inferior rim they would have just sent it and ignored QC. Instead they have gone back as step to ensure the finish on the rim is to their standards before it's released as a pass.

What part of that makes you think you're getting a sub par wheel rim?

[AsphaltAddict]

One of my ordered wheels has just gone one step back from QC to rim detailling, so obviously it did not pass QC.
I now worry I might get a wheel of inferior quality (even though it will have to pass QC again).
Did this happen to anyone else here?

If you were getting an inferior rim they would have just sent it and ignored QC. Instead they have gone back as step to ensure the finish on the rim is to their standards before it's released as a pass.

What part of that makes you think you're getting a sub par wheel rim?

I feared that maybe the carbon had some defects from the molding that could not be easily corrected mechanically (like could a wrongly seated spoke or whatever).
But then again, then they would have sent it back to molding, not to rim detailling.

So I guess you're right, I should cut them some slack, since they have a high reputation as a chinese company.
I just had some bad experiences with ordering in China some 10 years ago, maybe quality standards have risen for reputable companies like Light Bicycles.

[Hexsense]

One of my ordered wheels has just gone one step back from QC to rim detailling, so obviously it did not pass QC.
Did this happen to anyone else here?

It happened to one of my MTB wheelset.
2 rims built. One pass QC ready to be built. One didn't pass QC and go back to rim detailling. It stay there for a bit then eventually go back to material preparing. I think they scrap that rim completely as they found it's not up to their standard (and not recoverable by just detailing). Quick chat with them confirm that to be the case. The 2nd time creating that rim is much faster than the first pass though. I think they fast track the process since they know it took longer than expected for the customer.

I really like that they have legit QC in place to prevent them selling defected rims.

[AsphaltAddict]

One of my ordered wheels has just gone one step back from QC to rim detailling, so obviously it did not pass QC.
Did this happen to anyone else here?

It happened to one of my MTB wheelset.
2 rims built. One pass QC ready to be built. One didn't pass QC and go back to rim detailling. It stay there for a bit then eventually go back to material preparing. I think they scrap that rim completely as they found it's not up to their standard (and not recoverable by just detailing). Quick chat with them confirm that to be the case. The 2nd time creating that rim is much faster than the first pass though. I think they fast track the process since they know it took longer than expected for the customer.

I really like that they have legit QC in place to prevent them selling defected rims.

Thanks for sharing your story!
That sounds reassuring that they take their QCs serious and also that they are so open about in direct communication.
Makes me feel secure now

[Steve Curtis]

They have a very robust system for QC and they'll also answer any emails quickly if you need further reassurance on the process.

[alanyu]

I agree their QC is robust. I previously ordered a Fulcrum type 2-1 drilling rim, which was apperantly new to them (neither G3 nor normal 2-1), and the rim failed QC three times and reproduced forth...

[BespokeTrailMix]

Does LB send email updates for each phase of the building process? I assume that's how you all are aware of QC pass/fail? I ordered mine recently and have only had them reach out to confirm my mailing address, so I was just curious.

[Hexsense]

They don't send frequent email to update the status.
One of the email they sent soon after purchase (like a couple day) show where they are in the process. You just refresh browser on that link every few days.