Velo Orange Raid Wheel Build; Sapim

My wheel building project is well underway, and I'm about ready to finish up the tension on the rear wheel of the Casseroll. To review, the Salsa Delgado Cross rim had incredible spoke pull through (completely through the rim), and is being replaced by the Velo Orange Raid rim. They have similar width (22mm), but the VO rim has double eyelets. Double awesome.

My rear hub is a White Industries H3 (32h) with the titanium freehub. The high-polish of the VO rim will mate up nicely with this hub.

For spokes, my good friends Travis and Brad surprised me with Sapim double-butted spokes. They are incredibly lovely, and the quality shows right away. I snapped a few pics of the difference between the Wheelsmith spokes I'm used to and the Sapims.


Here is a shot of the Wheelsmith spoke head. You can see a seam in the molding of this spoke. This causes the spoke to not seat completely against the hub flange. Multiply this by 32, and the quality of the wheel build is diminished.

 Contrast this quality to the Sapim spoke below. Hopefully the difference is apparent. Also, notice the distinct 2.0/1.8 butting. The Wheelsmith is a 2.0, but the butted versions aren't as cool-looking as the Sapim.

Here's a shot of the other side of the Wheelsmith spoke head with the trademark "W." 

 Sapim's name stamped longitudinally just before the 2.0/1.8 butting.

Sapim spokes are better quality, and the Sapim nipple profile provides an improved contact area against the rim eyelet. I'll have wheel build progress up shortly (including Excel file of the tension).

Velo Orange Wheel Build Project - VO Raid Rim

I have a new wheelbuilding project in the works. Since my Salsa Delgado Cross rim had serious spoke pull-through, I started looking around for a worthy replacement. A few rando-style rims are out there (here, here,  here, & here), but I eventually went with Velo Orange's RAID rim (700c, 32h, of course). Pros and cons exist with this rim, as with any other rim, but here is my short list:

Pro: It's high-polish finish fits the aesthetic of the Casseroll.

Pro: Simple styling, just one VO sticker. 

BIG Pro: Double eyelets. 

Pro/con? Zero offset spoke holes.

Clean joint

Con: High-polish brake surface. It's nice and tall, but a machined brake track would really set this rim apart.

Now, if only I had spokes . . .

Streetfilms: Minneapolis' Midtown Greenway

I had the opportunity to enjoy the Greenway several times this summer in Minneapolis. I hope to frequent it beginning in the near future. Enjoy.

Minneapolis' Midtown Greenway: Good for Biz, Good for Bikes. from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Back in the (Brompton) Saddle Again

Since this happened to the Casseroll a couple weeks ago:

I started riding the Brompton again for commuting.

I thought I'd put up a quick post illustrating how nice the Brompton is to park inside a small apartment. For this installment, I focused on the closet (The Mrs. will probably shoot me for this).

It could go here...

Or here...

Or here...

Even here...

And shut.