Rims: Mavic Open Pro vs Stans Alpha 340

stefano

I am building a new pair of wheels for my new project fixed bike, to use on 30miles everyday London training/commuting. Token hubs, build with 3cross Sapim 32 spokes per wheel. The question is which rim? Shall I go for Mavic Open Pro rims or try the lighter Stans Alpha 340 rims? Any alternative?

ugo.santalucia

The 340 are tubeless rims and if you want to use them tubed, you need to keep the pressure low, typically below 90 PSI to avoid blow ups. The brake track is very thin and not very durable, which might or not apply to your case.

Open PRO are still great rims, but H Plus Son archetype are the new best seller and for good reasons. I'd get those

keezx

Last week I've build up a new set with DT Swiss R460's.
Really easy to build and cheap (paid 33€ piece) so at this moment I can recommend them.
Tyres mount easy, which is a plus with a Tubeless Ready rim.

shaw8670

It also depends on how heavy the rider is. A friend who weighs about 95kg got a set. They flex due to their lightness. This causes tensioning and de-tensioning as the wheel rotates, causing the spokes to slacken. If using these rims (uneven surfaces will cause this also), I'd recommend using DT Pro Lock nipples or loctite to stop this. Open pros are more robust, but still light.

ugo.santalucia

shaw8670 wrote:

It also depends on how heavy the rider is. A friend who weighs about 95kg got a set. They flex due to their lightness. This causes tensioning and de-tensioning as the wheel rotates, causing the spokes to slacken. If using these rims (uneven surfaces will cause this also), I'd recommend using DT Pro Lock nipples or loctite to stop this. Open pros are more robust, but still light.

Absolutely. With the 340 only the 32 H is stable enough to carry load at a normal building tension. Lower spoke counts would require a tension that would crack the rim over time or they are only suitable to carry very low load

H plus Son Archetype trumps both

shaw8670

Does the H+ not let in water as it isn't double eyeletted as the Mavic is?

ugo.santalucia

shaw8670 wrote:

Does the H+ not let in water as it isn't double eyeletted as the Mavic is?

It does if you ride in deep water

964cup

I've had good experiences with the ZTR340s, building 20F radial and 24R 2-cross on Novatec hubs. It's a 1340g wheelset with brass nipples and Sapim D-Light spokes. I've only run them tubeless (using Hutchinson Intensives) and have had no problems. The key tips are: 1. Retension the wheels after fitting the tyres, as the carbon bead significantly compresses the rim and 2. Go for the maximum spoke tension the rim will support (125KgF) to get decent stiffness. NDS rear tension will of course be lower.

cycleclinic

Spoke tension does not affect lateral wheel stiffness. Increasing spoke tension does increases the amount of side load required to detention the non drive side spokes. This is not the same thing but similar. If you increases the tension on a wheelset withe 340 rims you still have a flexible wheel but it will not suddenly loose lateral stiffness as easily when a side load is applied as a higher side load is required for that to happen.

A stiffer light rim is the Ryde pulse sprint or pulse comp. With a 28 spoke rear you get a stiff wheel not as stiff as one built with the archetype rim but then the Ryde rim is 100g lighter ( for the pulse sprint). The rim is 22mm wide and 17.8mm internal width that means it is wider than than the 340 rim, stiffer but the same weight. I would not a 24 spoke rear with such a light rim though.

The mavic open pro is a light shallow, narrow flexible rim. You need a 32 spoke count and even then the resulting wheel even when built onto a shimano hub with sapim race spokes is less stiff than a 28 spoke rear wheel built with the Ryde rim with sapim laser spokes. This is why the open pro while good in its day is now surpassed by the wider deeper and all round better archetype rim.

The Ryde rim and the archetype can both be run with tubeless tyres too. So 6 or 7 years ago then the thread title would be appropriate, today it should be Ryde pulse sprint or have plus son archetype.

joeweston3

964Cup wrote:

I've had good experiences with the ZTR340s, building 20F radial and 24R 2-cross on Novatec hubs.

I'm looking at building a very similar wheelset, but debating 20/24 or 24/28, personal question I know but how much do you weigh and how have you found them with regards to stiffness?

964cup

I weigh 80kg. I use them on my commuter, so I'm not giving them the hardest work-out ever, but they've been fine; certainly they've put up with the worst London's appalling roads can throw at them without going out of true. I built a pair for a mate (75kg) who uses them on his main road bike and works them hard; he's had only good things to say so far. Ultimately, at 385g for the rim and 1340g for the wheelset, they're climbing wheels; they won't be the last word in stiffness, but I don't get any brake rub and you can't get anywhere close to that weight (especially that rotating mass) for the money buying factory wheels. The Mavic R-SYS SLR is about the same weight and three times the price (granted it's also stiffer than a very stiff thing).

g00se

I've got a set of wheels built with Ryde Pulse Sprints - so to echo what Cycleclinic said, they're the same price and weight as the 340s and maybe a smidge wider. Been on a lot of country roads and up and down some alps and they're stiff enough...