AForce AL33 Rim

bmxboy10
bmxboy10 Posts: 1,958
edited August 2017 in Road buying advice
Looking at these as part of a potential wheel build but they are expensive and to me seem a tad heavy? They are relatively new to the market but seem to get rave reviews. Any thoughts? Not sure a 26mm rim would fit my frame either....
http://www.bikehubstore.com/mobile/Prod ... x?id=47472

Comments

  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    November cycles did some wind tunnel tests at at under 7 degrees yaw angle the cheaper kinlin xr 31t was more aero. Given 90% of riding time is spent under 7 degrees yaw i have to ask what is the point in this expensive rim. I like the concept but if it does not deliver real world benefits and this rim need to deliver more than just looks id say it a poor buy. I was hoping for more when news of it came out. They may build up well and the resulting wheel may ride well but many rims offer that.

    It is unknown how thick the spoke nipple bed is. It must 2.0mm thick min if it is to prove to be a reliable rim.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • matt_n-2
    matt_n-2 Posts: 581
    Big thread on WW: http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... 3&t=140364
    Colnago Master Olympic
    Colnago CLX 3.0
    Colnago Dream
    Giant Trinity Advanced
    Italian steel winter hack
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    if you want a rim that looks good and is good in strong cross winds then the Al33 force does achieve that goal. It however is not the fasted alloy rim about. other rims are just as "quick".

    So it depends on what you want from the wheel and weather the looks are worth the expense. I am not even sure what the expensce is. DCR wheels appear to be the distributor but a search of davids website could not find the rim. So I am not sure what the score is on these.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,833
    thecycleclinic wrote:
    if you want a rim that looks good and is good in strong cross winds then the Al33 force does achieve that goal. It however is not the fasted alloy rim about. other rims are just as "quick".

    So it depends on what you want from the wheel and weather the looks are worth the expense. I am not even sure what the expensce is. DCR wheels appear to be the distributor but a search of davids website could not find the rim. So I am not sure what the score is on these.

    http://dcrwheels.co.uk/custom-wheelsets/which-rim/
    Look towards the bottom of the page.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    I even tried a key word search on his site and nowt and yet i could have sworn i saw details previously. I have noticed strada have decided not offer the rim. For me there are two rims like this already the easton and hed and this is a tbird. however for the price of the al33 force your are nearly at the cost of carbon rims which frankly i would rather have as brake tracks last longer.

    Wheel purchases though are not always about what is best on paper or a wind tunnel. They may feel special enough to warrent the expense. I am curious about the rim but i would want to know more about supply before buying and that goes for the op to. Maybe i'll change my mind about them.

    It is possible there are too many good choices now.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • jf.br
    jf.br Posts: 1
    It's sold a being _the_ *most* aerodynamic alu. rim.. but in my book, just the fact that dcr et. al. decides to publish the wind tunnel data from the tests that november ran _without_ including the data of the kinlin xr31 tells the whole story..

    Yes, it's "aero".. but so is any generic (sorry kinlin..) semi high alu. rim... :wink:

    On paper I can't find anything special about the AL33 besides looks.. (which is also OK.. if you want to pay that much for looks on a consumable part)
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    140 quid for an aluminium rim? Grow up FFS

    I would be almost tempted to spend that kind of money for the Exalith coated OP, assuming they last a lot longer, brake a lot better and stay black for a couple of years at the very least.

    But 140 for what seemingly is just another generic black rim with a machined brake track that promises to shave one full minute to your next 200 km ride seems one joke too many
    left the forum March 2023
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,833
    Yeah, as others have said it's just too much money for a consumable item. Like buying Dura Ace cassettes.

    Goodness knows how much they'll charge for the ceramic coated ones, though at least they might last longer.

    How much are those Flo rims that Ugo built a pair of?
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    MrB123 wrote:

    How much are those Flo rims that Ugo built a pair of?

    80 USD each, which at the time was a good price, but thanks to your pro-Brexit neighbours, now they are quite pricey, especially when you add shipping from the US.

    Not worth to bother anymore
    left the forum March 2023

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