Another day working on wheels (details omitted).
A customer brought in wheels built with ENVE 25 rims—now classified as "Classic Enve," a category where all models have been discontinued.
Tni Wing hub 28H black CX-RAY with reverse radial spokes. The customer wants them rebuilt with disc brake hubs because Classic Enve rims are vulnerable to brake heat.
The "25-28" marking on the rim means "25 rim with 28 holes." Besides the 25 rim, the Classic Enve 45 and 65 rims come in two versions—a light "1" and a sturdy (i.e., heavy) "2"—marked as "1-45" etc., but the 25 rim has no "2" specification. Though many of us, myself included, often refer to it as "1-25." Tires come in two specs: tubular and clincher (WO).
The serial number is in the 1.2 million range with seven digits, though I've confirmed numbers up to the 1.4 million range. The 25 tubular rim's catalog weight evolved from EDGE through ENVE as 195g → 215g → 250g, but in the final year the 25 was available, the catalog weight was updated to 274g. That's almost the same weight as the light 1-45.
For reference, the contemporary clincher rim weighed 402g. If a 25mm-deep/402g rim costs tens of thousands of yen per piece, then a 22mm-deep/384g aluminum rim (XR200) exists for around 4,000 yen per piece—so honestly that would do just fine. The 25 isn't tubeless-ready so it lacks that added value, plus there's the issue of brake heat vulnerability and poor buckling resistance, high brake shoe running costs, and you can't true the wheel without removing the tire. Personally, I think that way—but some people insist it has to *look* like a carbon rim, so there's nothing to be done about it.
This is the front rim, and both wheels had rim weights around this. Both wheels came with third-generation integrated nipples out of the four generations we've seen, so this appears to be a heavier example of the nominal 250g rim. The serial number suggests it should have the fourth-generation nipple, but it seems unlikely they'd specifically supply a third-generation nipple to a rim meant to have a fourth-generation one, so it was probably right at the end of the year when third-generation nipples were still being supplied.
Built.
HB-RS770 28H black with semi-comp 46 spokes in reverse Italian lacing with spoke couplings.
Now for the rear wheel.
Tni Wing hub 28H black CX-RAY with 40-spoke lacing. Both wheels show almost no signs of use (though there are scuff marks on the freebody from the sprockets, so it's not brand new),
the rim was significantly offset to the right. While that's a direction rims can shift from age, this was definitely the fault of whoever built it originally, not from use. This is the kind of thing that would get rejected at quality control on a department store bike, but apparently it was built at a shop.
Built.
FH-RS770 28H black with semi-comp 46 spokes in JIS lacing with spoke couplings.
Not particularly worth mentioning, but I've centered them just to be safe.
A customer brought in wheels built with ENVE 25 rims—now classified as "Classic Enve," a category where all models have been discontinued.
Tni Wing hub 28H black CX-RAY with reverse radial spokes. The customer wants them rebuilt with disc brake hubs because Classic Enve rims are vulnerable to brake heat.
The "25-28" marking on the rim means "25 rim with 28 holes." Besides the 25 rim, the Classic Enve 45 and 65 rims come in two versions—a light "1" and a sturdy (i.e., heavy) "2"—marked as "1-45" etc., but the 25 rim has no "2" specification. Though many of us, myself included, often refer to it as "1-25." Tires come in two specs: tubular and clincher (WO).
The serial number is in the 1.2 million range with seven digits, though I've confirmed numbers up to the 1.4 million range. The 25 tubular rim's catalog weight evolved from EDGE through ENVE as 195g → 215g → 250g, but in the final year the 25 was available, the catalog weight was updated to 274g. That's almost the same weight as the light 1-45.
For reference, the contemporary clincher rim weighed 402g. If a 25mm-deep/402g rim costs tens of thousands of yen per piece, then a 22mm-deep/384g aluminum rim (XR200) exists for around 4,000 yen per piece—so honestly that would do just fine. The 25 isn't tubeless-ready so it lacks that added value, plus there's the issue of brake heat vulnerability and poor buckling resistance, high brake shoe running costs, and you can't true the wheel without removing the tire. Personally, I think that way—but some people insist it has to *look* like a carbon rim, so there's nothing to be done about it.
This is the front rim, and both wheels had rim weights around this. Both wheels came with third-generation integrated nipples out of the four generations we've seen, so this appears to be a heavier example of the nominal 250g rim. The serial number suggests it should have the fourth-generation nipple, but it seems unlikely they'd specifically supply a third-generation nipple to a rim meant to have a fourth-generation one, so it was probably right at the end of the year when third-generation nipples were still being supplied.
Built.
HB-RS770 28H black with semi-comp 46 spokes in reverse Italian lacing with spoke couplings.
Now for the rear wheel.
Tni Wing hub 28H black CX-RAY with 40-spoke lacing. Both wheels show almost no signs of use (though there are scuff marks on the freebody from the sprockets, so it's not brand new),
the rim was significantly offset to the right. While that's a direction rims can shift from age, this was definitely the fault of whoever built it originally, not from use. This is the kind of thing that would get rejected at quality control on a department store bike, but apparently it was built at a shop.
Built.
FH-RS770 28H black with semi-comp 46 spokes in JIS lacing with spoke couplings.
Not particularly worth mentioning, but I've centered them just to be safe.