Another day of wheel building (details omitted).
I built a wheel using the AL22W rim for rim brake.
The front wheel is (obviously) a non-offset rim
with Evolite hub 20H black CX Sprint semi-radial lacing,
The rear wheel is an offset rim
with Evolite hub 24H black semi-comp 4:6 lacing.
I'll do the tie-and-tape later.
This time I built the rear wheel with an offset rim, but
with offset rims the correction ratio for spoke deformation between left and right is quite large,
so it's better not to use semi-comp lacing.
The CX-RAY spokes on the non-freewheel side end up way too tight.
It might work if you're not doing tie-and-tape or can't do it, but...
The AL22W rim comes in two types: rim brake (with brake zone) and
disc brake, and each of those comes in non-offset and offset versions,
so there are effectively four specifications total,
but I used to think, like DT does with the RR411db rim,
that "maybe disc brake rims don't need the non-offset version?"
However, with the AL22W rim, even though all four specifications are
listed at a nominal 445g weight,
in reality the non-offset rims tend to be about 20-30g lighter.
The previous AL22W wheels I built, front and rear, were
built with a non-offset rear rim at the customer's request (nice eye for detail on that one),
The AL22W DB front wheel I built just before that was also
built with a non-offset rim at the customer's request.
If you use mixed spoke count and asymmetric lacing with tie-and-tape,
and the stiffness difference between offset and non-offset rims
is below the threshold of what you can actually feel (either way it doesn't feel particularly mushy),
then I think it's better to go with the lighter rim.
There's no right answer to this.
There might be, but I don't know it right now.
The rim I used for the disc brake front wheel I built the other day,
↑Non-offset 24H AL22W DB rim
↑Offset 24H AL22W DB rim that I'll be building next
Today's wheel rims:
↑Non-offset 20H AL22W front rim
↑Offset 24H AL22W rear rim
On the subject of DT's disc brake rims:
The RR411db, which only comes in offset, has an 18mm internal width and
a measured weight of around 410g, but
there's a non-offset rim for MTB cross-country called the
XR331, which has an internal width of
20mm nominal (about 19.7mm measured),
slightly wider than the RR411db, with
a minimum tire width of 25C and maximum pressure of 6.8 bar per the manufacturer spec,
so it can be used for disc road or cyclocross.
The measured weight is around 385g.
The next model up by weight, the XR361, has
a rim internal width of 22.5mm nominal, so it's not ideal for disc road.
Actually, I can't say that with certainty—that's what's scary about how equipment is changing these days (not that I'd call it progress)—in a few years if the road bike standard becomes 28C, rim internal widths might be around 22-23mm.
This relationship between the RR411db and XR331 (both around ¥10,000 each)
is very similar to the relationship between the AL22W (around ¥4,000 each)
offset and non-offset rims, and
I've actually taken orders for cyclocross wheels where
the front wheel prioritizes lightness with the XR311 rim and
the rear wheel prioritizes stiffness with the RR411db rim.
However, since the XR331 is an MTB rim, its minimum spoke count is 28H,
which is a problem because there's no 24H option.
I built a wheel using the AL22W rim for rim brake.
The front wheel is (obviously) a non-offset rim
with Evolite hub 20H black CX Sprint semi-radial lacing,
The rear wheel is an offset rim
with Evolite hub 24H black semi-comp 4:6 lacing.
I'll do the tie-and-tape later.
This time I built the rear wheel with an offset rim, but
with offset rims the correction ratio for spoke deformation between left and right is quite large,
so it's better not to use semi-comp lacing.
The CX-RAY spokes on the non-freewheel side end up way too tight.
It might work if you're not doing tie-and-tape or can't do it, but...
The AL22W rim comes in two types: rim brake (with brake zone) and
disc brake, and each of those comes in non-offset and offset versions,
so there are effectively four specifications total,
but I used to think, like DT does with the RR411db rim,
that "maybe disc brake rims don't need the non-offset version?"
However, with the AL22W rim, even though all four specifications are
listed at a nominal 445g weight,
in reality the non-offset rims tend to be about 20-30g lighter.
The previous AL22W wheels I built, front and rear, were
built with a non-offset rear rim at the customer's request (nice eye for detail on that one),
The AL22W DB front wheel I built just before that was also
built with a non-offset rim at the customer's request.
If you use mixed spoke count and asymmetric lacing with tie-and-tape,
and the stiffness difference between offset and non-offset rims
is below the threshold of what you can actually feel (either way it doesn't feel particularly mushy),
then I think it's better to go with the lighter rim.
There's no right answer to this.
There might be, but I don't know it right now.
The rim I used for the disc brake front wheel I built the other day,
↑Non-offset 24H AL22W DB rim
↑Offset 24H AL22W DB rim that I'll be building next
Today's wheel rims:
↑Non-offset 20H AL22W front rim
↑Offset 24H AL22W rear rim
On the subject of DT's disc brake rims:
The RR411db, which only comes in offset, has an 18mm internal width and
a measured weight of around 410g, but
there's a non-offset rim for MTB cross-country called the
XR331, which has an internal width of
20mm nominal (about 19.7mm measured),
slightly wider than the RR411db, with
a minimum tire width of 25C and maximum pressure of 6.8 bar per the manufacturer spec,
so it can be used for disc road or cyclocross.
The measured weight is around 385g.
The next model up by weight, the XR361, has
a rim internal width of 22.5mm nominal, so it's not ideal for disc road.
This relationship between the RR411db and XR331 (both around ¥10,000 each)
is very similar to the relationship between the AL22W (around ¥4,000 each)
offset and non-offset rims, and
I've actually taken orders for cyclocross wheels where
the front wheel prioritizes lightness with the XR311 rim and
the rear wheel prioritizes stiffness with the RR411db rim.
However, since the XR331 is an MTB rim, its minimum spoke count is 28H,
which is a problem because there's no 24H option.