Another day with wheels (and so on).
A customer dropped off a Smart Envy System
3.4 in tubular rim spec for me to work on.
I'll do a check on the front wheel and rebuild the rear wheel.
The customer says the front wheel has a slight brake rub, the rear wheel has a definite brake rub,
and they want me to do something about it, but apparently a local shop told them
"This hub can't go any further, just accept it as-is."
If I actually manage to fix it here,
it'll expose that incompetent shop that said it couldn't be done when it actually can be
and make them lose face.
Oh man, my heart really aches over this (deadpan).
Chris King R45 hub, 24 spokes
All black CX-RAY, reverse Italian lacing.
I believe this is factory-built, and I have more evidence than just the reverse Italian lacing.
On the outer circumference of the rim, there's usually a label embossed during molding
showing the rim's model name (in this case A42) and serial number,
but this rim has none of that.
There's absolutely nothing printed on the outer circumference.
Both sides of the valve hole sticker
say "Handmade in USA."
There are versions where one side has a serial number instead, but
when the rim is sold individually, one side typically has the serial number, and
with factory-built wheels, both sides say "USA"—or so it might be.
At least, it's certain that it's not determined by age.
When I first saw a serial number on one side,
I thought maybe that would become the standard going forward, but
over the years afterward, I've seen both versions intermixed for years on end.
Though there have definitely been cases of factory-built wheels
assembled with rims that had a serial number on one side.
The opposite might have happened too.
ENVE stock builds often have slight center drift,
but the wheel center was true.
Whether that was from the factory or done by the local shop, I can't say.
This is a custom CX-RAY with a square grip point at the base,
which is also evidence of factory-built construction.
↑Drive side
↑Non-drive side
I carefully disassembled the wheel, and these photos show
the last two spokes that I didn't touch, pulled from the rim.
The spoke length on the drive side is particularly long,
and if the relationship to the nipple face end is similar on both sides,
I'd think "oh, so that was done intentionally" even if it's somewhat long or short—
but there's a pretty noticeable difference between left and right here.
I don't actually know the truth,
but let's just go with "since custom CX-RAY comes in 2mm increments,
there's bound to be some variation."
Done building.
Black half comp, 4-cross Italian lacing.
Since the drive side spokes are a different gauge and the non-drive side are a different length,
I can't use the original spokes for either side, but
since I carefully disassembled everything without cutting anything, I'll return them to the customer.
The other day I built front and rear wheels with a new SES4.5 tubular rim,
but I only weighed the front rim.
I forgot to weigh the rear, so the cancer beam special feature got cancelled.
That SES4.5 rear rim is model A48, which is 48mm deep.
This rim is A42, which is 42mm deep, but
oddly enough, the taller A48 is lighter in weight.
The A42 has a slight rim cement bed, sure,
but it didn't add extreme weight, and
even if I completely removed all the cement,
the A48 would still come out lighter
(at least comparing these two individual rims).
Smart Envy System is
limited to only front 20-spoke and rear 24-spoke specs
due to the designer Smart's pushy design choices
(though back in the day, models like SES8.9 did have 16-spoke fronts),
and they change not just the rim height but also the width front and rear—
the front rim is wider, and in the case of WO rims,
they even changed the width of the included stretch-band rim tape accordingly . . . but that was back then.
In the latest design, the front and rear rims are the same width.
Did they optimize for manufacturing efficiency instead of aerodynamics?
So both the recent SES4.5 and this SES3.4
are the current latest models in the catalog,
but the SES3.4 is the newer design.
Talking about WO rims—
the SES3.4 WO rim is a hooked rim that's tubeless-compatible,
the SES4.5 WO rim is a hooked rim that's not tubeless-compatible
(the AR4.5 DISC is a hookless rim that's tubeless-compatible only, but
that's a different design).
And this SES3.4 tubular rim has
27.5mm width front and rear,
while the recent SES4.5 tubular rim has
27mm front and 25.5mm rear.
As for the actual weight difference, I have no intention of revealing it here.
Why should I have to tell you anyway?
↑wow this guy's got a bad attitude
Thank you for your patience! Please view this image!
A42 tubular rear rim!
A48 tubular front rim!
↑Stop it!
A customer dropped off a Smart Envy System
3.4 in tubular rim spec for me to work on.
I'll do a check on the front wheel and rebuild the rear wheel.
The customer says the front wheel has a slight brake rub, the rear wheel has a definite brake rub,
and they want me to do something about it, but apparently a local shop told them
"This hub can't go any further, just accept it as-is."
If I actually manage to fix it here,
and make them lose face.
Oh man, my heart really aches over this (deadpan).
Chris King R45 hub, 24 spokes
All black CX-RAY, reverse Italian lacing.
I believe this is factory-built, and I have more evidence than just the reverse Italian lacing.
On the outer circumference of the rim, there's usually a label embossed during molding
showing the rim's model name (in this case A42) and serial number,
but this rim has none of that.
There's absolutely nothing printed on the outer circumference.
Both sides of the valve hole sticker
say "Handmade in USA."
There are versions where one side has a serial number instead, but
when the rim is sold individually, one side typically has the serial number, and
with factory-built wheels, both sides say "USA"—or so it might be.
At least, it's certain that it's not determined by age.
When I first saw a serial number on one side,
I thought maybe that would become the standard going forward, but
over the years afterward, I've seen both versions intermixed for years on end.
Though there have definitely been cases of factory-built wheels
assembled with rims that had a serial number on one side.
The opposite might have happened too.
ENVE stock builds often have slight center drift,
but the wheel center was true.
Whether that was from the factory or done by the local shop, I can't say.
This is a custom CX-RAY with a square grip point at the base,
which is also evidence of factory-built construction.
↑Drive side
↑Non-drive side
I carefully disassembled the wheel, and these photos show
the last two spokes that I didn't touch, pulled from the rim.
The spoke length on the drive side is particularly long,
and if the relationship to the nipple face end is similar on both sides,
I'd think "oh, so that was done intentionally" even if it's somewhat long or short—
but there's a pretty noticeable difference between left and right here.
I don't actually know the truth,
but let's just go with "since custom CX-RAY comes in 2mm increments,
there's bound to be some variation."
Done building.
Black half comp, 4-cross Italian lacing.
Since the drive side spokes are a different gauge and the non-drive side are a different length,
I can't use the original spokes for either side, but
since I carefully disassembled everything without cutting anything, I'll return them to the customer.
The other day I built front and rear wheels with a new SES4.5 tubular rim,
but I only weighed the front rim.
I forgot to weigh the rear, so the cancer beam special feature got cancelled.
That SES4.5 rear rim is model A48, which is 48mm deep.
This rim is A42, which is 42mm deep, but
oddly enough, the taller A48 is lighter in weight.
The A42 has a slight rim cement bed, sure,
but it didn't add extreme weight, and
even if I completely removed all the cement,
the A48 would still come out lighter
(at least comparing these two individual rims).
Smart Envy System is
limited to only front 20-spoke and rear 24-spoke specs
due to the designer Smart's pushy design choices
(though back in the day, models like SES8.9 did have 16-spoke fronts),
and they change not just the rim height but also the width front and rear—
the front rim is wider, and in the case of WO rims,
they even changed the width of the included stretch-band rim tape accordingly . . . but that was back then.
In the latest design, the front and rear rims are the same width.
So both the recent SES4.5 and this SES3.4
are the current latest models in the catalog,
but the SES3.4 is the newer design.
Talking about WO rims—
the SES3.4 WO rim is a hooked rim that's tubeless-compatible,
the SES4.5 WO rim is a hooked rim that's not tubeless-compatible
(the AR4.5 DISC is a hookless rim that's tubeless-compatible only, but
that's a different design).
And this SES3.4 tubular rim has
27.5mm width front and rear,
while the recent SES4.5 tubular rim has
27mm front and 25.5mm rear.
As for the actual weight difference, I have no intention of revealing it here.
Why should I have to tell you anyway?
↑wow this guy's got a bad attitude
Thank you for your patience! Please view this image!
A42 tubular rear rim!
A48 tubular front rim!
↑Stop it!