Another wheel day (and so on).
I received a rear wheel from a customer that was built with a Mavic GP4 rim.
The hub is a PowerTap, one that I had built myself in the past.
It's a PowerTap hub where I stuffed G3 internals into the body of an older SL+ or Elite PowerTap hub—32H semi-competition four-cross lacing with wiring.
The rim is called a GP4, but it's different from the older GP4 (around 400g)—
the rim height is somewhat higher, and the edge of the tire bead seat is stepped up slightly, giving it the same profile as the Reflexe (Open Pro tubular) and similar rims.
This final-generation GP4 rim weighs about 480g.
Initially I was planning to just true it up since it had some runout, but as the title has already spoiled,
I ended up rebuilding it with a Campagnolo Sigma Pavé rim instead.
As for the runout,
there were some splinters from a chain drop, and one of the spokes was slightly bent, with the worst runout occurring directly below that spoke.
The stickers on the rim I'm using for the rebuild have an interesting detail—the manufacturer name and model name stickers are oriented in opposite directions when viewed from the same side.
This is a Campagnolo-specific way of applying stickers, so that when looking up from the hub, Campagnolo reads correctly, and
when looking down from the hub, the rim's model name also reads correctly.
In the Sigma line, there are rims like Sigma, Sigma 20, and Sigma Pavé, and
these rims cost about 35,000 to 50,000 yen per rim at their original retail price.
By today's standards, it would be comparable to aluminum rims being sold for over 100,000 yen.
The Mavic Paris-Roubaix SSC is also an extremely expensive rim, but not quite at the Sigma level.
Both the Paris-Roubaix SSC and Sigma Pavé are model names designed for use in pavé racing, but
while the Paris-Roubaix SSC isn't particularly light in terms of weight,
the Sigma Pavé is based on the original light Sigma rim, so
even though this is the robust version, it's still fairly light.
There were no wear marks or signs of use on the brake zone, but
there were traces of rim cement where the tire had been glued on.
So the measured weight I got this time should be taken as a reference weight.
Moving the rim over...
Compared to traditional low-height rims, the final-generation GP4 has a somewhat higher rim height (smaller inner diameter), about the same as the Araya Aero 1.
So the spoke length is not the same as what the Sigma Pavé would use.
I think it would be possible to swap with red-label GP4s or rims like the Araya Pro Staff, but
as to why I'm doing this—it's just stubborn determination.
As expected, it didn't work out, so I took it apart and cut the spokes.
I rebuilt it with new spokes and nipples.
It's the same as before—32H semi-competition four-cross lacing.
I'll add the wiring later.
I received a rear wheel from a customer that was built with a Mavic GP4 rim.
The hub is a PowerTap, one that I had built myself in the past.
It's a PowerTap hub where I stuffed G3 internals into the body of an older SL+ or Elite PowerTap hub—32H semi-competition four-cross lacing with wiring.
The rim is called a GP4, but it's different from the older GP4 (around 400g)—
the rim height is somewhat higher, and the edge of the tire bead seat is stepped up slightly, giving it the same profile as the Reflexe (Open Pro tubular) and similar rims.
This final-generation GP4 rim weighs about 480g.
Initially I was planning to just true it up since it had some runout, but as the title has already spoiled,
I ended up rebuilding it with a Campagnolo Sigma Pavé rim instead.
As for the runout,
there were some splinters from a chain drop, and one of the spokes was slightly bent, with the worst runout occurring directly below that spoke.
The stickers on the rim I'm using for the rebuild have an interesting detail—the manufacturer name and model name stickers are oriented in opposite directions when viewed from the same side.
This is a Campagnolo-specific way of applying stickers, so that when looking up from the hub, Campagnolo reads correctly, and
when looking down from the hub, the rim's model name also reads correctly.
In the Sigma line, there are rims like Sigma, Sigma 20, and Sigma Pavé, and
these rims cost about 35,000 to 50,000 yen per rim at their original retail price.
By today's standards, it would be comparable to aluminum rims being sold for over 100,000 yen.
The Mavic Paris-Roubaix SSC is also an extremely expensive rim, but not quite at the Sigma level.
Both the Paris-Roubaix SSC and Sigma Pavé are model names designed for use in pavé racing, but
while the Paris-Roubaix SSC isn't particularly light in terms of weight,
the Sigma Pavé is based on the original light Sigma rim, so
even though this is the robust version, it's still fairly light.
There were no wear marks or signs of use on the brake zone, but
there were traces of rim cement where the tire had been glued on.
So the measured weight I got this time should be taken as a reference weight.
Moving the rim over...
Compared to traditional low-height rims, the final-generation GP4 has a somewhat higher rim height (smaller inner diameter), about the same as the Araya Aero 1.
So the spoke length is not the same as what the Sigma Pavé would use.
I think it would be possible to swap with red-label GP4s or rims like the Araya Pro Staff, but
as to why I'm doing this—it's just stubborn determination.
As expected, it didn't work out, so I took it apart and cut the spokes.
I rebuilt it with new spokes and nipples.
It's the same as before—32H semi-competition four-cross lacing.
I'll add the wiring later.