Back to wheels today (and so on).
I received a set of front and rear wheels built on ENVE 1-45 rims from a customer.
These were originally built by my shop, but
at the phase directly opposite the valve hole,
the brake zone on the right side of the front wheel (based on the hub logo)
has melted from heat damage, looking quite warped.
On the exact opposite side,
the brake zone has buckled inward, creating protrusions
that bulge outward.
The rear wheel shows similar damage at the phase opposite the valve hole,
with bulging on the right side here too.
The left side shows almost no bulging,
but the finish has changed color.
↑Other phases for reference
Why is this happening at exactly the opposite phase from the valve hole?
ENVE rims have a sealed-off hole directly opposite the valve hole—
this was where the balloon removal hole used to be—
and only this cover section is weak against buckling and heat retention.
↑This is a 1-25 rim, and you can see
SwissStop Yellow King brake pads—which are in the harder category for carbon rim pads—
have melted and bonded to the rim.
Once this happens, the yellow rim surface and yellow pad surfaces
contact each other during every braking, creating more heat buildup than elsewhere.
When bulging starts to form, as you see in the image above,
the pad dust collects as if being dammed up,
creating a vicious cycle where heat buildup happens even more easily.
↑The cover is detached, but I didn't remove it intentionally—
it came off on the tubular tape when I removed the tire.
Shimano and Easton rims also have similar covers at the opposite phase from the valve hole.
In early batches of Shimano WH-7801C, the cover was made of aluminum.
These front and rear rims are going to be rebuilt on Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2 rims.
For the rear wheel, most of the bearings in the hub were determined to need replacement,
and the spoke length wasn't reusable, so
I built a different rear wheel with a 660 hub the other day.
If the rim could have been transferred, I might have just replaced the bearings.
The front wheel is an Evo Lite hub, 20H, CX-RAY J-bend radial build,
but I'm changing it to an anti-J-bend radial build and rebuilding.
The spoke length for the new build is shorter, so they can't be reused.
The front hub and the front and rear tubular tires are the parts being reused.
↑The cover phase looks like this after removing the front tire
Built.
Evo Lite hub, 20H, CX-RAY anti-J-bend radial build.
Oh, the nipples on the original front wheel were the third-generation brass nipples—ENVE made four generations—
and I reused those as well.
I received a set of front and rear wheels built on ENVE 1-45 rims from a customer.
These were originally built by my shop, but
at the phase directly opposite the valve hole,
the brake zone on the right side of the front wheel (based on the hub logo)
has melted from heat damage, looking quite warped.
On the exact opposite side,
the brake zone has buckled inward, creating protrusions
that bulge outward.
The rear wheel shows similar damage at the phase opposite the valve hole,
with bulging on the right side here too.
The left side shows almost no bulging,
but the finish has changed color.
↑Other phases for reference
Why is this happening at exactly the opposite phase from the valve hole?
ENVE rims have a sealed-off hole directly opposite the valve hole—
this was where the balloon removal hole used to be—
and only this cover section is weak against buckling and heat retention.
↑This is a 1-25 rim, and you can see
SwissStop Yellow King brake pads—which are in the harder category for carbon rim pads—
have melted and bonded to the rim.
Once this happens, the yellow rim surface and yellow pad surfaces
contact each other during every braking, creating more heat buildup than elsewhere.
When bulging starts to form, as you see in the image above,
the pad dust collects as if being dammed up,
creating a vicious cycle where heat buildup happens even more easily.
↑The cover is detached, but I didn't remove it intentionally—
it came off on the tubular tape when I removed the tire.
Shimano and Easton rims also have similar covers at the opposite phase from the valve hole.
In early batches of Shimano WH-7801C, the cover was made of aluminum.
These front and rear rims are going to be rebuilt on Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2 rims.
For the rear wheel, most of the bearings in the hub were determined to need replacement,
and the spoke length wasn't reusable, so
I built a different rear wheel with a 660 hub the other day.
If the rim could have been transferred, I might have just replaced the bearings.
The front wheel is an Evo Lite hub, 20H, CX-RAY J-bend radial build,
but I'm changing it to an anti-J-bend radial build and rebuilding.
The spoke length for the new build is shorter, so they can't be reused.
The front hub and the front and rear tubular tires are the parts being reused.
↑The cover phase looks like this after removing the front tire
Built.
Evo Lite hub, 20H, CX-RAY anti-J-bend radial build.
Oh, the nipples on the original front wheel were the third-generation brass nipples—ENVE made four generations—
and I reused those as well.