I received a Reynolds DV46UL rear wheel from a customer.
To be precise, since it's a tubular rim specification, it's the DV46UL T.
The non-freewheel side is radially laced,
so the customer wants to rebuild it as 6-spoke with lacing pattern.
This Reynolds wheel has had quite a history—
it went through Reynolds' own original hub,
then a DT-made hub, then another original hub.
This particular one is from the DT era, and when the hub supplier was DT, the spokes were also DT;
otherwise they're Sapim.
Reynolds is a manufacturer that understood the benefits of different spoke diameters on each side.
Originally it came with Competition on the freewheel side and Aero Lite on the non-freewheel side—
essentially a semi-competition setup laced in a 4-cross pattern.
This means the Competition spokes on the freewheel side can be reused as-is.
Rather than doing a partial disassembly and rebuild, I found it faster to fully disassemble first.
During the teardown, I found one bent black Competition spoke on the freewheel side, so I replaced it.
By the way, in the photo above with the Shimano 11-speed freebody,
it only says "Ratchet"—this is telling because
after the new single-spring star ratchet called "Ratchet EXP" came out,
the traditional dual-spring star ratchet started being called
just "Ratchet." This is a retronym of sorts,
and since this wheel predates that naming change,
you can tell it was later converted to 11-speed.
All laced up.
I laced the non-freewheel side with 6 black CX-RAY spokes,
making it a semi-competition 4-cross pattern now.
I'll do the lacing next.
This wheel's rim isn't the regular DV46,
but the DV46UL—UL meaning Ultra Light.
The rim sides are so thin that you can flex them with your finger.
As for the absolute lightest rims I know of,
there are two at 195g,
but when you factor in the relative weight accounting for rim height,
for the same rim depth as this DV46UL tubular,
the EDGE 1-45 tubular rim from ENVE's predecessor
at around 280g in the early batches is the lightest I know of.
In other words, "lighter rims exist, but nothing lighter than 280g at around 45mm height."
This rim came in at a similar weight, which surprised me.
Reynolds—or rather, LEW—makes a rim called the "32" at heights below 46mm,
which is the same rim as Nomu Lab Wheel #6.
Nomu Lab Wheel #6 has batches in the 300g range and batches in the 280g range with swirl lips,
but this rim was "lighter 46 than heavy 32."
The actual weight? No way I'm telling you that easily.
↑Ugh, what a bad attitude.
Sorry for the wait!
Please take a look at this image!
↑Stop that!
To be precise, since it's a tubular rim specification, it's the DV46UL T.
The non-freewheel side is radially laced,
so the customer wants to rebuild it as 6-spoke with lacing pattern.
This Reynolds wheel has had quite a history—
it went through Reynolds' own original hub,
then a DT-made hub, then another original hub.
This particular one is from the DT era, and when the hub supplier was DT, the spokes were also DT;
otherwise they're Sapim.
Reynolds is a manufacturer that understood the benefits of different spoke diameters on each side.
Originally it came with Competition on the freewheel side and Aero Lite on the non-freewheel side—
essentially a semi-competition setup laced in a 4-cross pattern.
This means the Competition spokes on the freewheel side can be reused as-is.
Rather than doing a partial disassembly and rebuild, I found it faster to fully disassemble first.
During the teardown, I found one bent black Competition spoke on the freewheel side, so I replaced it.
By the way, in the photo above with the Shimano 11-speed freebody,
it only says "Ratchet"—this is telling because
after the new single-spring star ratchet called "Ratchet EXP" came out,
the traditional dual-spring star ratchet started being called
just "Ratchet." This is a retronym of sorts,
and since this wheel predates that naming change,
you can tell it was later converted to 11-speed.
All laced up.
I laced the non-freewheel side with 6 black CX-RAY spokes,
making it a semi-competition 4-cross pattern now.
I'll do the lacing next.
This wheel's rim isn't the regular DV46,
but the DV46UL—UL meaning Ultra Light.
The rim sides are so thin that you can flex them with your finger.
As for the absolute lightest rims I know of,
there are two at 195g,
but when you factor in the relative weight accounting for rim height,
for the same rim depth as this DV46UL tubular,
the EDGE 1-45 tubular rim from ENVE's predecessor
at around 280g in the early batches is the lightest I know of.
In other words, "lighter rims exist, but nothing lighter than 280g at around 45mm height."
This rim came in at a similar weight, which surprised me.
Reynolds—or rather, LEW—makes a rim called the "32" at heights below 46mm,
which is the same rim as Nomu Lab Wheel #6.
Nomu Lab Wheel #6 has batches in the 300g range and batches in the 280g range with swirl lips,
but this rim was "lighter 46 than heavy 32."
The actual weight? No way I'm telling you that easily.
↑Ugh, what a bad attitude.
Sorry for the wait!
Please take a look at this image!
↑Stop that!