Another day, another wheel (you know the drill).
Continuing from yesterday.
I'm rebuilding the front wheel on the SES4.5 with the WO rim spec.
Yesterday I wrote that the original spokes were Sapim CX-RAY,
but that was wrong—they were actually DT Aerolites,
so I've corrected that.
This front wheel also has all-black Aerolites.
↑These little guys
This is a nipple that had a broken spoke jammed inside it,
found in the rim bed of yesterday's rear wheel.
It's not like we're rebuilding because of that incident specifically—
the customer was fine with replacing spokes if it meant doing a proper rebuild,
so I'm doing a full rebuild on the front wheel, not just inspection and retensioning.
I don't think the rear wheel had this, but
the front wheel used spokes with a distinctive flattened-square nipple grip
to prevent spoke rotation during assembly.
So this really is a manufacturer in-house wheel build.
The front wheel didn't have any broken spokes,
but there was a massive chunk of something loose in the rim bed.
When I finally got it out, it turned out to be tape
that had been wrapped around the valve to deal with valve rattle.
The front hub had some side-to-side play,
so I adjusted the bearing preload.
After that, here's the temporary centering check:
For a rim-brake, radial-laced front wheel
with evenly spaced rim holes—the simplest wheel design—
it was actually quite far off center.
Rebuilt.
Chris King R45 hub, 20H,
all-black CX Sprint outpoke radial laced.
Since I mentioned the centering was off when the wheel came in,
I'm also showing the post-rebuild condition for reference.
The reason I'm shooting from a distance at an angle is
I wanted to convey the detail that "no marking on the spoke head
=Sapim spokes."
About the rims on both wheels this time:
These are WO rims from before the tubeless-ready-only era—
they have no hump or recess on the outer profile.
The SES (Smart Envy System) 4.5 has rim model numbers
A48 and A56 front and rear respectively,
with the numbers representing the rim height itself.
Given the rim's width and stiffness,
this has an excellent height-to-weight ratio.
Unlike later tubeless-ready rims, the cross-section has no extra contours,
so it's actually lighter than later rims with the same name.
As for specific weights, I'm not telling.
↑ wow what a jerk move
Sorry for the wait! Please look at this image!
A48 WO rim!
A56 WO rim!
↑ STOP IIIIIIT!
Continuing from yesterday.
I'm rebuilding the front wheel on the SES4.5 with the WO rim spec.
Yesterday I wrote that the original spokes were Sapim CX-RAY,
but that was wrong—they were actually DT Aerolites,
so I've corrected that.
This front wheel also has all-black Aerolites.
↑These little guys
This is a nipple that had a broken spoke jammed inside it,
found in the rim bed of yesterday's rear wheel.
It's not like we're rebuilding because of that incident specifically—
the customer was fine with replacing spokes if it meant doing a proper rebuild,
so I'm doing a full rebuild on the front wheel, not just inspection and retensioning.
I don't think the rear wheel had this, but
the front wheel used spokes with a distinctive flattened-square nipple grip
to prevent spoke rotation during assembly.
So this really is a manufacturer in-house wheel build.
The front wheel didn't have any broken spokes,
but there was a massive chunk of something loose in the rim bed.
When I finally got it out, it turned out to be tape
that had been wrapped around the valve to deal with valve rattle.
The front hub had some side-to-side play,
so I adjusted the bearing preload.
After that, here's the temporary centering check:
For a rim-brake, radial-laced front wheel
with evenly spaced rim holes—the simplest wheel design—
it was actually quite far off center.
Rebuilt.
Chris King R45 hub, 20H,
all-black CX Sprint outpoke radial laced.
Since I mentioned the centering was off when the wheel came in,
I'm also showing the post-rebuild condition for reference.
The reason I'm shooting from a distance at an angle is
I wanted to convey the detail that "no marking on the spoke head
=Sapim spokes."
About the rims on both wheels this time:
These are WO rims from before the tubeless-ready-only era—
they have no hump or recess on the outer profile.
The SES (Smart Envy System) 4.5 has rim model numbers
A48 and A56 front and rear respectively,
with the numbers representing the rim height itself.
Given the rim's width and stiffness,
this has an excellent height-to-weight ratio.
Unlike later tubeless-ready rims, the cross-section has no extra contours,
so it's actually lighter than later rims with the same name.
As for specific weights, I'm not telling.
↑ wow what a jerk move
Sorry for the wait! Please look at this image!
A48 WO rim!
A56 WO rim!
↑ STOP IIIIIIT!