Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2 is finished!
The rim is a Tni carbon tubular rim, 38mm deep model.
With Nomu Lab Wheel No. 1, the AL300 rim was only available as a bare rim,
so I had to build it myself, which was actually perfect for me.
But with this rim, Tni also offers a complete wheel model.
So if we're still choosing to hand-build and sell them,
there has to be some point of differentiation from off-the-shelf wheels.
Let me write about that.
The rim has front and rear designations.
There are four hole count options: 18H, 20H, 24H, and 28H,
with 18H and 20H for front wheels, and 24H and 28H for rear wheels.
This rim—product number WH007 from the manufacturer (not Tni)—
has front and rear distinctions even within the same WH007
↑and the rear rim comes with instructions to orient the freewheel side this way.
I thought the rear-designated rim must have different hole drilling
accounting for different spoke angle of attack left and right,
but looking closely, the holes appear identical...
Wait—the rear rim actually has slightly different shaping left and right!
It's an offset rim, barely perceptible. Clever!
You can build a rear wheel using the front 20H rim,
but you shouldn't use the rear 24H or 28H for a front wheel.
Starting with the front wheel.
The catalog weight for the 18H and 20H rims is 340g. Actual measurement: 347g.
For Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2, we're making 20H the standard front.
Of course, 18H is also available on order.
The hub is Tni Evolution.
With No. 1, I used DT Competition spokes throughout,
but for a rim this deep without aero spokes on the front—that didn't sit right.
So I switched to Sapim CX-RAY.
Up to this point, specs are basically identical to Tni's complete model.
You might think, "Why not just stock the off-the-shelf wheel?"
Well, there are several reasons I don't want to do that.
First and foremost: I want to build it myself.
Tri-Sports lists the rim's inner diameter nominal value as 584mm,
but everything I measure says it's more like 567mm.
If I'd trusted that 584mm figure and calculated spoke length based on it,
and ordered spokes simultaneously with the rim, I'd have been in real trouble.
I had a hunch, so I ordered just the rim first,
measured the actual inner diameter, and then ordered spokes the next day. Safe!
Without getting these numbers down myself, I can't respond quickly if a spoke breaks.
The second reason is nipples.
Sapim CX-RAY comes with one aluminum nipple per spoke.
If the spoke is silver, you get silver nipples; if black, black nipples—
but this is a trap.
Black nipples are fine, but silver nipples have a problem I can't overlook,
and I absolutely never use them. They just keep piling up.
I thought, "Well, maybe for my own wheels," and I did build one with them,
but sure enough, a serious issue developed. And that's why customer wheels can't use them.
I can't say what the issue is.
So I use DT aluminum nipples instead.
The rear 24H and 28H rims have a catalog weight of 336g.
Actual measurement: 349g.
For Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2, we're making 24H the standard rear.
↑As promised, it's built 4-cross with the anti-freewheel side in soldered spoke tie configuration.
The manufacturer's stock model uses outpoke radial on the anti-freewheel side,
which means loose tension. With just a small weight increase (not in the rim area itself),
we achieve a dramatic jump in wheel stiffness and balance. That's the key point.
I don't go around soldering spoke ties on every wheel I build (laughs).
But when you're given a 38mm carbon rim
and want to hand-build what's theoretically the strongest wheel possible,
this time spoke ties were necessary.
About pricing.
No. 1 was ¥12,000 front / ¥17,000 rear—a ¥5,000 difference—
because of the price difference between front and rear hubs.
Strictly speaking, the rear also has four more spokes, but you know.
Calculating the carbon 38 with Competition spokes,
I got ¥38,000 front / ¥43,000 rear.
I switched the front spokes to CX-RAY, and since
Competition spokes are ¥80 per spoke while CX-RAY is ¥340,
the difference is ¥260 × 20 spokes = ¥5,200 up.
Rounding to a clean number with ¥5,000 extra,
front ¥43,000 / rear ¥43,000 works out to the same price for both.
Of course, individual wheel sales are available too.
The actual measured weights are front 523g, rear 759g.
Tni's factory-built model has catalog weights of front 550g / rear 735g
at a list price of ¥105,000.
The rim is a Tni carbon tubular rim, 38mm deep model.
With Nomu Lab Wheel No. 1, the AL300 rim was only available as a bare rim,
so I had to build it myself, which was actually perfect for me.
But with this rim, Tni also offers a complete wheel model.
So if we're still choosing to hand-build and sell them,
there has to be some point of differentiation from off-the-shelf wheels.
Let me write about that.
The rim has front and rear designations.
There are four hole count options: 18H, 20H, 24H, and 28H,
with 18H and 20H for front wheels, and 24H and 28H for rear wheels.
This rim—product number WH007 from the manufacturer (not Tni)—
has front and rear distinctions even within the same WH007
↑and the rear rim comes with instructions to orient the freewheel side this way.
I thought the rear-designated rim must have different hole drilling
accounting for different spoke angle of attack left and right,
but looking closely, the holes appear identical...
Wait—the rear rim actually has slightly different shaping left and right!
It's an offset rim, barely perceptible. Clever!
You can build a rear wheel using the front 20H rim,
but you shouldn't use the rear 24H or 28H for a front wheel.
Starting with the front wheel.
The catalog weight for the 18H and 20H rims is 340g. Actual measurement: 347g.
For Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2, we're making 20H the standard front.
Of course, 18H is also available on order.
The hub is Tni Evolution.
With No. 1, I used DT Competition spokes throughout,
but for a rim this deep without aero spokes on the front—that didn't sit right.
So I switched to Sapim CX-RAY.
Up to this point, specs are basically identical to Tni's complete model.
You might think, "Why not just stock the off-the-shelf wheel?"
Well, there are several reasons I don't want to do that.
First and foremost: I want to build it myself.
Tri-Sports lists the rim's inner diameter nominal value as 584mm,
but everything I measure says it's more like 567mm.
If I'd trusted that 584mm figure and calculated spoke length based on it,
and ordered spokes simultaneously with the rim, I'd have been in real trouble.
I had a hunch, so I ordered just the rim first,
measured the actual inner diameter, and then ordered spokes the next day. Safe!
Without getting these numbers down myself, I can't respond quickly if a spoke breaks.
The second reason is nipples.
Sapim CX-RAY comes with one aluminum nipple per spoke.
If the spoke is silver, you get silver nipples; if black, black nipples—
but this is a trap.
Black nipples are fine, but silver nipples have a problem I can't overlook,
and I absolutely never use them. They just keep piling up.
I thought, "Well, maybe for my own wheels," and I did build one with them,
but sure enough, a serious issue developed. And that's why customer wheels can't use them.
I can't say what the issue is.
So I use DT aluminum nipples instead.
The rear 24H and 28H rims have a catalog weight of 336g.
Actual measurement: 349g.
For Nomu Lab Wheel No. 2, we're making 24H the standard rear.
↑As promised, it's built 4-cross with the anti-freewheel side in soldered spoke tie configuration.
The manufacturer's stock model uses outpoke radial on the anti-freewheel side,
which means loose tension. With just a small weight increase (not in the rim area itself),
we achieve a dramatic jump in wheel stiffness and balance. That's the key point.
I don't go around soldering spoke ties on every wheel I build (laughs).
But when you're given a 38mm carbon rim
and want to hand-build what's theoretically the strongest wheel possible,
this time spoke ties were necessary.
About pricing.
No. 1 was ¥12,000 front / ¥17,000 rear—a ¥5,000 difference—
because of the price difference between front and rear hubs.
Strictly speaking, the rear also has four more spokes, but you know.
Calculating the carbon 38 with Competition spokes,
I got ¥38,000 front / ¥43,000 rear.
I switched the front spokes to CX-RAY, and since
Competition spokes are ¥80 per spoke while CX-RAY is ¥340,
the difference is ¥260 × 20 spokes = ¥5,200 up.
Rounding to a clean number with ¥5,000 extra,
front ¥43,000 / rear ¥43,000 works out to the same price for both.
Of course, individual wheel sales are available too.
The actual measured weights are front 523g, rear 759g.
Tni's factory-built model has catalog weights of front 550g / rear 735g
at a list price of ¥105,000.