Drilled rims and eyeletting

After notecing a series of cracks around about a 1/4 of my rims outside wall I have been looking into buying a new rim to replace it.

How much do you think drilling a rim weakens it? and how much do you think adding eyelets strengthens it?

The idea of eyelets in my opinion seems like a good idea to me but how much strength does it add? and is it worth those massive like 50grams?

It seams the way drilled rims go is that firstly the narrow metal of the outside wall (the wall that the rim tape sits on) cracks and breaks between the big holes, efectivly making your rim single walled and then it completly goes. If the holes were smaller or only the thicker main wall was drilled (or both) would this be a better alternative? If so I dont think it will be to hard to buy a solid rim and drill it. The outside wall is only very thin anyway, drilling that as well as the inside wall almost seems pointless, you have to add thicker rim tape then, think how much weight that adds.

What do you guys (and girls) think?

It seems to me that the best thing would be to get a rim like the try all/koxx reinforced. Which is solid, 47mm wide and eyleted. Then drlling just the main wall, with (smaller than normal) holes. But then is I worth the effort? how much weight will it save? how much does normaly drilling rims actualy save?

What style of riding do you do, and do you preform many large drops 6ft. and up? If so I would go for the Koxx undrilled rim! It’s not worth the minor amount of weight saved. Oh you need eyelets if you want your rim to last (My buddy had a rim with out eyelets and his rim was gone very quickly! He upgraded to the koxx undrilled.)
Cam:)

I realize that this is a kinda nooby question, but what are eyelets?

Eyelets are those tiny steel inlets in the spoke holes of your rim. Without them, the spokes pull right on the metal of the rim, and can bend the spoke holes.

The eyelets let the nipple pull against it, instead of the rim, so it doesnt deform, and makes it easy to true a rim. Helps for a stronger wheel.

:stuck_out_tongue:

I don’t think you can just buy a rim and drill it

I think i remember someone telling me that the rims are drilled when they are a strip, before they are rolled into a wheel shape.

Could still work though i suppose… unless there is a reason its drilled flat

Matt



After market drilling done by Unisk8r.

There have been some great examples of airfoil rims drilled aftermarket on these forums. No doubt in a production line they are drilled flat, it’s easier to get them in the machine that way, it does not preclude drilling them in the round.

To calculate your mass saving (multiply by 9.81 for weight):

no.of holes x pi x radius^2 x metal thickness x density

EDIT: yes that was the rim i was talking about

Yeah those drilled rims are terrible.

That is now my rim and it is still perfectly true after quite a bit of hopping and a few curb drops (mainly flat road use though).

A road rim isn’t going to get that much stress. A trials uni however. My trial was cracked everywhere. My KH has lasted a lot longer, and is only 10 grams heavier.

I had a double wall BMX rim for a while, but that bent off a 9 set, and i wanted a trials rim, so i went for the nimbus double wall. that worked quite well, but that bent in the worst situation i have ever heard of for a rim, jumping off a 4 foot wall, catching the seat with one foot and all your weight going almost horizontally into the crown of the frame/wheel… that just put it out of true.

now the KH rim, i don’t like, i’ve cracked almost the whole interior bracing of the rim, and bent every part of the rim, including 2 flatspots. the one thing i’m amazed at with this rim is that if the spokes are loose it goes back to its original shape
i’m tired of the rim bending, it’s going to break soon, and all the aluminum foil 13 ga nipples are broken.

now for the koxx street rim, i’ll have to find a thread like this in 6 months or so to tell you how that one works out :slight_smile: