[El Caballo]

I don't see much mention of Alex rims amongst the wheelbuilders here, or anywhere else. They've got kind of a budget reputation, due to being, well, cheap. However:

I've had them stock on several bikes. The DA16s on my commuter, in particular, have taken a lot of abuse over the years, even though I've let spokes become slack on more than one occasion.

The ACE20s on my BMF seem to be holding up well, also. I know the Monocog uses ACE19s, which I think are the same rim. Can any Monocog riders comment?

The TD17 and TD17 Disc look like likely suspects for 29ers: only $22, available in 36H, 24mm wide, claimed 505g disc/560g rim. Anyone tried a pair?

 

[long hazy daze]

I've got a set of Alex rims that i built up for my fixie road bike. I think they're DM17's ? I took off all the stickers, so I forget. But I chose those because I wanted to a solid set of double walled, eyeleted rims (also silver, 36h) for my fixie that would take some abuse and not cost a bunch, they were about half as much as a set of Sun CR18's would have been.

They built up smoothly and I've not had any problems with them and have no complaints about them at all. There is one little thing though, the seam on the braking surface isn't completely smoothed out, you notice the seam when it passes over the brake pad. But I run my fixie brakeless 98% of the time anyway so it doesn't bother me.

I actually put some cross tires on them and built up an old Rockhopper frame as a fixed gear hybrid/cross kind of thing, did a little off roading with them and road over some stuff i wouldn't be able to on the regular fixie with a lower BB and Skinny road tires. They held up beautifully.

Seem to be good, sturdy, quality rims overall. This is my only experience with Alex rims but seems like they're a great product for the money.

Also, how well they're built up initially will have a lot to do with performance. Since most stock wheelsets are machine built, one may tend to think the components of the wheels aren't that great when it probably has more to do with the fact that the actual build is sub-par because it was machine built.

 

[RobW]

I have TD17s on my bike, and have nothing but good things to say about them. They have held up well, and there really is something to their cross section, because I haven't pinchflatted once since using them.

 

[bhc]

I have a couple thousand miles, mostly offroad, on the alex wheelset that came stock on the 05 Moncog

 

[cloughja]

I've also noticed that no one really talks about the Alex rims here. I guess they're just not sexy enough. I have built up two sets of 29er wheels with TD17's and also some commuter wheels with R390's. They have performed wonderfully. I have also managed to not pinch flat with them yet after over a year of use (knock on wood). The only drawback I see is that they actually weigh about 600g. My last set weighed 599g and 600g each. Still a fantastic deal for the price though.

 

[long hazy daze]

Those I have are DM18's (not DM17's)................for what it's worth.

 

[FoShizzle]

I have TD17s on my Salsa. They have been fine. Wheels seem flexy but they are low end Deore hubs with who knows what spokes built by who knows who or what? I plan on replacing the wheels not cause of rims but purely for overall weight reasons but again, fine so far.

 

[Guitar Ted]

TD-17's here!

Well, I don't know about rims being sexy and all, but I would say that nobody talks about Alex rims because they are old news. They have been talked about a bunch on this forum, just not recently. Anyway.......

TD-17's are a fine rim to use for your everyday training, beater wheels. They are a fine wheel to build with and hold up rather well. I have over 4000 miles on one set. Maybe not a ton of miles to some, but enough to know that they hold up. They are an excellent rim for fighting pinch flats and I can concur with the other reports of no problems with that.

They are a little flexy. That could or could not be a problem. I'm 240lbs and ride pretty smoothly. I can certainly feel some rear wheel flex during hard cornering or when making a sudden directional change. I run mine single speed, so a dished, geared rear wheel set up might be even worse this way. I'll soon be finding out, as I just completed building a geared rear wheel for an upcoming bike build.

I can live with the flex. I do not feel that it detracts from the ride or my experience. Some others might find it disconcerting. You should know that these rims will exhibit some flex though compared to others. I'm a pretty decent wheel builder and I use quality parts, so I think I'm justified in my remarks here. However; your mileage may vary.

 

[PapaLegba]

Because the budget DH19 and 20's come on cheap-o bikes--and they're impossible to keep true.

Once people upgrade they tend to forget, which is a shame, because they make some nice rims.

With that said, I run Mavics.

 

[shiggy]

I don't see much mention of Alex rims amongst the wheelbuilders here, or anywhere else. They've got kind of a budget reputation, due to being, well, cheap. However:

I've had them stock on several bikes. The DA16s on my commuter, in particular, have taken a lot of abuse over the years, even though I've let spokes become slack on more than one occasion.

The ACE20s on my BMF seem to be holding up well, also. I know the Monocog uses ACE19s, which I think are the same rim. Can any Monocog riders comment?

The TD17 and TD17 Disc look like likely suspects for 29ers: only $22, available in 36H, 24mm wide, claimed 505g disc/560g rim. Anyone tried a pair?

Alex does do mostly budget rims. Very nice for the money, mostly on the heavy side. There are also a few high-end models in their line up.

They have a huge number of models.
The Monocog uses the DH19, not the ACE19. I do not see an ACE20 in the current line.

The TD17 is in the budget range. Looks nice, not light and reasonably strong - not bullet proof.
http://alexrims.com

I have DH19, TD17 and just bought DA28 (for a nice road wheelset) 700c rims and a pair of FD28 26" rims.

 

[El Caballo]

They have a huge number of models.

I would use the word "bewildering". They have so many 700c rims in the 22-25mm, 490-550g range that I can't even keep track...DA16, TD17/TD17 Disc, DP17 Disc, the offset-drilled Crostinis, the ACE19 and DC19...and we're not even counting the semi-aero rims.

The TD17 Disc looks like the most interesting rim...it's substantially lighter than the rim brake version.

I do not see an ACE20 in the current line.

Neither do I -- but I have a pair. They look like the ACE19, but I don't know if they're exactly the same or not.

They do seem to resist pinch flats. I have felt the tire bottom out a few times on curbs and steps, but haven't been snakebit yet.

 

[mikesee]

I don't see much mention of Alex rims amongst the wheelbuilders here, or anywhere else. They've got kind of a budget reputation, due to being, well, cheap. However:

I've had them stock on several bikes. The DA16s on my commuter, in particular, have taken a lot of abuse over the years, even though I've let spokes become slack on more than one occasion.

The ACE20s on my BMF seem to be holding up well, also. I know the Monocog uses ACE19s, which I think are the same rim. Can any Monocog riders comment?

The TD17 and TD17 Disc look like likely suspects for 29ers: only $22, available in 36H, 24mm wide, claimed 505g disc/560g rim. Anyone tried a pair?

The TD17's are a great budget rim. The anti-pinch feature does seem to work. Weight is more like ~600g/rim. The rims are soft and the wheels will be flexy if you try to underbuild them. Use appropriate spokes and lacing and you'll probably be fine.

FWIW, I laced a set of these up for a friend about 2 years ago as his 'beater wheels'. He's 5'10" and 170#, and while he never knocked them *much* out of true he grew tired of the flex on our local tech trails. He finally had enough and had me relace that wheelset using Rhyno Lite's. His 36h TD17's are just hanging here collecting dust--I'll gladly send them out to you for the cost of shipping.

MC

 

[El Caballo]

His 36h TD17's are just hanging here collecting dust--I'll gladly send them out to you for the cost of shipping.

Thanks for the kind offer, MC. However, they're redundant to the wheels I already have, so I'll pass that offer on to anyone else who needs a set of rims for cheap.

 

[Rainman]

I have a Rohloff Speedhub laced into an Alex TD 17 rim. Never had any problems with it at all.


R.

 

[gop427]

TD17's

I have the td17s on my commuter 26er. I am 225 and ride a 1.95 slick tire. I flat 2 times a month. Usually from curbs or going up some steps or ledges. Love them though. I would attribute my flatness to my weight, tire and terrain. I run 40psi in the tires.

 

[El Caballo]

Tn21

On the "New Rims" page at alexrims.com (it's a Flash site, so I can't link directly) there is a new 29er specific rim called the TN21.

26.5mm wide
21mm ID
540g
32H or 36H, with eyelets
Rim braking surface

 

[logbiter]

The TD17's are a great budget rim. The anti-pinch feature does seem to work. snip The rims are soft and the wheels will be flexy if you try to underbuild them. snip His 36h TD17's are just hanging here collecting dust--I'll gladly send them out to you for the cost of shipping.

MC

Great thread going on here! I just started looking for some 'budget' 29er rims to build up and haven't seen any build up wheels in my cheapa$$ price range.

MC- do you still have these TD17's?
I'm interested, if you think these'll hold up ok for a clyde on a budget & more CX-like use (I'm in cajun country afterall... highest elevation of 400' & not much hard substrate ).

I'm in the process of up a 'monster cross' out of an old lugged trek and doubt the velomax vista wheels that were donated to me will hold up offroad for long (cringes at the thought of low spoke count). The vista's should be ok for skinny tires though.

y'all 29er folk have been a great inspiration!

/Serge

 

[shiggy]

On the "New Rims" page at alexrims.com (it's a Flash site, so I can't link directly) there is a new 29er specific rim called the TN21.

26.5mm wide
21mm ID
540g
32H or 36H, with eyelets
Rim braking surface

Actually, you can: http://www.art-collection.com.tw/case/alexrims/product_detail.asp?btn=5&cat=5&id=108

 

[KonaKiller]

I run DH19 XC MTB's on my Giant. I havent had a problem with them since I got them, and I do alot of heavy riding. The back rim is another story *Stock* Hehe. Anyways, I would definitely buy another DH19 If I had the $ (Yes im THAT poor)

 

[oldskoolm4]

I have a set of their Superdome rims laced up on my BMX race bike, pretty happy with them. Big wheel mountain bike, I have no idea. I've spent some time on some of their double wall rims dirt jumping and loved them. I can't complain though, Maybe they went down hill, or maybe yall are riding a crappy built wheel.