[PHeller]

I've noticed that there are quite a few reports of Duroc 50's and even Duroc 40's cracking at the spoke nipples, but I came across "SD" line of Duroc rims which appear newer.

They look like they've got eyelets, which is different from previous (lighter) version of Duroc rims, and they are all welded. They are tanks, too, at 590g for the rim.

I'm rebuilding a set of DT Swiss Spline One hubs (straight pull, 28h, two-piece, real light) into a 29" wheelset, and I can source these SD37 rims on a budget. Plan on lacing them with some double butted spokes, maybe even triple butted for lots of flex in the spokes.

I figured if I wanted even more reliability I could reuse the Squorx nipples and PHR washers that the wheels were originally built with.

These will not be my main wheelset, just a backup set that will spend most of it's time on my wife's bike.

 

[TimTucker]

Bought a used Stache from someone who put in a lot of miles and would lay down massive amounts of power riding it to and from trails at speeds that would seem more appropriate to roadies.

He went through rims on a regular basis and I heard all about how the local shop had built up a new rear wheel on an SD42 rim and it was the strongest thing ever. Upon closer inspection realized that it too had a hairline crack between 2 of the spoke holes.

I went back to a Duroc 50, added in nipple washers, and haven't had any issues.

 

[mikesee]

Misbalanced spoke tension is the main cause of those rims cracking.

Which manifests itself much sooner with bigger/harder riders.

 

[PHeller]

Misbalanced spoke tension is the main cause of those rims cracking.

Which manifests itself much sooner with bigger/harder riders.

Mike, are there any rims in a similar price bracket that don't suffer that same fate?

 

[TimTucker]

Misbalanced spoke tension is the main cause of those rims cracking.

Which manifests itself much sooner with bigger/harder riders.

Interesting, but good to know -- I did make sure to use a tension meter to get things pretty close to even when I rebuilt the wheel.

One thing I did notice was that the previous spokes seemed like they were slightly too long and were perhaps overtensioned. They were poking 1-2mm beyond the nipples, but the length and tension seemed right when I put it back together using the nipple washers.

 

[mikesee]

seemed right when I put it back together using the nipple washers.

Smart.

 

[mikesee]

Mike, are there any rims in a similar price bracket that don't suffer that same fate?

I like the RaceFace ARC Offset 40's. A lot.