Raleigh Folder

The new rims are here! The new rims are here!

Time for the next big change on the Folder.

A ways back I ordered some Sun Rhyno Lite rims from my local bicycle shop (lbs) Bow Cycle. The folks there are pretty tolerant of my project bicycles even if they shake their heads as I tell them what I want them to order. They don't usually have the parts I'm looking for in stock .

In this case I had originally requested two Sun CR18s in 20 inch with a 36 hole drilling. It wasn't long before I got a phone call telling me that those rims were not available in 36 holes. Plan B. Sun Rhyno Lite.

They arrived a few days ago and I was able to pick them up this afternoon. More tens of grams saved. The original front wheel on the highly inaccurate kitchen scale came out to 1080 grams (hub, rim, spokes, nipples). The new wheel was laced up this evening and it comes to a total of 770 grams. This is a 310 gram weight savings. Not a huge amount, but nothing to sneeze at either.

I find it interesting to note that the weight savings for the rim is around 340 g (720 v 380 g). But I was weighing a different rim than I laced on to the front hub so there could be 30 g difference in the two Sun rims. Or perhaps the new spokes are heavier than the old. Or the new nipples. Of course, the inaccurate kitchen scale could have something to do with it as well.

As well as the weight savings I will definitely see an improvement in braking performance with the aluminum rims. I actually ordered the rims the day after I had to commute home in snow flurries. While the snow wasn't heavy enough to soak through my jacket it did manage to coat my rims with water. I don't think I actually blew through any stop signs, but there were times when I applied the brakes and nothing happened for a second or two. Not a good feeling.

Here's a link to an interesting Raleigh 20 by fellow Canadian Guy Bouchard. This is a good example of what you can do and how far you can go with a Raleigh 20. http://www.guybouchard.ca/twenty.htm