Are Mavic A119 36h rims good?

Still working on the bike situation. One option is switching to a 58. The
58 they have on hand is a 2004. One of the few differences between it and
the 2005, seems to be the rims. I have no idea if this is an up or
downgrade. Any idea?

2004 - http://www.bianchiusa.com/volpe.html

2005 - http://www.bianchiusa.com/570.html

Anyway, wheels still turning. One nice bit of news (other than I decided
to rest for a few days) is that my other LBS said they could probably do a
refit for cheap or free. That would be a load off my mind if indeed the
frame was a mistake, that I could get fit to the frame that fit me,
without paying for that part in totality again.

Preston

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
Still working on the bike situation. One option is switching to a 58. The
58 they have on hand is a 2004. One of the few differences between it and
the 2005, seems to be the rims. I have no idea if this is an up or
downgrade. Any idea?

I haven't run across these before, having only seen them on new bikes rather
than as an aftermarket rim. The Cannondale T800 uses the same A119 rim.

But I've been using Mavic touring rims for years. One set -- T221 36-hole
rims on my Novara touring bike -- has well over 10k flawless miles (the
rims; the spokes are another story). I also have two sets of wheels with
T520 and A719 rims, with about 7k miles between them, that have been solid.

Mavic's touring rims, even the low-end ones (like my T221's were), are not
going to be a problem. I'd choose them over Alex rims just because they're
Mavics.

As always, it's the build quality of the wheels that matters. Proper (high
and even) tension and stress-reliving of the spokes, you know the drill.

RichC

On 2005-01-11, Rich Clark wrote:

"Preston Crawford" wrote in message
...
Still working on the bike situation. One option is switching to a 58. The
58 they have on hand is a 2004. One of the few differences between it and
the 2005, seems to be the rims. I have no idea if this is an up or
downgrade. Any idea?

I haven't run across these before, having only seen them on new bikes rather
than as an aftermarket rim. The Cannondale T800 uses the same A119 rim.

But I've been using Mavic touring rims for years. One set -- T221 36-hole
rims on my Novara touring bike -- has well over 10k flawless miles (the
rims; the spokes are another story). I also have two sets of wheels with
T520 and A719 rims, with about 7k miles between them, that have been solid.

Mavic's touring rims, even the low-end ones (like my T221's were), are not
going to be a problem. I'd choose them over Alex rims just because they're
Mavics.

As always, it's the build quality of the wheels that matters. Proper (high
and even) tension and stress-reliving of the spokes, you know the drill.

Totally. Thanks for the help, though. It's good to know that if this is
the way things go, it won't be a downgrade. Maybe even an upgrade of
sorts.

Preston

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 18:01:07 -0500, Rich Clark wrote:

Mavic's touring rims, even the low-end ones (like my T221's were), are not
going to be a problem. I'd choose them over Alex rims just because they're
Mavics.

I ride good ole Mavic 36H MA3's currently and they're virtually
indestructable.

That said, my last city bike had Alex rims and I trued the wheels once in
around 30K miles. Even the bike shop warned me that "those really aren't
the best rims..." I mean, I wiped out several times, hit potholes with
impunity and often carried close to a hundred pounds of groceries on the
bike. Never an issue.

I DO de-stress the spokes with a screwdriver and retrue rims on all new
bikes I buy after a week of "break in". I don't know if that's what helps
or if I'm doing the equivalent of waving a dead chicken around for good
luck. Seems to work anyhow.

Didn't Alex start out making BMX rims? If so, that's a rim application
that will separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak. :P