We love doing repairs. We do build a lot of Archetypes and Kinlins on Novatec and White Industries hubs, so we don’t annoy you with every wheel build. But repairs are a litttle more cerebral.
Shimano road wheels (especially of late) have been really popular. They’re very light, cheap and the hubs are smooth and reliable. This is part of the reason that we get more requests to repair Shimano wheels, than all others combined.
The other is that in order to meet the light weight targets, the rims are made from an especially thin alloy, which means the brake tracks wear out quickly, in comparison to other options.
Steve sent us a Shimano C24 rear that was certainly end of life! Not being the stiffest wheel out of the box (and C24 replacement rims costing as much as a whole new wheel) we recommended the Kinlin XC-279 as the perfect replacement rim. They are wide, super stiff and super long lasting. Yes there is a slight penalty in weight, but nothing a quick pee prior to your ride wouldn’t eliminate!
We reused the original Sapim bladed spokes, which required rolling additional threads and shortening their length, and utilised black brass nipples to ensure ongoing reliability.
The resultant wheel is way stiffer, and should have a service life far longer than the original.