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Velocity a23 or ZTR Alpha 400?

6K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Nater 
#1 ·
Looking for a strong, light-ish rim for my commutor/gravel/occasional CX bike... Needs to be rim brake and tubeless compatible...

Ready... Discuss.:D
 
#2 ·
Either will build a fine wheel. I like stans on my mountain bike so thought I would try them there and haven't been disappointed (except with tubeless tire selection). Because the setup is so much more finicky than on a MTB I find I just keep tubes in so I can air up high for road rides except during cross season where the grip at low pressures is too good to pass up. Would like to eventually have dedicated cross and road wheelsets with appropriate tubeless tires but not in the cards for now, and I cant seem to find one tire that excels for both but I'm pretty heavy (220lbs).

If you're on a budget get the cheaper one and put the difference into the nicest rear hub you can get IMO
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
my .02$ is that the velocity will build a stiffer wheel and the stans will be a lighter more lively wheel.

ive built wheels to both, well the velocity was a major tom which is nearly the same just tubular. the stans extrusion seems softer and at tension has a nervous look to the spinning wheel. the Velocity (as is the case with almost all of them i have built) is much stiffer feeling with a distinct high spot likely from the manufacturing process where the extrusion is formed into a hoop. the high spot can be massaged out but takes patience.
 
#7 ·
The Stans 400s are a PITA for tubeless setup. Dont understand why they couldnt make the bead channel the same depth as their MTB rims. Instead, its deeper and harder to air up the tires.

But once set up, my alpha 400s are super stiff and strong. I did blow a michelin mud 2 off the rim though, which is pretty scary. Fortunately, it was the rear and I was moving slowly.

I think you would be best suited with "tubeless ready" tires.

Never tried the A23s!
 
#8 ·
Definitely go with tubeless ready (there are only a couple of options out there now). The folding beads on cross tires aren't really up to the challenge of even moderate pressures on the road, and I'm not sure how well the wire beads would stay attached to the rest of the tire. I had a continental that wasn't tubeless ready tear off the front rim on a very slow, sharp turn at around 45 psi. Also had a tubeless ready vittoria blow off the rim at about 75 psi (to be fair it was a hot day and I was climbing back up after a scorching downhill on rough pavement - the heat could have pretty easily taken it past the 90 psi limit). I was *much* more confident in the tubeless ready tires up until that point though.

I too find the alpha 400's really stiff. Haven't ridden an a23 in a while but the 400's feel stiffer than I remember them - don't know the build details of the a23 set I tried though (my 400's are ultegra/supercomp). Looking at the cross-sections of both I guess I'm not surprised. And tubeless setup is a challenge but once they go on they're pretty secure. If you do go with the a23's I'd love to know how easily you get them set up tubeless :)

IMO you have picked 2 rims that give a good bang for your buck, and you've already gotten it right even if you flip a coin. According to this the a23 is a tiny bit wider so they might open up big tires a bit better: NoTubes Alpha, Velocity A23, Mavic Open Pro rims internal measurements | Just Riding Along - the blog
 
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