There’s a few rims out there where the rim bed is undrilled. I fancy building a set and was wondering if anyone has done this and has any tips?

I have considered the pros and cons and still want to give it ago. I know it will be a faff, take ages and offer little advantage, but I’m curious.

If we’re talking Mavic type,i’ve built quite a few, more of a faff than difficult, and a bit time consuming. Remember that you’ll ideally need 16mm nipples, and to factor this into your spoke length calculations or you’ll end up bottoming out the spokes and having to start all over again.

Just replacing spokes in Fulcrums robs you of the will to live.

I have a pair of LB wheels with a sealed rim bed. Got them to build the wheels though – I’m not that daft 😉

(brass is a bit magnetic isn’t it ? I think a bloody good magnet might come in handy)

Done Mavics with the threaded inserts which were a pain but not the end of the world. You mean there are rims with regular size holes and no holes in the inner wall? That sounds like an enormous PITA and I fail to see the advantage….

I fail to see the advantage….

Well, I agree pretty much

though road tubelss is bloody easy, and I was “worried” about yellow tape pushing into the holes at 100psi and mucking up the sealing

Don’t drop a nipple inside the rim would be my advice.

I did a pair a few years ago, vacuum cleaner was invaluable. Tie a bit of cotton to *every” nipple, then suck the thread out through the spoke hole…….

Takes forever. There won’t be a next time.

How do you get the nipples in there?
Put them in the valve hole and move them around the rim void until you get to the spoke hole?

Fulcrum give you a magnet and a wee steel doobrie to thread into each spoke. It is a total pain in the arse. But it saves a bit of weight over Mavic’s nipple/ferrule thing they do, which is also a pain in the arse.

Drilled rims and tape for me, better solution afaic. But some companies are pretty invested in UST so keep plugging it

How do you get the nipples in there?

10 cm of thread, tie it to the nipple and drop it into the rim. Suck the thread out with a vacuum cleaner and pull the nipple into place.

Its a light bicycle rim. I’m not in any rush to build them. Thought it might be nice to have a solid rim bed. I know it will be a faff but I’ve got a compressor to blow the cotton through the valve hole.

I run road tubeless. I’ve had the tape fail with 80 psi behind it. My next road rims will be solid no matter what.