So any opinions on either one out there?

I’m going to pair to a set of 28h Novatec hubs that I already have, and DT swiss Comp spokes (not ordered yet)

I’d be using them for recreational Cyclocross night-riding on 35mm tyres, mixed terrain but mostly wooded muddy singletrack and stoney ground.

I’d originally thought to go with Archetypes but then I found the Kinlins and these have an even greater internal width which is attractive(archetype 17.4mm vs kinlin 19mm)

A plus for Kinlin’s is the option of using an Asymmetric spoke holed rim on the rear (XR22RT) to get a better drive side spoke angle so potentially stronger wheel (Archetypes are symmetric spoke holes only).

I’ll be building the wheels myself, I’ve built 3 pairs of wheels over the last few years (following Roger Musson’s book) and they have not killed me so am fairly proficient.

My considerations would be but not in this specific order:-

1. Ease of build
2. Stiffness and ride quality of wheels for offroad riding
3. Best tyre profile for 35mm tyres
4. Braking surface quality, since most of the time it’ll be in wet muddy conditions as I like to be able to stop 🙂
5. Suitability with front and rear spoke count of 28, I weigh about 80kgs
6. Not bothered about running tubeless atm

Not too much on the web about the Kinlins, so if anyone has experience of either or even better BOTH that would be fantastic.

The only insight I can offer is that I have Kinlin XR270/272 rims on my road bike and I find the braking performance is really poor once they’re wet, even with Swissstop pads.

I used to have some Archetype wheels that I think were 28/32 spoked (but they had different hubs). I thought they were decent, but I only used them with road tyres on the road.

I would probably go with the Kinlin due to width/weight/cost/offset spoke holes. Presumably poor braking should mean they won’t wear out as quick?!

I would go for the wider rim, plus the ability to run tubeless for a CX tyre is a big bonus. Velocity A23s would be another option

It sounds a little like six of one and half dozen of the other, braking is important since night riding tends to lead to the occasional need for late braking (thinking of the self righteous walkers that like to put branches over the trails). But the kinlins measurements look better on paper.
I actually have the archetypes in the garage but since I bought them from wiggle it’s a no fuss return policy

I can vouch for the overall goodness of the Archetype for off-road riding (28/32) but I use them with discs so can’t comment on the braking surface. The whole rim is anodised though so the brake track finish is going to wear away which might look a bit scruffy if that bothers you.

Velocity A23s

I also had some of these, were shit.

+1 for the toughness of the Archetypes (again, as a disc rim though)

I just today built a pair of disc wheels for my GT Grade using Novatec D791Sb/D792SB hubs and Kinlin XR22 rims each with 28 Sapim Race spokes 3x. Haven’t ridden yet so can’t give an opinion other than they built up nicely and come out at 1702g the pair which is pretty good. As you say the asymmetrical spoke drilling is good too.

I’ve also built two sets of rim braked XR22s on Novatec hubs for my daughters’ bikes, Both 20 spoked radial front, 24 2x rear and they have so far held up really well but they are both a lot lighter than me. 1538g for each pair as well.

I only built up one Archetype rim on a rear wheel a couple of years ago and rode it for a short time. It was OK, nothing special either way, not particularly light or wide really so not overly impressed.

I’d say the Kinlin XR22 rims (I buy mine as Borg22 from The Cycle Clinic) are far superior and the latest disc ones were only 428g. As you say 24mm wide, 19mm internal and tubeless compatible so nothing not to like really.

Forzafkawi, thanks for that 🙂 I’m heavily leaning towards kinlin now, any comment on the rim braking qualities of the wheels you built for your daughters bikes, good, bad, normal?

I haven’t had any negatives back from them at all, they just seem to work as normal. Both have Shimano Ultegra brakes.

One of my daughters is quite fast – currently doing training rides of 60 miles or so at an average of 19.4 mph to give you an idea and she hasn’t said anything negative about the wheels. 😀

Ok, so I’ve gone and pulled the trigger on the kinlins (from the cycle clinic). The archetypes are on there way back to wiggle.

Won’t have the wheels built until the new year as the hubs are on the slow boat from China and the spokes will be ordered once I measure everything myself.

I’ll put up a small review when done. Thanks to all the contributors on the thread!