Cracked rim (road bike)

This is annoying, when cleaning the bike I noticed the rear rim has a tiny crack around a spoke.

Unfortunately (for me), the wheels are Prime Attaquer, bought from Chain Reaction Cycles 2023.  So no chance of warranty.

I’m assuming getting a rim to match will be impossible. I’m looking looking for a replacement wheelset <£500, in anyone has any recommendations.

Can’t rebuild with a pair of new rims on the old hubs?

just get any random rim of roughly the same ERD and spoke count and have someone make it up, no need for a complete wheelset

Would it matter if the rims don’t match?

No way I’d risk a low 20/24 spoke count after my weight increase over the last two years, but if you’re considerably closer to 70Kg than I am these days, https://www.merlincycles.com/vision-team-30-disc-clincher-road-wheelset-107000.html for £150 before using a loyalty voucher is a bargain IMO.

Can’t see the VEL 50 RLs on the Sigma website, mine were ~£360 two years ago.

Doubt I’d trust Hunt again after freehub failed on my Aero Light Discs after ~27 months of just spring-summer use, took bike up on train to see mum’s new place and had to abandon first attempt to ride to Road To Hell climb.

Would it matter if the rims don’t match?

Hmmm. Yeah, I think it would annoy me every time I looked at it!

Have a look on the Freewheel website, they’re Shimano and DT Swiss importers. Some of the Shimano wheelsets can be outstanding value for money with parts back up too.

Wel if having a different rim on your bike would annoy you just spend a pad of money on some new wheels, you obviously have enough.

How much more use will you get out of the bike this winter?

If it’ll only be a few weeks then I’d be tempted to wait for the inevitable bargains.

In the meantime Prime wheels have a 3-year warranty and Chain Reaction exists, it’s got to be worth a try… https://primebikecomponents.com/pages/prime-warranty-crash-replacement