Araya Rims

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I'm talking early ones...

I've picked up some wheels and I'm not sure if they're scrap or worth selling on.

They're RM something or other, one has a red and gold label.

Any ideas?
 
From my recollection, which is hazy now at best!, the cheaper rims had no label and were stamped....the one that was most seen on saracen, muddy fox etc was the x7.

The better ones had red and gold araya labels on them.

The mombat file is wrong btw. The top catalogue is 1990 not 1980. The rm17/20 didn't come out till very late 80s.

As for quality, imho....having built lot of wheels over the last few decades....I don't really rate them....! Blasphemy I know as everyone loves a rm17s and pro rim. The basic ones strong enough, but super heavy....the lighter ones folded too easy and the non eyeletted ones cracked. The rm25 was apparently reinforced round the rim.....it didn't work!

But if you have a good pair, worth keeping for a catalogue build.
 
Having RM-395 Team, they are a tough as hell, still running mine today from new despite hammering them into a trough (ground water cut across, whatever they're called) back in 1993/4ish, and bending* it just enough so the front brakes couldn't be used down the rest of Helvelin (no tools to slacken enough) and a quick true up and as good as new and still running now, getting thinner though ;-)

If I see RM395s of either type, I'll use them over Mavic 231 any day, the 400 should be just as good.

RM20 RM17 are Mavic 231/261 equivalent in my opinion.

And the mid 90s mid range are great rims for commuters and all sorts. TM820 or something like that can check. Really nice rims.
Last forever.

Lower end are just the rims you had in the 80s really. Basic and functional.


By the end of the 90s Mavic had surpassed them though.


*I was quite a distance in front of the bike, headfirst in a stone wall
Worse off than the bike, but like you do when young and in the early 90s, got up checked bike out bodged it to ride and carried on back down.

To be fair the stone wall was preferable to the drop into the stream on the right.
 
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