Where are the rims at???

[emersungold]

Hello all - I have a number of XTR M950 hubs I'd like to build up and I'd love some period correct Mavic rims (217, 517, 717) but I've had a hard time sourcing any.

Does anyone know of a good source for 90's mtb 26" rims in North America?

Alternatively, are there any new rims on the market that are comparable to what was available in the 90's?

Also, just daydreaming here, but wouldn't it be great if Mavic reissued some rims from the past? Seems like a missed opportunity given the continued interest in riding and restoring vintage mountain bikes. Panaracer seems to have noticed this by opting to continue manufacturing the Smoke & Dart.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions it'd be appreciated!

 

[CrossFred1978]

Hello all - I have a number of XTR M950 hubs I'd like to build up and I'd love some period correct Mavic rims (217, 517, 717) but I've had a hard time sourcing any.

Does anyone know of a good source for 26" rims in North America?

Alternatively, are there any new rims on the market that are comparable what was available in the 90's?

Also, just daydreaming here, but wouldn't it be great if Mavic reissued some rims from the past? Seems like a missed opportunity given the continued interest in riding and restoring vintage mountain bikes. Panaracer seems to have noticed this by opting to continue manufacturing the Smoke & Dart.

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions it'd be appreciated!

Hi, totally agree with you about Mavic reissuing rims. Recently when needing some new rims for an early '90s build I came across a brand called Exal which from what I can make out are Belgium and are the remnants of the old Alesa rims company.
Not sure if Alesa was common in the USA?
Anyway I ended up with Exal LX 17 rims for £16 each and are very retro looking and come in silver or black finish with double eyelets.
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m20b0s116p5179/EXAL-LX17-26-inch-(559)-Rim

Maybe these are available your side of the pond?

 

[emersungold]

Hi, totally agree with you about Mavic reissuing rims. Recently when needing some new rims for an early '90s build I came across a brand called Exal which from what I can make out are Belgium and are the remnants of the old Alesa rims company.
Not sure if Alesa was common in the USA?
Anyway I ended up with Exal LX 17 rims for £16 each and are very retro looking and come in silver or black finish with double eyelets.
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m20b0s116p5179/EXAL-LX17-26-inch-(559)-Rim

Maybe these are available your side of the pond?

thanks for the suggestion @CrossFred1978 ! i'll look into Exal and search for suppliers here in NA - price seems very reasonable. cheers

 

[bikeworkshop]

Remember early mtb-ers took the 700 MA40s, unplugged the pins, cut an inch or 2 off and made them 26"?
Time to get back to it!

Demand isn't high enough to support continued mainstream production, but you could just seek old stock.
We must have 50x 26 rims still in stock, but almost nobody asks for them - and if they do, they want 36⁰ sunsets or something, rather than just buying what's on offer.

 

[emersungold]

Remember early mtb-ers took the 700 MA40s, unplugged the pins, cut an inch or 2 off and made them 26"?
Time to get back to it!

Demand isn't high enough to support continued mainstream production, but you could just seek old stock.
We must have 50x 26 rims still in stock, but almost nobody asks for them - and if they do, they want 36⁰ sunsets or something, rather than just buying what's on offer.

thanks for your reply @bikeworkshop ! unfortunately i do not remember - i was born in 1990 - but i respect that kind of ingenuity.

i guess you're right about that, otherwise folks like Mavic would still be manufacturing these things. i am hopeful though.. i think many people would have said the same thing about 35mm film, vinyl records, etc. which have seen a resurgence. i'll shoot the kind folks at Mavic a message letting them know they'd have at least one customer

 

[bikeworkshop]

You ought to be able to get a pair of old stock rims off ebay, although there are 26/559 brands still out there.
You need a long- established LBS that works with older stuff, they should know what's available in your country, they might even have a couple

We sell a few Halo 559s, some nice shiny ones, but often if we are looking for a shallow profile, we still have something downstairs

 

[Tootyred]

You can still get mavic xc317 rims from many places. These are basically the last iteration of the 217/517 profile...although not entirely the same section.

There are 2 types...confusingly called the same...one is disc, one is rim..they are very different.

I built up a set on m737 hubs last year and they are good eyeletted rims, with the advantage of a polished brake track so you dont loose all your black in a mess of brake rub...cd always looked ghastly after 30 mins imho!

plus lots of places selling them off cheap. I paid 40 for a pair.

 

[emersungold]

You can still get mavic xc317 rims from many places. These are basically the last iteration of the 217/517 profile...although not entirely the same section.

There are 2 types...confusingly called the same...one is disc, one is rim..they are very different.

I built up a set on m737 hubs last year and they are good eyeletted rims, with the advantage of a polished brake track so you dont loose all your black in a mess of brake rub...cd always looked ghastly after 30 mins imho!

plus lots of places selling them off cheap. I paid 40 for a pair.

@Tootyred i knew somebody would have great intel like this - thank you! i'll try to hunt down a pair or two of those here in Canada. they look the part for a "vintage" wheel build

 

[emersungold]

You ought to be able to get a pair of old stock rims off ebay, although there are 26/559 brands still out there.
You need a long- established LBS that works with older stuff, they should know what's available in your country, they might even have a couple

We sell a few Halo 559s, some nice shiny ones, but often if we are looking for a shallow profile, we still have something downstairs

great suggestion too, thank you. i'll reach out to some LBS's here in town to see if they have anything tucked away

 

[Tootyred]

Actually they are called XM317........not xc. My memory is terrible these days!

And actually they were only £18 each!