CSS, is it discontinued?

[mickeg]

CSS does not exist any more on Ryde website.
https://www.ryde.nl/technology

Is it out of production?  Forever?

[rualexander]

Still mentioned as available on the Sputnik rim, but not mentioned on the Andra, and the Grizzly seems to have been discontinued.
Suppose they maybe made their rims too long lasting with the CSS treatment, and sales dropped?

[geocycle]

I hope not, these are fantastic rims. I really regret not replacing my front wheel grizzly css with another. The standard rim is ok but I preferred the braking and pad life on the css.

[macspud]

CSS does not exist any more on Ryde website.
https://www.ryde.nl/technology

Is it out of production?  Forever?

You're right, CSS is not included on the technologies page anymore. Hopefully they haven't dropped it. It would be a shame if that was the case.

Looking at that page, I see there are "HOOK LESS" rims. I wonder how they work.

[rualexander]

The trend towards disc brakes is probably another reason that CSS rims might have been dropped.

[onmybike]

Phew, turns out I wasn't being paranoid when I bought a spare set of CSS rims a year or two back - the rise of disc brakes being my motivating factor. Not that the original CSS set show any sign of being worn out yet after 55,000km, so who knows, the 'spares' may go unused for eternity. But damn, I ordered a new stainless steel chainring from sjsc just yesterday and didn't even think to chase up a few more sets of CSS compatible brake pads. Better start digging through the spares box to see if I have still have enough to wear-in the new rims.

Also; any tips on which 'standard' brake blocks work best on a CSS rim once the braking line is smooth?

Edit: Yay, still 6 Swissstop blue pads in the spares box. And I just found the forum thread on replacement pads. I may give the Koolstop Salmon pads a go. I can pick them up locally.

[mickeg]

Ok, then I was not reading things incorrectly when I did not see CSS.

Since I posted this yesterday, I have been trying to figure out if I want to buy any CSS rims while some retailers still have them in stock.  I am in USA and shipping a large box from Europe to me is not cheap, I found one USA seller but they are out of 36 hole rims.

I was thinking of using my Nomad on a tour this year.  I was thinking of replacing my Andra 30 rims on my Nomad with Andra 40 so that it would work better with 57mm tires, but I want the CSS rims.  If they are taken out of production, I will have to rethink my plans.  Either run narrower tires or run the wide tires at higher pressure than I wanted to.  Major bummer.

...
Also; any tips on which 'standard' brake blocks work best on a CSS rim once the braking line is smooth?
...

I do not have an answer for you but my guess would be a fairly hard brake pad.  I have asked on this forum a few times if the Koolstop Carbide pads (color green) would work, did not get an answer.  Then I bought some.  After that, Dave from the shop left a non-positive reply, which I now searched for and posted below.

I have been curious to know if the Koolstop Ceramic pads (green color) would work on CSS rims.  I found some for an absurdly cheap clearance price and bought them as backups.  The Swisstop Blue was rated for both Ceramic and CSS, thus I was thinking maybe the Koolstop Ceramics would be similar enough to be functionally equivalent.

Sadly they leave deposits on the rim and glaze the rim surface.

Dave

So, that might not be the best option. 

Who knows, maybe the Koolstop CSS pads will stay in production. 

Or, since the Swisstop pads are also used on carbide rims, maybe they will stay in production?

I am not going to buy any more pads at this time to hoard, I have one remaining pair for one wheel, I was thinking when I run out that I would go to some other fairly hard pad, or possibly try those Koolstop Carbide pads I bought.

But, if I decide to buy an extra rim or two, I probably would want to get another set of pads too.

I have given a tiny bit of thought to ordering a 700c rim for my front wheel on my Titanium bike.  I need to think fast.

ADDENDUM:

The USA seller has one remaining Andra 30 rim in 700c, but not CSS.  I am not buying it.

SECOND ADDENDUM:

On January 31, 2019, I sent an e-mail to Ryde that stated: 
      You no longer mention CSS technology on your website.  Have you discontinued rims with that option?

Now almost two weeks later, I have yet to receive any response from Ryde.  Thus, I assume the CSS rims are history.

[PH]

Also; any tips on which 'standard' brake blocks work best on a CSS rim once the braking line is smooth?

Edit: Yay, still 6 Swissstop blue pads in the spares box. And I just found the forum thread on replacement pads. I may give the Koolstop Salmon pads a go. I can pick them up locally.

Bit late to this...
I have three Grizzly CSS rims, all worn smooth and using standard pads, either Koolstop Salmon or BBB Tricolor , breaking is as you'd expect from these pads and a standard aluminium rim, rain or shine.  When I swapped the last set of Swisstop Blue for Koolstop Salmon there was an immediately noticeable improvement, I should have done it sooner.

[mickeg]

....
I have three Grizzly CSS rims, all worn smooth and using standard pads, either Koolstop Salmon or BBB Tricolor , breaking is as you'd expect from these pads and a standard aluminium rim, rain or shine.  When I swapped the last set of Swisstop Blue for Koolstop Salmon there was an immediately noticeable improvement, I should have done it sooner.

Thanks for posting.  I think we all suspected that but it is nice to know someone's actual experience.

[Matt2matt2002]

Also; any tips on which 'standard' brake blocks work best on a CSS rim once the braking line is smooth?

Edit: Yay, still 6 Swissstop blue pads in the spares box. And I just found the forum thread on replacement pads. I may give the Koolstop Salmon pads a go. I can pick them up locally.

Bit late to this...
I have three Grizzly CSS rims, all worn smooth and using standard pads, either Koolstop Salmon or BBB Tricolor , breaking is as you'd expect from these pads and a standard aluminium rim, rain or shine.  When I swapped the last set of Swisstop Blue for Koolstop Salmon there was an immediately noticeable improvement, I should have done it sooner.

Interesting info. Thanks.
A loud squeal developed on my front CSS rim. No amount of tweaking would remove it. So I changed from Blue Swisstops – and squeal disappeared.
Rim feels smooth. So guess it wore out? Should they feel slightly rough?
My bike is second hand. I have ridden 19,500 miles / 31,500 Km over 6 years.
Pretty sure it wasn’t used much before I bought it (Dan!).

I have CSS on the rear as well - but no squealing - so will leave alone.

Opinions gratefully received folks.

[mickeg]

...
A loud squeal developed on my front CSS rim. No amount of tweaking would remove it. So I changed from Blue Swisstops – and squeal disappeared.
Rim feels smooth. So guess it wore out? Should they feel slightly rough?
...

It is my understanding that carbide particles are imbedded in the aluminum rim, thus I would assume that it has not "worn out". 

My aluminum rims that are not CSS feel smooth, but they often have concentric grooves as the did not wear completely evenly. 

Also, my aluminum rims when I handle them, I get a gray dust on my hands, that gray dust is aluminum oxide.  If your smooth CSS rims do not leave behind a gray residue on your hands if you rub your hands on the rim, that would be another sign that they have not worn out.  I have never gotten any aluminum oxide on my hands from handling my CSS rims, but I do not have any where near as much distance on my rims as you have on yours.

[PH]

My most used CSS rim is on a front dynamo wheel, it's 11 years old and because it's been swapped between bikes I can't be sure of it's mileage, a very conservative estimate would be at least 40,000.  If I put the edge of a steel ruler against it I can see that it's slightly concave, but not to the extent that I'd be considering replacing it. It's had a smooth surface and I've used standard pads for at least half it's life, IMO it's a long way from being worn out!

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

After contacting Ryde's OEM Manager I can confirm CSS is indeed a thing of the past on all rims.  Only rims people have left on the shelf will be CSS.

We do have about 40 of Andra 30 CSS Rohloff and 70 Andra 30 CSS Regular Drilling and about 40 Grizzy CSS left in 32h.

They will shortly be removed from the bike build options, sorry folks, seems like Disc Brakes are the cause of all this.

[mickeg]

After contacting Ryde's OEM Manager I can confirm CSS is indeed a thing of the past on all rims.  Only rims people have left on the shelf will be CSS.

We do have about 40 of Andra 30 CSS Rohloff and 70 Andra 30 CSS Regular Drilling and about 40 Grizzy CSS left in 32h.

They will shortly be removed from the bike build options, sorry folks, seems like Disc Brakes are the cause of all this.

Thanks for checking on this.

[geocycle]

After contacting Ryde's OEM Manager I can confirm CSS is indeed a thing of the past on all rims.  Only rims people have left on the shelf will be CSS.

We do have about 40 of Andra 30 CSS Rohloff and 70 Andra 30 CSS Regular Drilling and about 40 Grizzy CSS left in 32h.

They will shortly be removed from the bike build options, sorry folks, seems like Disc Brakes are the cause of all this.

What a shame, I guess this is also a problem of making things that almost last forever. Will have to check my rohloff wheel carefully to see if it is worth changing now while supplies remain. I'm most worried about using up my stock of swisstop blue pads!