Seeking 26 inch rims/wheels, that are tubeless ready AND rim brake compatible

[WorldTourer]

Tubeless ready = difficult to mount. The switch is market/bling driven. Oooh, but "autos use tubeless".... ugh!  I am happy with Ryde Andra. Perhaps someone is riding off road in goathead thorn country. Yes, tubeless is then useful in that very specific region. When we ride in Arizona, tubes are fine, no punctures in 4 years, but we avoid off road and check for thorns.

Well, that’s the thing, you avoid off-road, but loads of people intentionally seek out off-road.

The Baja Divide is a route where tubeless is highly recommended, to put it mildly. The Baja Divide is now part of the Alaska–Ushuaia route for anyone looking to ride offroad as much as possible. So, it has become common for Alaska–Ushuaia or more generally North America – South America cyclists to install tubeless tires for their entire journey.

[mickeg]

I know several people that are migrating to tubeless for the wider tires that they use off road, but they are mostly staying with tubes for road and on-pavement (tarmac) riding with narrower tires.

I do not live in an area with a lot of thorns (the pointy kind, not the bikes), so I almost never get a puncture from a thorn.  For me, broken glass or sharp steel is more likely to cause a puncture.

I average one puncture a year, and I ride several bikes during the year.  So, for me the time spent fixing the puncture when it happens is preferred instead of maintaining sealant in several different bikes.

[PH]

I've been riding today with someone using tubeless on Halo White Line rims in 26".  These are not designed as such, but he said it was simple enough to set them up and in  a couple of years riding has had no issues, or punctures.

[mickeg]

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Will be running 60C tyres.

One additional note:  I assume you already know this, but if not, 60mm wide tires on a rim brake bike means that you will need either cantilever brakes or a V brake with an unusually long arm.

If my memory is correct, I used Tektro 857 AL for V brakes on two of my bikes, they have 110mm long arms.

Specifically, my Nomad Mk II, I use 57mm wide tires and also fenders.  I needed long arms, otherwise the cable was rubbing on my fender with my other brakes that had shorter arms.

[martinf]

One additional note:  I assume you already know this, but if not, 60mm wide tires on a rim brake bike means that you will need either cantilever brakes or a V brake with an unusually long arm.

If my memory is correct, I used Tektro 857 AL for V brakes on two of my bikes, they have 110mm long arms.

Specifically, my Nomad Mk II, I use 57mm wide tires and also fenders.  I needed long arms, otherwise the cable was rubbing on my fender with my other brakes that had shorter arms.

When I put 55 mm Marathon Mondials on my Thorn Raven "utility" bike I had to change the rear V-brake, but not the front.

The only long arm V-brake I could find at the time was an XLC brand with 110 mm arms, the Tektro 857 AL wasn't available anywhere I searched.

There was enough clearance to keep the Shimano Deore LX BR-T670 front brake (I think this has 103 mm long arms).

With a 60 mm tyre this would need to be changed as well, unless doing without mudguards.

Despite being fairly cheap, the XLC brake seems to work well enough after swapping out the standard brake pads for Kool-Stop salmon.

[Dunroving]

Tubeless ready = difficult to mount. The switch is market/bling driven. Oooh, but "autos use tubeless".... ugh!  I am happy with Ryde Andra. Perhaps someone is riding off road in goathead thorn country. Yes, tubeless is then useful in that very specific region. When we ride in Arizona, tubes are fine, no punctures in 4 years, but we avoid off road and check for thorns.

This will be largely for off-road use, so your observations are spot-on; tubeless means I don't have to worry about thorns during hedge-cutting season, or on canal towpaths with broken glass littered around (you probably don't get much of that in Arizona).

I've never really had difficulty mounting tubeless tyres (or any tyres, for that matter). Your experience trying to mount tubeless tyres may vary. Glad you're happy with your tubed tyres and rims (I still use tubes on my shopping bike, and have ridden tubes on the road with almost no punctures since the 1980s).

[mickeg]

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I've never really had difficulty mounting tubeless tyres (or any tyres, for that matter). Your experience trying to mount tubeless tyres may vary. Glad you're happy with your tubed tyres and rims (I still use tubes on my shopping bike, and have ridden tubes on the road with almost no punctures since the 1980s).

I have only run tube type rims and always use inner tubes.  But I did buy a tire that I did not realize was intended for tubeless, I had to really work hard to get the bead over the rim, it was so tight.

A couple months ago was out for an exercise ride, about an hour and a half, out and back trip.  On my way out, saw a teenage kid trying to fix his tire.  And on the way back stopped when I saw that he had made no progress.  He had a tubeless rim, inner tube, and I am not sure if the tire was a tubeless tire or plain, I suspect tubeless.  But he was not strong enough to get the tire off the rim.  But in part he did not understand the shelf under the bead that is part of the tubeless rim design, so I had to show him how to get almost all of the bead in the depression in the rim before he could get the bead over the edge of the rim.

Part of the problem was that the bead sitting on the shelf took so much muscle to get it shifted into the depression, I think he did not have the hand strength to do that part of the fix.

It was a good reminder to me to be very careful to never buy another tire that was "tubeless ready" since I am sticking with tubes.

[Dunroving]

...
Will be running 60C tyres.

One additional note:  I assume you already know this, but if not, 60mm wide tires on a rim brake bike means that you will need either cantilever brakes or a V brake with an unusually long arm.

If my memory is correct, I used Tektro 857 AL for V brakes on two of my bikes, they have 110mm long arms.

Specifically, my Nomad Mk II, I use 57mm wide tires and also fenders.  I needed long arms, otherwise the cable was rubbing on my fender with my other brakes that had shorter arms.

That's interesting - I currently have 2.2" tyres (tubed) on the bike without any issues from the V-brakes ... they're Shimano but can't recall which model (bike isn't with me to check at the moment). Possibly Deore.

[PH]

That's interesting - I currently have 2.2" tyres (tubed) on the bike without any issues from the V-brakes

In some way you're not comparing like with like.  Thorn 26" wheel touring bikes have the brakes set with the block at the bottom of the slot, but they were also designed at a time when almost no one would have considered touring on a 2.2" tyre. 
I might have just squeezed a 2" tyre into my Raven, though it wouldn't have left what I'd consider a satisfactory clearance under the guards and I might have had to deflate the tyre to remove it.
From what I can tell from the brochure, the current Nomad with 26" wheels, will take 2.15" tyres with V brakes or 2.5" with discs.  I'm assuming both those figures include good guard clearance.

[WorldTourer]

From what I can tell from the brochure, the current Nomad with 26" wheels, will take 2.15" tyres with V brakes or 2.5" with discs.  I'm assuming both those figures include good guard clearance.

The Nomad Mk3 with disc brakes and the Thorn Bikepacking Fork option will easily fit 2.60" tires (without mudguards, I guess, but didn’t try) with 650B wheels. So, 26" wheelsize users with disc brakes would definitely be able to fit at least 2.60" width as well.

[PH]

From what I can tell from the brochure, the current Nomad with 26" wheels, will take 2.15" tyres with V brakes or 2.5" with discs.  I'm assuming both those figures include good guard clearance.

The Nomad Mk3 with disc brakes and the Thorn Bikepacking Fork option will easily fit 2.60" tires (without mudguards, I guess, but didn’t try) with 650B wheels. So, 26" wheelsize users with disc brakes would definitely be able to fit at least 2.60" width as well.

Out of curiosity, I've just had a glance at the SJS website which offers more detail than the Thorn Nomad brochure
26" V brake fork 2.35" with guards
26"/650B/700c twin plate disc fork with 26" wheel 2.8" with guards
26"/650B/700c Bike Packing fork with 26" wheel 2.75", but doesn't say if that's with guards

 

[Dunroving]

Brief update: After a fair bit of research, I've sourced some Velocity Cliffhanger rims and will pair to Bitex 103 touring hubs. These hubs get decent reviews and a couple of good YouTube videos. I also looked at Shimano Deore T610 and M610 hubs (no longer made, but can be found with a lot of searching), but the Bitex were a step up, and not horrendously spendy.

I ended up only being able to get the disc brake Cliffhanger rims, but as mentioned here and in a couple of other threads, these can be used with rim brakes. I did notice the join on the rim wasn't especially smooth, so might need to sand down a bit.

Another option that I found was Kinlin XM-25, but these rims are a bit narrower (21 mm internal width) compared to the Cliffhangers (25 mm internal width) and so probably not best suited to the wider tyres I'm using. The Kinlin rims were a fair bit lighter, so would be more suited to anyone looking for something similar, but for narrower touring tyres.

I'll post another update when the wheels are built, and again after I've ridden them a couple of times.

[PH]

I did notice the join on the rim wasn't especially smooth, so might need to sand down a bit.

Are the joins pinned or welded?  If pinned, you may find the step reduces under spoke tension, but also ask your wheelbuilder to make sure they step down, that is the brake block doesn't hit the ridge. Your builder almost certainly knows to do this, but I'd rather look an idiot than regret not mentioning it!  If they're welded, then you can sand them down or wait for the blocks to do it for you. 
I might ne tempted to find some hard blocks to wear the rims in, I don't know if those intended for carbide rims would be OK, though that's an expensive experiment.  There's other hard compounds that I'd normally avoid which might be ideal for this purpose.

Bitex 103 touring hubs. These hubs get decent reviews and a couple of good YouTube videos. I also looked at Shimano Deore T610 and M610 hubs (no longer made, but can be found with a lot of searching), but the Bitex were a step up, and not horrendously spendy.

They have gained a good reputation, all those sealed bearings!  I must admit I have a natural preference for cup and cone, partly the satisfaction of adjusting them to perfection.  Shimano always wins on the shells, forged are stronger than machined and no one else makes in the quantity to warrent forging.

[Dunroving]

I did notice the join on the rim wasn't especially smooth, so might need to sand down a bit.

Are the joins pinned or welded?  If pinned, you may find the step reduces under spoke tension, but also ask your wheelbuilder to make sure they step down, that is the brake block doesn't hit the ridge. Your builder almost certainly knows to do this, but I'd rather look an idiot than regret not mentioning it!  If they're welded, then you can sand them down or wait for the blocks to do it for you. 
I might ne tempted to find some hard blocks to wear the rims in, I don't know if those intended for carbide rims would be OK, though that's an expensive experiment.  There's other hard compounds that I'd normally avoid which might be ideal for this purpose.

Bitex 103 touring hubs. These hubs get decent reviews and a couple of good YouTube videos. I also looked at Shimano Deore T610 and M610 hubs (no longer made, but can be found with a lot of searching), but the Bitex were a step up, and not horrendously spendy.

They have gained a good reputation, all those sealed bearings!  I must admit I have a natural preference for cup and cone, partly the satisfaction of adjusting them to perfection.  Shimano always wins on the shells, forged are stronger than machined and no one else makes in the quantity to warrent forging.

From the YouTube video of the factory (link in my previous post; see about 15:00 onwards), they fit a sleeve inside where the join is (sleeve looks to be about 2 inches long), and coat it with an epoxy. The joined section is then baked for about 35 minutes, after which the join is (quote) "hard as a rock". Interestingly, he says the sleeve ensures there is no bump at the join to cause a "tick, tick" and "chew your brake pads". However, later in the video, where he describes the machining process, he says (around the 24:15 mark) this also "cleans up the join, so when your brakes run by it, there's no hiccup".

Point noted regarding getting harder brake pads to aid the smoothing process. I'll look into that.

[mickeg]

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Point noted regarding getting harder brake pads to aid the smoothing process. I'll look into that.

I do not know how well brake pads would work in smoothing out the joint compared to some careful work with a small file.

I am running Koolstop Salmon pads on most of my bikes, they are one of the softer pads.