Alternative to Andra 30 rims

[Andyb1]

My 32 spoke 26 inch Raven rear rim is wearing and I will need to replace it soon.   SJS are local and will do the work and are suggesting an Andra 30 rim.  I am just wondering what else is available?  The all up weight of the bike is 110kg max with me, touring gear, food and water so not too much load and I use tyres between 1.75” and 2.0” run at fairly low pressures……..so a rim of around 22mm width seems about right.
I am sure an Andra 30 rim would do the job fine but they seem a bit heavy at 750g.

With the wheel rebuild I was also going to fit the rohloff hub rings, but at 110kg max I do not know if they are really required?  I would really like to keep the wheel weight down.

Thanks
AndyB1

[PH]

Long time since I've had 26" wheels, but the Halo White Line Classic is my go to in 700c for rim brake touring and I'm a good bit heavier than you.  The 26" size is I think around 500g, available silver, black/silver and black/black, the latter has a black brake track but is still sold as a rim brake rim, not sure how that works. 
I broke two flanges in ten years, then none in the fifteen years since, one of my hubs is without rings, the others have had rings from new. I suspect either the hubs or the wheel-building have improved, though it may just be luck. I doubt you'll notice the weight of the rings on the hub, it's not like weight on the rim.  They might get you out of trouble one day, or you might never need them.  Thorn's ex workshop manager advised not to fit them unless rebuilding the wheel anyway, but to do so if/when I was.

[mickeg]

I assume you mean inner width of about 22mm.

When I built up my Sherpa, I anticipated using tires between 40mm and 50mm width.  Using this chart, it told me that I wanted a rim with an inner width of 21 to 23 mm.  The rims I got are no longer made, so I am not going to suggest them. 

I think you should put the flange rings on.  They weigh almost nothing, and their cost is minimal compared to the cost of a hub and  and the inconvenience if you had a flange problem later.  I was really surprised how light the rings were when I added them.

Andra 30 inner width is 19 and the Andra 40 is 25.  I looked at this website, checking the box for rim brakes and 20-23 internal width gave a choice of the Zac 421.
https://www.ryde.nl/rims/

Here:
https://www.ryde.nl/zac-421/

That is an eyeleted rim, I do not know if the spoke holes are drilled at the right angle for a Rohloff or not.  If Sapim Polyax nipples are used, I do not know if that matters.

Or, look at other brands.  Since I do not buy rims in the UK, I don't know what is commonly sold there.

[Andyb1]

Thanks for the replies - I will fit the Rohloff hub rings and look at the suggested rims.

I do not know how significant it is but the Andra 30 rims are drilled at the correct spoke angle for the Rohloff hub, perhaps more important on a 26 inch wheel than a larger one?


Edited to add:
SJS have both Halo and Andra 30 rims in stock at the same price.
Weights: 735g for the Andra and 475g for the Halo, the Halo having 2mm thick braking surfaces while those on the Andra are 3mm.  Internal widths are 19mm for the Andra / 20mm for the Halo, so OK for the tyre widths I want to use.

[martinf]

I still have the original Andra 30 rims on my Raven Tour, which I use for load carrying and cycle-camping They have the CSS coating so they haven't worn much. If I ever need to replace them I will probably go for something wider, because I use 50 mm tyres. I have wider rims on my utility bike and most of the other 26" bikes I have built up, Ryde Andra 40 or similar.

I had lighter Mavic 717 rims on my previous tourer, again with 50 mm tyres. I did damage the rear rim on a heavily laden tour (all up weight 112-123 kg depending on the amount of food and water I carried), when I hit a pothole at about 50-60 km/h on a mountain descent. I replaced it with a wider Weinmann Alesa rim when I got home. The front rim lasted for 10,500 kms before it wore out and I replaced it with another Mavic 717.

When I got my Raven Sport Tour frameset in 2016 I fitted the Mavic 717 front wheel off my old tourer. Mavic 717 wasn't easy to find in 26", so for the rear wheel I got a DT Swiss 535 rim, which seems similar. I have 42 mm tyres on this bike, and use it for day rides with just a saddlebag, very occasionally for lightweight touring with rear panniers only. DT Swiss 535 rims are still available in 26" and 32/36H drillings, at least from German web shops, there is even a special reinforced version for E-bikes but I don't know if the latter is available in 32H.

Andra 30 and Andra 40 can/could be had with the drillings for Rohloff. This isn't the case for DT Swiss 535 rims, but it hasn't been a problem so far on my Raven Sport Tour. 

[mickeg]

When I mentioned the Sapim Polyax nipples in my previous post, my point is that I do not know how important using Rohloff drilling is when you use Polyax nipples because the nipples are supposed to accommodate some angle mis-alignment. because of the design of the nipple.
https://sapim.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Polyax.png

When I ordered my Nomad Mk II frame and fork, the rims were shipped in the same box.  One rim had a tag with a hand written note that said Rohloff.  Otherwise I could not tell the difference between the two rims.

Thus, the people at SJS are likely much better to ask about rims with Rohloff angle drilling than I am.

[Andyb1]

Thanks George.  I know very little about wheel building so useful info.  I don’t know what type of spokes / nipples SJS use but I have a couple of spare wheels from another brand of bike and the axial misalignment of spokes and nipples at the rim is terrible!

The good news, however, is that while my rims do not have any stickers left on them, I am pretty sure that they are Mavic XC717s which is what Thorn used around 2006 when my bike was built.  The Mavic web site gives a wear limit on the rims of 0.4mm.  I have measured the dishing and it is about 0.25mm (slip gauges under a straight edge across the rim).  The Mavic site also says there should be internal wear indicators (shallow holes drilled from inside the rim) that break through as wear increases.  No sign of those.  So I think I still have some life left in the rim(s).  I think I was lucky when I bought this bike as it does appear to have had very little use even though it is 20 years old.

When / if I do need to replace the rim(s) I think the Halo rims that PH mentioned would be best as they seem very similar to the Mavics.  I have Andra 30 rims on my other bike (with discs) and while I am sure they are strong, they are perhaps over strong for what I need.  And certainly heavier.

I want to use the Raven in India again next winter and I now think the existing rims will be fine.   I rode back to Somerset from Mid-Wales on it last week (230 miles) but I will now hang it up and use my other bike for the summer.

[mickeg]

I suspect that SJS uses Sapim nipples and spokes, but do not know with certainty.

I used Sapim Polyax nipples and Wheelsmith spokes on my Nomad Mk II, but Wheelsmith (no longer in business) made the spokes about 90 miles from my home, so I had some local bias.

[martinf]

I suspect that SJS uses Sapim nipples and spokes, but do not know with certainty.

Probably.

Rohloff sell "special" spokes for building wheels with their SpeedHub. Quote from their website :

"Special spokes with a neck length of 2.9mm will be required when lacing SPEEDHUB wheels. If you are able to inform us of the ERD value of your rim, then we will be able to calculate the correct spoke length required for the build. The Rohloff AG are able to supply (via our extensive, worldwide network of distributors and dealers), specially finished Sapim Race spokes (DB 2,0/1,8/2,0 mm) in the most popular even lengths. These are available in black or silver with matching color, 14mm Sapim lock nipples."

I have built probably over 100 wheels, but only one with a Speedhub. For the last 15 years or so I have always used the Sapim Polyax nipples for my builds. They may not always be necessary, but they don't do any harm and are cheap enough. I don't always use Sapim spokes, sometimes the right length wasn't available with Sapim so I used another brand, generally DT Swiss.

[mickeg]

...
I have built probably over 100 wheels, but only one with a Speedhub. For the last 15 years or so I have always used the Sapim Polyax nipples for my builds. They may not always be necessary, but they don't do any harm and are cheap enough. I don't always use Sapim spokes, sometimes the right length wasn't available with Sapim so I used another brand, generally DT Swiss.

That is a lot more than I have built, but I built all the wheels on my bikes with the exception of my road bike that I bought as a complete bike.  That said, I did build a dynohub wheel for that road bike, so I am only using one wheel that I did not build.

I used Wheelsmith spokes and I am not sure which brand of nipples I used until I built my Rohloff wheel in 2013.  I bought the Polyax nipples for that wheel, and have used them since for all of my wheels.  And my most recent wheel, the Wheelsmith spokes were unavailable, I used Sapim spokes.