Rigida Andra CSS - Reviews please

[JimK]

I saw & heard about a remarkable number of broken spokes among the 500 riders on the recent Erie Canal ride. The slowly increasing number of dents on the rims of my old Trek 520 was another factor that pushed me into buying a new beefier bike. Of course it always a matter of balancing the pro and the con. Anyway I liked riding my Andra 30s over all the bumps on the old canal tow path without any worries!

[triaesthete]

Ah but! Jim...
it is the big(ger?) tyres at suitable pressures that are helping you here, not the rims.
Spokes generally break from fatigue due to insufficient tension in the wheelbuild. The machine built wheels that come with most bikes usually lack that last little important and hard to add bit of it.
But: the great thing about it all is that it's your bike and you can do what the hell you like with it  and like Nietzsche said "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger".

Have fun
Ian

[JimK]

it is the big(ger?) tyres at suitable pressures that are helping you here, not the rims.

Yes, my riding partner had no trouble and he was riding a bottom-of-the-line Jamis hardtail mountain bike. We both had Schwalbe Marathon Dureme 26x2 tires, 50 psi in the back and 45 psi in the front, or a bit less on the days we didn't use the pump!

Theoretically I suppose anybody spending all that money on a Thorn Nomad ought to be mighty smart about bikes, to be sure the money is well spent. Ha! OK, my first on-the-books job was repairing bikes in a bike shop around 1971. Mostly fixing flats. But I know remarkably little about bikes! I just looked around and it seemed like Thorn makes good bikes and my theory is that by spending all that money I can get a good bike without having to be an expert! Of course this is a very risky strategy! It sets me up to be a classic sucker! But I hope not to remain ignorant too long! So my Nomad lets me become a stronger rider and a smarter rider. Ha! And there is no money left so it darned well had better do whatever I need it to do!

Rims!

[il padrone]

One  Andra 26 inch rim is 195!!!!! grammes heavier than a grizzly (which ain't superlight). One rim!!!!  

Ever considered running the oft-recommended Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres? One Marathon Plus is ~400g heavier than the same-size Vittoria Randonneur Cross tyre that I run. Marathon Plus are rated pretty-puncture-proof but I've not had a single puncture in over 22,000kms of riding with the Randonneur Cross (not for the want of trying either).


So I'm not sure really what the concern is about rim weights  


There is a significant difference in the respective strength and lifespan for the Andra versus the Grizzly.

Andra




Grizzly

[triaesthete]

Jim, poverty often helps with those tricky specification dilemas and engineering compromises I find 

Pete I would rather put a Bindi up my backside than ride a Marathon Plus

What this case needs is a contextual element and circumstantial evidence m'lud.

Eurofop roadie riding: Grizzly roar up the hills.  Andra overengineered, rider underengineered and overstressed.

Bushwhacker bag hauling: Grizzly bear bum. Andra bonza!

Andra, the rim that gives weight to your argument
Ian

[Danneaux]

...poverty often helps with those tricky specification dilemas and engineering compromises I find...

Too true, me too!

Andra 'nother thing...

Ian, I have no Grizzlys in my immediate area, but will happily supply as many black- and brown bears as you can manage.

 

Andra, the rim that gives weight to your argument

You're on a roll, Man!

All the best,

Dan. (who  is enjoying this thoroughly)

[Eric]

RST with Rohloff.
My Zac 19 rims have stayed true as a die, but the sidewalls (especially the rear) are getting concave after a fairly low mileage, albeit in often gritty conditions .
St. John's are re-rimming them with Grizzly CSS and supplying some Swisstop blue pads - watch this space!

[E-wan]

Sometime I will switch to the Koolstop green pads that are also suited to carbide rims - they might give better wet braking I hope.

Did you ever try this? and any chance of a link to these pads. I've tried green magura pads on CSS rims that seem to work a bit better in the wet but look as though they would wear down fast.  I think the green Magura blocks use a Koolstop compound but do Koolstop do another green copound for CSS rims? the Koolstop CSS pads I have are black.

Thanks

[il padrone]

Swisstop blue are still running very nicely thanks.... after 14,000kms    The Koolstop greens sit in my tool/spares kit for the occasion when the Swisstops scrub out.

SJS sell the Koolstop greens for Rigida CSS. 

[E-wan]

SJS sell the Koolstop greens for Rigida CSS. 

Don't look very green in the picture, more like black.  From what I can tell Koolstop do an olive compound for ceramic rims and a black one for CSS rims. Are the koolstop pads you use on CSS rims definatley green?

Thanks

Ewan

[sg37409]

Nice rims, though the joints on them can be dodgy. If I remember correctly I think the latest batch SJS got of these had addressed that issue.
I am still on original swissstop blue's after > 10,000km, commuting with lots of braking. Rims look unblemished, pads look very thin but they were when new. I dont think they've worn much at all.

Love the cleanliness of the rims. Braking in dry is very good (low-end shimano V-brakes with tekro drop bar levers). Braking in the wet is very poor, I've learned to ride accordingly.

[Matt2matt2002]

Nice rims, though the joints on them can be dodgy. If I remember correctly I think the latest batch SJS got of these had addressed that issue.
I am still on original swissstop blue's after > 10,000km, commuting with lots of braking. Rims look unblemished, pads look very thin but they were when new. I dont think they've worn much at all.

Love the cleanliness of the rims. Braking in dry is very good (low-end shimano V-brakes with tekro drop bar levers). Braking in the wet is very poor, I've learned to ride accordingly.

That's spooky. I was just giving my Raven a second clean ( see Dan, I do take heed ) and as I was dusting down the rims I noticed a joint in the rim. I didn't have time to examine it properly out but remember thinking I would check it out later and see if I had one on the other wheel. I guess I do?
Do all tires have them? And what made them dodgy?

Thanks
Matt

[Danneaux]

I was just giving my Raven a second clean ( see Dan, I do take heed )

What have I done?

Matt, all rims have joints (or "joins"), though some are welded and the joint has been ground and finished in such a way as to be nearly invisible unless you look into the rim well with the tire, tube, and rim-strip removed. Rims are formed (bent) from straight sections of extruded aluminum, then joined at the ends so they form a hoop. Often, rims are not welded, but instead use pins (in each sidewall) or a slug (in the center) that is either an interference fit or held in place by the spoke ferrules. Spoke tension draws the ends together, helping close the joint and make it secure.

Usually, when rims have joint problems, the rim "ends" are offset or not quite jointed completely together, making for a little bump that is found by the brake pads; extremely annoying when one applies the brakes and hears/feels "thup-thup-thup".

Best,

Dan.

[sg37409]

Yes, thats what I mean by dodgy.

Usually, when rims have joint problems, the rim "ends" are offset or not quite jointed completely together, making for a little bump that is found by the brake pads; extremely annoying when one applies the brakes and hears/feels "thup-thup-thup".

[il padrone]

Don't look very green in the picture, more like black.  From what I can tell Koolstop do an olive compound for ceramic rims and a black one for CSS rims. Are the koolstop pads you use on CSS rims definatley green?

Yes, they are green. The picture is a fairly poor rendition, but they are not grass-green. I know nothing about the pads for ceramic rims but googling their image, as they are a different shade of green and different profile I'd say the compound is not the same. SJS do specify these to suit CSS rims though, and I trust their judgement.