Eyelets Vs no eyelets, that is the question

[ishaw]

Not having much luck in finding an affordable dry of non-boost 27.5 wheels for a build, well I say affordable, there's cheap and nasty, but nothings come up that rocks my boxes in a price range I think reasonable, I'm looking at building a set myself.

I have some hope pro2 Evo hubs in vgc so they are a good base. I've also got a couple of sets of wtb i30 rims, one has eyelets, one doesn't.

It's has been a long time since I've seen a rim without eyelets, especially considering it's a modern rim.

What's the deal between the two rims then? Obviously eyelets, so I guess I'm asking what the benefits are of one rim over the other?

 

[klunkrider]

Eyelets supposedly the hallmark of a higher quality (and therefor hopefully stronger) rim but I reckon that's outdated thinking and technology has now moved on to make eyelets somewhat redundant. I have even seen it suggested that a simpler, non eyeletted rim can outperform an eyeletted one.

I'm sure there are cases where a manufacturer might be eyeletting their higher end rims and omitting them (and not making any other design/manufacturing considerations) to save a little money on lower end ones. The fact that your WTB rims are/were available in two versions might point to this? Equally, the non-eyeletted one might be a later model where the design was revised, adding material around the drillings or something which negated the need for eyelets.

I have built with non-eyeletted rims which specified that nipple washers be used. I think the idea there was to remove the weight and manufacturing complexity of adding eyelets or more material to the rim while still having something to spread the load.

TLDR, I wouldn't disregard a rim because it was non-eyeletted, I'd make sure I was happy that my use case fit what the rim was designed for and if that was the case then I'd use it regardless of whether or not it had eyelets.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Well used Rims often split at the spoke holes.
Reduced spoke count, radial spokes, heavily laden back wheels...
Oh, and Stans

eyelets imply strength and quality, but it's only an implication.
Some non-eyeleted rims will be stronger than some eyeleted ones.

You can probably check relative strength from the manufacturer and online users.

The build style and quality also makes a big difference.

 

[ishaw]

Thanks for the replies, very helpful.

I'll dig out the rims and try and identify exact model. I intend to build them myself, 32h 3 cross as their use will be at a trail park as my son has got into that and I need a bike I can ride with him on. I've never been into jumps so want strength and some luck when riding so I don't hurt myself as I learn how to jump and land and do all this new fangled to me stuff.

 

[clubby]

I can’t remember the last set of wheels I had with eyelets. If anything, with modern rims, eyelets appear on cheaper rims made of cheaper alloys. Modern rims with stronger materials have pretty much made eyelets redundant.

 

[legrandefromage]

it really depends on what is behind the spoke inside the rim - eyelets can pull through the rim material.

some builders put washers to prevent this