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Suzy Jackson
July 15th 03, 11:10 PM
Hi guys,

I just bought (very cheaply) a NOS pair of Fiamme "Hard Silver" single
(tubular) rims. I haven't seen these ones before. They've got eyelets, are
32 hole, and weigh about 340g each (on my kitchen scales, which are +/-
about 10g). They are silver, and seem to be hard anodised. They aren't
polished, but rather have a brushed finish.

The join is pinned, but they aren't machined or anything. The sidewalls are
angled, rather than parallel, so I imagine it would take some time for brake
pads that have been worn in on parallel sidewalls to wear to them. The
widest part of the rim is 21mm wide, while at the base of the sidewall
they're about 19mm wide. The sidewall is about 10mm high.

So are these good rims? I was thinking of lacing a pair of track wheels
with them. Is it worthwhile trying to polish them? I went to work last
night (while watching The Bill) with a cloth and some Silvo for an hour, and
have removed all the shop-crud, but they seem to be a fairly low-shine
surface.

wannagofast
July 16th 03, 03:28 AM
Should check the weight, had a pair in the early 80s. They seemed to be
less durable than red label, perhaps they were more similar to the yellow
label instance I had in the early 70s.

I agree, use them on the track.

"dianne_1234" > wrote in message
om...
> "Suzy Jackson" > wrote in message
>...
> > Hi guys,
> >
> > I just bought (very cheaply) a NOS pair of Fiamme "Hard Silver" single
> > (tubular) rims. I haven't seen these ones before. They've got eyelets,
are
> > 32 hole, and weigh about 340g each (on my kitchen scales, which are +/-
> > about 10g). They are silver, and seem to be hard anodised. They aren't
> > polished, but rather have a brushed finish.
> >
> > The join is pinned, but they aren't machined or anything. The sidewalls
are
> > angled, rather than parallel, so I imagine it would take some time for
brake
> > pads that have been worn in on parallel sidewalls to wear to them. The
> > widest part of the rim is 21mm wide, while at the base of the sidewall
> > they're about 19mm wide. The sidewall is about 10mm high.
> >
> > So are these good rims? I was thinking of lacing a pair of track wheels
> > with them. Is it worthwhile trying to polish them? I went to work last
> > night (while watching The Bill) with a cloth and some Silvo for an hour,
and
> > have removed all the shop-crud, but they seem to be a fairly low-shine
> > surface.
>
> I remember these. In the 70s, I rode a pair on my Holdsworth road
> bike.
>
> - They are definitely hard anodized. Won't polish up without a ton of
> work.
> - The angled brake track *is* for braking, but the smooth, parallel
> sidewalls of modern rims have spoiled me, and perhaps you, too.
> - We used to imagine the rim was basically the same as a Fiamme Red
> label, just with the hard anodized finish. Maybe we were right ;-)
>
> I think track wheels might be the very best use for them!
>
> Have fun!

Chalo
July 16th 03, 05:05 AM
"Suzy Jackson" > wrote:

> I just bought (very cheaply) a NOS pair of Fiamme "Hard Silver" single
> (tubular) rims.
....
> So are these good rims?

You pointed out already that they are tubies. So for most conceivable
purposes, the answer is no.

But since they were cheap, and if you can build them up cheaply, and
if you don't mind using sausage casings instead of real tires, then
why not give them a spin? Should be good for a laugh at least.

Thorusa.com has nice Sapim spokes dirt cheap. They might still be a
bargain including shipping to Oz.

Chalo Colina

A Muzi
July 16th 03, 09:41 AM
"Suzy Jackson" > wrote in message
...
> Hi guys,
>
> I just bought (very cheaply) a NOS pair of Fiamme "Hard Silver" single
> (tubular) rims. I haven't seen these ones before. They've got eyelets,
are
> 32 hole, and weigh about 340g each (on my kitchen scales, which are +/-
> about 10g). They are silver, and seem to be hard anodised. They aren't
> polished, but rather have a brushed finish.
>
> The join is pinned, but they aren't machined or anything. The sidewalls
are
> angled, rather than parallel, so I imagine it would take some time for
brake
> pads that have been worn in on parallel sidewalls to wear to them. The
> widest part of the rim is 21mm wide, while at the base of the sidewall
> they're about 19mm wide. The sidewall is about 10mm high.
>
> So are these good rims? I was thinking of lacing a pair of track wheels
> with them. Is it worthwhile trying to polish them? I went to work last
> night (while watching The Bill) with a cloth and some Silvo for an hour,
and
> have removed all the shop-crud, but they seem to be a fairly low-shine
> surface.


The Fiamme Hard Silver is a "hardened" grey aluminum and was made in both
road and track models, your trapezoidal-section copies being track. Circa
1980.

When crashed these can end up in several small sections with a spoke
attached to each. The brittleness may relate to the "heat treatment" that
gave the "hard grey" finish. I use the quote marks because that's the ad
copy and I am not an expert on what was really going on. Their predecessors,
Fiamme Red Label and Yellow Label rims, are quite ductile by comparison.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

A Muzi
July 17th 03, 06:33 AM
> > "Suzy Jackson" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I just bought (very cheaply) a NOS pair of Fiamme "Hard Silver" single
> > > (tubular) rims. I haven't seen these ones before. They've got
eyelets,
> > are
> > > 32 hole, and weigh about 340g each (on my kitchen scales, which are
+/-
> > > about 10g). They are silver, and seem to be hard anodised. They
aren't
> > > polished, but rather have a brushed finish.
> > >
> > > The join is pinned, but they aren't machined or anything. The
sidewalls
> > are
> > > angled, rather than parallel, so I imagine it would take some time for
> > brake
> > > pads that have been worn in on parallel sidewalls to wear to them.
The
> > > widest part of the rim is 21mm wide, while at the base of the sidewall
> > > they're about 19mm wide. The sidewall is about 10mm high.
> > >
> > > So are these good rims? I was thinking of lacing a pair of track
wheels
> > > with them. Is it worthwhile trying to polish them? I went to work
last
> > > night (while watching The Bill) with a cloth and some Silvo for an
hour,
> > and
> > > have removed all the shop-crud, but they seem to be a fairly low-shine
> > > surface.

> "A Muzi" > wrote in message
>...
> > The Fiamme Hard Silver is a "hardened" grey aluminum and was made in
both
> > road and track models, your trapezoidal-section copies being track.
Circa
> > 1980.
> >
> > When crashed these can end up in several small sections with a spoke
> > attached to each. The brittleness may relate to the "heat treatment"
that
> > gave the "hard grey" finish. I use the quote marks because that's the
ad
> > copy and I am not an expert on what was really going on. Their
predecessors,
> > Fiamme Red Label and Yellow Label rims, are quite ductile by comparison.


"dianne_1234" > wrote in message
om...
> All the Fiammes I recall had those slightly sloped sides. Suzy told us
> hers measured 19mm wide on the hub-facing side; I think the track
> version was much narrower there. About 12mm?

Yes, that's the right idea. My Fiamme track rim here is about 15mm wide at
the inside and about 18mm wide at the top.
I did not remember the dimensions, I just measured one.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

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