Tom Ritchey introduced the V-box shape for a rim with the 26" Vantage Comp for mountain bike use. Since that first rim introduction five more have followed. Ritchey Design itself possesses no rim manufacturing facility of their own. An arrangement is made for Sun Metal Products, Inc. of Warsaw, Indiana to make the Ritchey rims sold for after market parts replacement. Sun executes the Ritchey designs, and the rims are sold to Ritchey authorized distributors who in turn sell them to the retail bicycle stores.
The Vantage Pro "WCS" is double wall designed rim that has the cross-tie wall descended and suspended between the sidewalls. The extrusion uses a "V-Box" shape, with flat sidewalls sloping outward as they rise. The rim is made of 6061 series aluminum alloy with a T6 temper. The Vantage Pro doesn't use spoke eyelets to prevent spoke nipple pull through failure, instead the very bottom of the V shaped spoke bed wall, which is already a bit thicker, has an added ridge of aluminum as a part of the spoke bed.
The extrusion, if the rim is to be Silver, is Clear anodized, leaving it a matte Silver before it rolled into the rim hoop shape. If the Rim is be hard anodized dark Grey, it is rolled into the hoop, the ends are joined and the entire rim is anodized. The rim ends are joined using an aluminum insert that is wedged and bonded into the cavity between the cross-tie and the spoke bed walls, using the rim ends as "sleeves" to grip the aluminum core holding the ends together.
The joint quality on the specimen we picked at absolute random from our inventory of the Pro had one end raised above the other, and there was a discernible ridge that a brake pad would grab under braking conditions. We believe this is very unusual because other Ritchey rims showed little flaw, though they are made in the same factory, using the same techniques, performed by the same people. The rim is then drilled or "pierced" and labeled.
We sell the Ritchey Vantage Pro "WCS" in the 26" and the 24" diameters, in both the Silver or the hard anodized Grey finish with either 28, 32 or 36 spoke holes, the 24" in 32 hole, and a Presta valve drilling. For more specifics about the Vantage Pro please consult the Rim table.
26" (Hole-28-32-36 / Color-GY-S) $ Price in Catalog
26" x 32 hole Hard Ano Grey $ Price in Catalog
The Ritchey Vantage Comp has many similarities to the Vantage Pro, in essence just the shape of the extrusion is slightly different as the cross sectional image of both rims shows. The Vantage Comp has a taller sidewall with the spoke bed formed at a shallower angle. The rest of this is going to sound pretty similar.
The Vantage Comp is a double wall designed extrusion that has a "V-Box" shape. The cross-tie wall forms a descending arch between the sidewalls, which rise sloping outward, with a flat exterior. The rim is made of 6061 series aluminum alloy with a T6 temper.
The Vantage Comp doesn't use spoke eyelets to prevent spoke nipple pull through failure, instead the bottom of the spoke bed wall is extruded thicker. The extrusion, if the rim is to be Silver, is Clear anodized, leaving it a matte Silver before it rolled into the rim hoop shape. If the Rim is be hard anodized dark Grey, it is rolled into the hoop, the ends are joined and the entire rim is anodized.
The rim ends are joined using an aluminum insert that is wedged and bonded into the cavity between the cross-tie and the spoke bed walls, using the rim ends as "sleeves" to grip the aluminum core holding the ends together. Random examination of two Comp rims showed a well performed joint, with just a tiny, tiny rise between the adjoining ends. The rim is then drilled or "pierced" and labeled.
We sell the 26" diameter Ritchey Vantage Comp, in both the Silver or the hard anodized Grey finish with either 28, 32 or 36 spoke holes and a Presta valve drilling. For more specifics about the Vantage Comp, please consult the Rim table.
Comp 26" (Hole-28-32-36 / Color-GY-S) $ Price in Catalog
The Rock 395E was released in the 1994 model year. Manufactured by Sun Metal Products of Warsaw, Indiana it is made of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy (see Metals article). The Rock 395E could become a good seller as an American alternative to the Mavic 231 which it seems to be fashioned after.
The 395E is a box shaped extrusion that has flat side walls for brake pad contact. It is a double wall extrusion that also has round channles wher the spoke bed and side walls join. A thin cross-tie wall links the round channels producing an inner box making the rim structure very stable. The added weight of the cross-tie wall is in-significant compared to the added strength it gives the rim.
Once the extrusion has cut to length and rolled into the hoop, the ends are joined using a round pin in each channel that is bonded in place. We found the joint to be reasonably tight and rather smooth, though one of our randomly chosen specimens would need a little sanding to make a smooth brake surface. Like the 231, the Ritchey 395E uses a one piece, single wall, stainless steel eyelet. The eyelet is "peened" to the hub facing wall of the rim.
The 26" diameter Rock 395E is available in a clear anodized Silver or a hard anodized Grey in 28, 32 or 36 spoke holes with a Presta valve drilling. More specifics are avaialble in the Rims table.
395E - 26" (Hole-28-32-36 / Color-GY-S) $ Price in Catalog
The Rock 415E rim is said to be a variation of the 395E. The 415E uses a double wall channeled design with one piece, single wall stainless steel eyelets. We looked for the difference between the 395 and the 415. If you examine the Rims table you will see numbers that are fairly close with no particular or seemingly intentional differences in the rims.
The 3/10th of a millimeter variation could easily be explained by what we refer to as Extrusion Wall Thickness Deviation. The deviation is from a worn die being used to extrude the rim material. One difference we looked for and found is the thickness of the spoke bed wall. The 395E had a 1.865mm spoke bed wall thickness, while the 415E was a tiny bit thicker at 2.145mm thick. Other than the spoke bed thickness both rims are identical in finish and manufacturing techniques.
The Rock 26" diameter 415E is available in a clear anodized Silver or a hard anodized Grey in 28, 32 or 36 spoke holes with a Presta valve drilling. More specifics are avaialble in the Rims table.
415E - 26" (Hole-8-2-6 / Color-GY-S) $ Price in Catalog
The Rock 440 like the 395E and the 415E is also a double walled rim with round channels that run the circumference of the rim. Looking at the measurements in the Rims table shows little difference in the Rock rims. One area of difference has been the spoke bed thickness which on the 440 was measured at 2.209mm thick.
The 26" diameter Rock 440 in a clear anodized Silver finish, in a 32 or 36 hole pattern with a Presta valve drilling. More specifics are in the Rims table.
440 - 26" (Hole-2-6) $ Price in Catalog
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