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So bought a second hand set of kom rims and took them to be built but wheel builder noticed both had opened at the joint and indeed the crack had torn the kom sticker on the rims. Contacted seller he said that they were a budget rim and once the wheel is built with the spoke tension all will be good.
Anyone similar experience or will they fail?
I wouldn't describe kom rims as budget!
Nor me at 70 quid plus per rim
There a loads of variations of the KOM rims, including budget OEM versions. Which model are they?
In any case return to the seller if you can.
No point paying to have then built only to have issues.
If the rim has cracked open at the 'joint', is it still technically a joint? If the rim has no structural integrity then no amount of spoke tension will cure it - am assuming we're talking about more than a paint or surface crack if it has split a sticker, so wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
Is it a pinned joint? There's a fair chance that spoke tension and tyre pressure will push the ends back together.
No they are a sleeved joint according to WTB
My wheel builder reckons that once they are tensioned up there’s a fair chance it will open the cracks wider. So probably sending them back.
A friend of mine has KOMs and he has replaced them a couple of times due to splitting. Not a hard / heavy rider either. Personally I'd go for another rim based on his experience.
Have asked for a refund. Cheers all.
My wheel builder reckons that once they are tensioned up there’s a fair chance it will open the cracks wider
More likely to be the opposite I'd have thought.
And they're not cranks.
Sleeved rim so you may see the join under the decal but sounds like you've bought duff ones. Are they straight? Hard to say until built maybe and I wouldn't risk it.
There a loads of variations of the KOM rims, including budget OEM versions.
There's KOM Light, Tough and Trail and you can buy them AM or spec as OE, but they're all the same level of tech/features. Good rims ime, done a lot of mixed-terrain miles over the last 4 years on a couple of pairs of KOM I25s. Set up tubeless really easily and don't dent too easily, can be pulled out when they do.
fairly sure the sticker on mine has done that too and I'm perfectly happy with them
Based on looking at mine I think it's more like paint and isn't a sticker, or like one of those decals you stick on model airplanes. I think the paint just cracks with the rim flexing and mine looked that pretty soon after use.
I’d be sending that back - I wouldn’t want a new rim like that. KOM’s are a bit soft as they prioritise light weight over everything else. I’m sure they were meant to be as light as a carbon rim but alloy. My mate isn’t a hard rider (and only just over 10 stone) and his is frequently in need of truing up