# Campagnolo Contax/Thorr Rims- desireable?



## mojo (Mar 23, 2004)

I saw some Campagnolo Contax/Thorr Rims recently and was wondering what vintage they are and if they are `desireable' Also, is it difficult to find hubs- they're 28 hole?


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## ssmike (Jan 21, 2004)

mojo said:


> I saw some Campagnolo Contax/Thorr Rims recently and was wondering what vintage they are and if they are `desireable' Also, is it difficult to find hubs- they're 28 hole?


Hubs are no problem to find in 28h. I remember that those Campag rims had a concave sidewall which made it really hard to get the pads to make good contact with the sidewall. The idea behind the concave sidewalls was that it would prohibit the brake pad from arcing down into the spokes, but the reality was that a pad with a flat braking surface contacting a rim with a curved brake surface meant that adjustment wasn't easy and once adjusted, there was minimal contact between pad and rim that resulted in less than optimal brake performance.

Desireable vintage rims would be: Araya RM20, Bontrager / Mavic MA40/MA2 rolled down rims, Specialized made some nice rims back in the day - the G23 or GX26 as I recall, Specialized also imported a rim called the Saturae that was a light - for it's day- single wall rim that was actually quite durable (my first "race" wheelset was Hi-E hubs laced to a Saturae X22 rim), Matrix rims were ideal for the rim destroyers, early Mavic rims specifically for mountain bikes were tanks, but later the M231 rims were good and should still be desireable today.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Those were made from 1990 (I think) until 1995. The best Campagnolo rim was probably the Mirox. The Stheno and Atek were slightly lighter but less durable overall. The Alpha XL rim they offered in the late 80's was probably their best and most desireable ATB rim. I dont think too many of them made it stateside but I believe they were sub 350g.


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## Guitar Ted (Jan 14, 2004)

*Campy Thorr - YES!*

I have very good memories of these rims as being quite tough and durable. Of course, that was the 32 hole version. We had a local wheel masher that got a pair from the old shop I wrenched at, which he built up himself. He raved about their durability. I would second the description of the concave sidewalls, but a little judicious file work on the pads takes care of that. Very good rims in my opinion.


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## tube_ee (Feb 1, 2004)

ssmike said:


> Desireable vintage rims would be: Araya RM20, Bontrager / Mavic MA40/MA2 rolled down rims, Specialized made some nice rims back in the day - the G23 or GX26 as I recall, Specialized also imported a rim called the Saturae that was a light - for it's day- single wall rim that was actually quite durable (my first "race" wheelset was Hi-E hubs laced to a Saturae X22 rim), Matrix rims were ideal for the rim destroyers, early Mavic rims specifically for mountain bikes were tanks, but later the M231 rims were good and should still be desireable today.


Specialized Saturae, (later changed to Saturne because of a coyright dispute) were made by Ambrosio. Nice rims.

The cut-down MA2 / MA-40 has to be one of the greatest lightweight MTB rims of all time. Given that they are well-nigh indestuctible in 700C, I'd expect them to be even better in 26". And they're lighter than any modern MTB rim that I know of. NOS pairs fetch ludicrous prices, but if you've got access to a shop that's been around long ewnough, they might still have them.

I've gotten some really fabulous "you want that old junk??" deals, especially from younger salespeople.

Kids these days...

--Shannon


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## tube_ee (Feb 1, 2004)

ssmike said:


> Desireable vintage rims would be: Araya RM20, Bontrager / Mavic MA40/MA2 rolled down rims, Specialized made some nice rims back in the day - the G23 or GX26 as I recall, Specialized also imported a rim called the Saturae that was a light - for it's day- single wall rim that was actually quite durable (my first "race" wheelset was Hi-E hubs laced to a Saturae X22 rim), Matrix rims were ideal for the rim destroyers, early Mavic rims specifically for mountain bikes were tanks, but later the M231 rims were good and should still be desireable today.


Specialized Saturae, (later changed to Saturne because of a coyright dispute) were made by Ambrosio. Nice rims.

The cut-down MA2 / MA-40 has to be one of the greatest lightweight MTB rims of all time. Given that they are well-nigh indestuctible in 700C, I'd expect them to be even better in 26". And they're lighter than any modern MTB rim that I know of. NOS pairs fetch ludicrous prices, but if you've got access to a shop that's been around long ewnough, they might still have them.

I've gotten some really fabulous "you want that old junk??" deals, especially from younger salespeople.

Kids these days...

--Shannon


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## ssmike (Jan 21, 2004)

tube_ee said:


> Specialized Saturae, (later changed to Saturne because of a coyright dispute) were made by Ambrosio. Nice rims.
> 
> The cut-down MA2 / MA-40 has to be one of the greatest lightweight MTB rims of all time. Given that they are well-nigh indestuctible in 700C, I'd expect them to be even better in 26". And they're lighter than any modern MTB rim that I know of. NOS pairs fetch ludicrous prices, but if you've got access to a shop that's been around long ewnough, they might still have them.
> 
> ...


There had been some good deals on 28h Bontrager rolled downs in the recent past. That rim in 28h can make an incredible wheel.

Yeah, kids - keep 'em ignorant about the old stuff and continue to score great deals!


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## manitou916 (Mar 6, 2004)

Guitar Ted said:


> I have very good memories of these rims as being quite tough and durable. Of course, that was the 32 hole version. We had a local wheel masher that got a pair from the old shop I wrenched at, which he built up himself. He raved about their durability. I would second the description of the concave sidewalls, but a little judicious file work on the pads takes care of that. Very good rims in my opinion.


Would have to agree as I also have very good memories of these rims having raced them XC for a number of years in the early 90s. They look great and are robust... which is just as well because they were one of Campagnolo's stronger rims.

I recently picked up a pair of Thorr 32s for one of my retro bikes - weight is 462g per rim on my digital scale. They will be built onto my Nuke Proof carbon (pre-Bombshell) 8/9spd hubs - front wheel radial and on the rear a radial non-drive side and 3x drive side.

Concave sidewalls... a gentle file as mentioned then let you pads wear into shape over time like with any other brake rim set-up. It's hardly a good enough reason not to buy the rims. If we're trying to pick minor faults then it's worth mentioning there are no steel eyelets to stop spokes pulling through (the bed wall thickness is increased instead).


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## OllyW (Jan 5, 2004)

*Identifying Campag rims?*

Is there an easy way to identify which Campag rims I have got?

They are green rims with a Campagnolo sticker, but no model name anywhere.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Stheno or Atek*

I have never seen colored Campy rims and they're not listed in any of the catalogues either. From the shape and polished sidewalls they are either Stheno or Atek.


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## manitou916 (Mar 6, 2004)

*Ditto...*



Shayne said:


> I have never seen colored Campy rims and they're not listed in any of the catalogues either. From the shape and polished sidewalls they are either Stheno or Atek.


I've never seen green Campagnolo rims either, very tasty! Was thinking Atek or Stheno myself. Without a sticker(!) the only way I can think to tell the difference between Atek and Stheno would be to remove a rim and put it on the scales. If it's ~395g it's an Atek and if it's ~405g it's a Stheno... but if it turns out to be 400g then it could be either!

What's the story behind the rims?


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## OllyW (Jan 5, 2004)

manitou916 said:


> I've never seen green Campagnolo rims either, very tasty! Was thinking Atek or Stheno myself. Without a sticker(!) the only way I can think to tell the difference between Atek and Stheno would be to remove a rim and put it on the scales. If it's ~395g it's an Atek and if it's ~405g it's a Stheno... but if it turns out to be 400g then it could be either!
> 
> What's the story behind the rims?


They came fitted to a 1992 Specialized S-Works I picked up in January. They are built on Hope Ti hubs and seem to be good lightweight wheels.

It's interesting to read about the concave sidewalls, I'd assumed they had just worn that way


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