Pacenti SL23 first impressions

Updated August 18

My new Dura Ace 9000 hubs arrived last week after what seemed like an eternity. The hubs, which are in 24/28 hole drilling, are pleasing to look at and are respectably light. Like anything with the Dura Ace name they'll last forever. The 7800 hubs Mateo raced on for three season still had intact grease and seals. Wizardry.

What the Dura Ace hubs are not is a good value. At the moment they are priced similarly to Chris King R45s and way out front of White Industries. Those are all equally good options, and will all be in service 5-10 years from now.

For this build I used the Pacenti SL23 rim. This was my first build on the rim and my impression is very good. The height of the brake track appears to be fairly generous. The rim is slightly taller and rounder than the comparable HED Belgium C2. The finish is flawless. And there were no metal burrs remaining in the rim from production. Most importantly: the rim is approximately 1mm wider than the HED, Velocity A23, or the H Plus Son Archetype. Added bonus: it is lighter than all those other options.

So how does it ride? Very nicely. The rim has a pleasing lateral stiffness, especially when combined with the 2x lacing.

Only potential downside: when I was truing the wheel I watched the stand's feeler gauge take off a sliver of metal from the brake track. Not sure if this happens with other rims, or whether this is a softer alloy. Kinda freaked me out.

Update: this is a great rim and unless the HED Belgian Plus (~$150 and non existent) knocks my socks off, this rim ($98 and available everywhere in multiple drillings) will be my go-to for future builds.

• The brake pulsing I experienced seems to happen only with long v-brake cartridges. Braking with standard road pads is smooth.
• There's no problem with pitting on the braking surface. I examined my pads after 500 miles of racing and city riding and there's no more embedded metal than one would expect. In fact, there was almost none.
• The only caution when building on these rims seems to be a tendency for the nipples to bind/stick during tensioning. These require more spoke alignment and stress relief than other rims. Again, I recommend these rims without reservation. They're the best combination of weight, value, and quality.