VELOCITY AERO DISC BRAKE RIM

Design and construction

The Aero is a double-wall aluminum rim, 28.5mm deep with a 23mm inner width, which Velocity rates for 28 to 53mm tires. It is disc-only, with a plain, non-machined sidewall, and it is tubeless-ready: a taped bed and a 41 to 55mm Presta valve are all it needs. Velocity rolls it from 6069-T6 alloy, which it states resists denting and fatigue better than the 6061 and 6063 alloys most rims use, and the joint is Velocity's sleeved, heat-set joint rather than a weld.

Weight is 500g in 700c and 470g in 650b. The 700c rim shares its 584mm ERD with the Aileron, so a wheel can move from one to the other with the same spokes, and the 650b version has a 546mm ERD. Velocity drills it in 24, 28, 32, 36 and 40 holes and asks for 110 to 130kgf spoke tension. Colors are black, silver and polished, plus Velocity's custom matte and gloss anodising.

How it rides

A wheel built on the Aero feels like an alloy road wheel with gravel manners. The deep section keeps it stiff under a sprint or a heavy rider, the 23mm bed puts a 32 to 40mm tire in a rounder, faster shape than a narrow rim would, and at 500g the rim is light enough that the wheel accelerates well for its width. It rolls quietly on pavement and takes washboard and rock strikes in the way 6069 alloy is meant to, denting rather than cracking.

It is the rim we suggest to riders who want one wheelset for road and gravel, to commuters who ride disc brakes and want something tougher than a lightweight road rim, and to tandem teams, which Velocity specifically rates it for. For a narrow tire and rim brakes, the Aerohead is the different rim you are thinking of; the Aero is its disc-era, wide-bed successor in spirit, not in specification.

Specifications

This version

This version is the Aero in 29in, 27.5in, drilled 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h, 40h, about 500g, 23mm inside, 28.5mm deep, disc. Where the same rim is sold in another size or brake type, that is a separate listing with its own page.

The disc version of the Aero has no brake track, so the sidewall is a plain extrusion that saves a little weight and never wears; it is the one to choose for any disc-brake frame. The rim-brake version, listed separately, has a machined sidewall.

Sizes, fit and compatibility

The Velocity Aero Disc Brake Rim comes in 29in, 27.5in and 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h, 40h drilling, disc brake only, for tires from 28 to 53mm. We build it most often on Velocity Race hubs, DT Swiss 350 and 240, White Industries CLD, Industry Nine 1/1 and Bitex hubs, with Sapim Race, Laser or CX-Ray spokes or DT Competition, and brass nipples for a gravel or touring build. A 24-hole front and 28-hole rear makes a quick road wheelset; 32 holes front and rear is the gravel and commuting build; 36 and 40 are there for tandems and loaded touring.

Pick your bike type and weight in the configurator and it recommends a spoke count and lacing pattern; the tension target we build to is Velocity's 110 to 130kgf.

Build a wheel around it

Offered for gravel and road disc, track and road single-speed and touring builds in our Custom Wheel Program. Start with the Velocity Aero Disc Brake Rim and the configurator pins it for you, then checks each choice you make against it.

Spoke head is decided by the hub, not the rim: this rim builds equally well with J-bend or straight-pull spokes, and the configurator only offers the spokes that match the hub you pick.

Building it at ProWheelBuilder

Velocity makes the Aero in Michigan; ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer. We measure the ERD of the rim we have on the bench rather than trusting the catalog, cut spokes to it, tape the bed for tubeless when you ask for it, and bring the wheel up to tension in stages with a gauge before stress-relieving and truing it. The configurator shows only the hubs, spokes and lacing patterns that can be built with the drilling you choose, and the ship date it quotes is the real one.