Velocity Major TOM Disc Brake Rim
The Velocity Major Tom is a tubular rim, which makes it a specialist: it is for riders who glue their tires on, and in cyclocross and road racing that is still a lot of people. The Major Tom is light, stiff and comes in rim-brake and disc versions, and it is one of the few tubular rims still extruded and finished in the USA, in Velocity's colors.
This page covers the Velocity Major TOM Disc Brake Rim in 700c. The Major Tom is built to order here. Choose the hub, spokes and nipples in the configurator; the wheel leaves Georgia laced, tensioned and trued.
Design and construction
The Major Tom is a double-wall aluminum tubular rim with a concave tire bed shaped for a glued tubular tire, about 23mm wide inside and 25mm deep. Because a tubular rim has no bead hooks it can be made lighter and stiffer than a clincher of the same depth, which is the point of a tubular for racing. The rim-brake version has a machined brake track; the disc version is plain.
The factory recommends 110 to 130 kgf spoke tension. The Major Tom builds well with 24 to 32 spokes.
Every Velocity rim is extruded, drilled and finished at the company's own factory in Jacksonville, Florida, and that shows in the details a builder notices: the spoke holes are drilled to suit the wheel, the joint is clean, and the ERD we measure matches the one on the box. The color range is the other reason people ask for the brand by name; anodized and powder-coated options come and go, and the ones in stock are listed in the configurator so you can match rim, hub and nipples.
How it rides
A Major Tom wheel with a good tubular tire is the classic cyclocross setup: run at 20 to 25 psi for grip in mud and sand with no risk of pinch flats, light enough to shoulder and remount all day. On the road it gives the supple, fast ride that tubulars are known for.
Tubulars need gluing, which we can do on request. If you would rather run clinchers or tubeless, the A23 or Aileron is the equivalent clincher rim.
Specifications
| Wheel size | 700c |
|---|---|
| ERD | 598 (29in) |
| Inner width | 23 mm |
| Depth | 21 mm |
| Drillings | 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h |
| Weight | 465g (700c/29in) |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Tire type | Tubular |
| Brake | Disc |
| Nipples | External |
| Finishes | black, silver, polished, custom |
Which version this is
What this listing covers: the Major Tom in 700c with 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h drilling, about 465g, 23mm inside, 21mm deep, disc. If you need it in another size or for the other brake type, it is listed separately.
The disc version of the Major Tom 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 Major TOM Disc Brake Rim comes in 700c and 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h drilling, in rim-brake and disc versions; check the name on this page. We build the Major Tom on Velocity Race hubs, DT Swiss 350 and 240, White Industries CLD and T11, Chris King R45 and Bitex hubs, usually with Sapim CX-Ray, Laser or Race spokes or DT Aerolite and Competition.
It takes 700c tubular tires from 23 to 35mm. Pick cyclocross or road as your bike type in the configurator and it recommends a spoke count and lacing pattern.
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 Major Tom 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.
Velocity's testing and certifications
Velocity USA rolls, drills, anodizes and builds its aluminum rims at its own factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Velocity states the extrusion comes from Profile Precision Extrusions in Arizona. Production moved there from Jacksonville, Florida beginning December 2016. Rims are sleeve-joined: a piece of extrusion shaped to the rim's inner cavity is bonded in and the join heat-treated to set the bonding agent, then the rim is drilled, cleaned of swarf and anodized in Velocity's own tanks. Spoke holes are drilled at an exit angle of around 4 degrees, alternating flange bias at every other hole.
Velocity publishes no impact-energy, fatigue-cycle, ISO 4210 or third-party lab figures and no per-rim maximum tire pressure; its tubeless guidance uses 45 psi (3.1 bar) as the threshold between one and two layers of Velotape. Warranty: all Velocity products are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for the life of the product, excluding normal wear and tear, accidents, misuse, improper assembly or maintenance; repair or replacement is at Velocity's discretion.
Velocity's videos
From Velocity
Certifications
- Made in USA claim — Velocity states it rolls, drills, anodizes and builds rims and wheels by hand in Grand Rapids, MI using locally sourced materials (all production consolidated there December 2016) (source)
Sources on Velocity's site:
- Tech - Velocity USA
- About - Velocity USA
- About Us - Velocity USA
- Go Big And Get Home: Clydesdale Wheels And YOU! - Velocity USA
- Manufacturing with Passion: Velocity USA's Grand Rapids Wheel Factory - The Radavist
Velocity publishes those results; ProWheelBuilder builds the rim into a wheel and does not test it in a lab.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
Velocity USA makes the Major Tom; ProWheelBuilder is an independent wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer. The build is the same every time: measured ERD, spokes cut to the half millimeter, staged tensioning with a gauge, stress relief, a final true, and tubeless tape and a valve on request. We glue tubular tires on request.
The configurator shows only hubs and spokes that match the Major Tom drilling and color you choose, strikes through combinations that are not made, and prices the wheel live.
Warranty
Velocity's warranty. Velocity warrants its rims against defects in material and workmanship for the life of the product, repairing or replacing at its option. Normal wear, accidents, misuse, improper assembly and poor maintenance are excluded.
ProWheelBuilder. Wheels we build around this part are covered by our own one-year warranty alongside the maker's. Within the year: broken spokes replaced regardless of cause, and the labor on the wheel - truing, re-tensioning or a complete rebuild - included. A manufacturer-covered rim or hub failure is a claim we make and manage for you; one they will not cover is answered with an eligible replacement at 25% off retail. Shipping each way is yours. Parts you supply yourself fall outside it.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
Major TOM Disc Brake Rim questions
What tire width suits this rim?
23mm inside is the all-road and gravel width. Think 32 to 45mm tires: wide enough to support a gravel casing properly so it holds its shape at low pressure, narrow enough that a 30mm road tire still sits right if you swap wheels between bikes.
Is the Major Tom a clincher?
No. It is a tubular rim for glued-on tires. For clinchers or tubeless choose the Velocity A23 or Aileron.
Can you glue my tires?
Yes. Send them with the order or buy them here and we glue and cure them before the wheel ships.
What tubular tires fit the Major Tom?
700c tubulars from 23 to 35mm; 33mm cyclocross tubulars are the most common pairing.
Why choose a tubular for cyclocross?
Very low pressure without pinch flats, a supple casing and a lighter wheel. It is still the racing standard.
Is ProWheelBuilder the manufacturer of the Velocity Major TOM Disc Brake Rim?
We are not. Velocity manufactures the rim; ProWheelBuilder's part is the wheel: measuring, lacing, tensioning and truing it here in Georgia.
Is it tubeless-ready?
Velocity lists the Major TOM Disc Brake Rim as tubular. Ask us about tubeless conversion if you need it.
Not sure? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
