Velocity Major TOM Rim 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 Rim Brake Rim in 700c. The Major Tom comes from us only as a finished wheel: pick the hub, spokes and nipples, and we lace, tension and true it by hand in Georgia before it ships.
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 | 28h, 32h, 36h |
| Weight | 465g (700c/29in) |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Tire type | Tubular |
| Brake | Rim brake-brake |
| Nipples | External |
| Finishes | black, silver, polished, custom |
About this listing
Version notes. 700c, 28h, 32h, 36h, about 465g, 23mm inside, 21mm deep, rim-brake. The other sizes and brake versions of the Major Tom have their own listings; this page is for this one.
The rim-brake version of the Major Tom carries a machined braking surface on each sidewall, which is what a caliper or cantilever brake needs. It weighs a few grams more than the disc version and it is the one to choose for a rim-brake frame; the disc version is listed separately.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
The Velocity Major TOM Rim Brake Rim comes in 700c and 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.
Put it in a custom wheel
Build a custom wheel around the Velocity Major Tom Rim Brake Rim — the link drops you into our Custom Wheel Program with this rim pinned, ready for you to choose the rest. It is set up for road rim brake, track and road single-speed and touring builds.
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.
Testing, standards and warranty at Velocity
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 states that "Rims and wheels are checked for quality at every step of our process" and that it tests rims on an in-house load machine it calls the "Killdozer" "so that we can simulate a larger rider and calculate how many spokes result in a sturdy, quality wheel." Its spoke-count guidance by total rider-plus-gear weight is 200-229 lb: 32 spokes; 230-259 lb: 36; 260-300 lb: 36 front / 40 rear. Velocity recommends building to between 110 kgf and 130 kgf spoke tension and builds its Clydesdale wheels to 120 kgf.
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
Everything in this section is published by Velocity. ProWheelBuilder is the wheel builder, not the tester, and the rim reaches us as the maker ships it.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
Velocity USA makes the Major Tom; ProWheelBuilder is an independent wheel builder in Georgia, not the manufacturer. We measure the rim before we cut a spoke, bring the wheel up in three or four rounds with a gauge, stress-relieve it between rounds and true it last, then tape it and fit a valve if you want it tubeless. We glue tubular tires on request.
Only compatible hubs and spokes appear in the configurator, impossible combinations are struck through rather than hidden, and the price is 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. Any wheel we build on this part carries ProWheelBuilder's one-year warranty in addition to the manufacturer's. Broken spokes are replaced for a year whatever the cause, and all wheel-side labor is included - truing, re-tensioning, rebuilding. Where the maker covers a failed rim or hub we handle that claim for you; where they decline, an eligible replacement comes at 25% off current retail. The customer covers shipping in both directions. Components supplied by the customer are not covered.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
Major TOM Rim 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 it tubeless-ready?
Velocity lists the Major TOM Rim Brake Rim as tubular. Ask us about tubeless conversion if you need it.
Which spoke count should I choose?
It depends on your weight, terrain and the hub, not the rim alone. The configurator recommends a count from your bike type and rider weight, within the drillings this rim is made in.
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.
