If you are riding your fixed gear at night, here is something that will make your Momma smile. Velocity ELVS Deep V glow-in-the-dark rims will help drivers to see you crazy cats riding your fixies around in the dark.The Deep V rims look black in the daylight and glow reflective white at night, so there is not a harsh visible style decision that you need to make in the name of safety.
Ehtan Laek of Laek House independently developed these ELVS glow-in-the-dark rims with Velocity. Ethan wrote about these on his site in September of last year. Manni from Portland emailed me about some Nitto bars and directed me to the post. (Thanks, Manni.) We will have some Laek House reflective clothing in the shop this spring. So keep that in mind if you want your threads to match your rims.
According to Velocity, the rims have a reflective vinyl coating on them similar to that used by emergency vehicles. The coating can't tolerate brake shoes rubbing on it, so all of the ELVS rims are Deep V rims with a non-machined braking surface. This makes the rims suitable for building fixed gear wheels. Velocity states that the ELVS rims hold up in nice weather as well as the rains and winter slop, and the rims when wet retain 90 percent of their reflective qualities. The ELVS coating is designed to resist road mild acids, mild alkalies, and salts, as well as "occasional fuel spills". You want to avoid scratching the surface of the rim or using harsh detergents to clean the rim, since you can damage the coating. So be mindful when you lock up your ride. However, Velocity does say you can sparingly use rubbing alcohol (keyword: "sparingly") to clean grease and grime from the street from the rim surface.
We have some ELVS rims on order, and they will be online in the Wheelgirl Fun & Fixed Gear shop. Email us if you want to reserve of these glow-in-the-dark Deep Vs and make your Momma smile.
First photo lifted from the Velocity site. Next two photos lifted from the Laek House site. Rims are black in the daylight and turn reflective white when it is dark.
