Ever break a spoke mid-ride? Never a pleasant moment. Better hope that those low spoke count wheels don't break one when you're in the middle of nowhere on a chilly, dreary day. It's not exactly a secret that those wheels aren't going to roll through the brakes, even open, for more than a mile or two. Like the two-bolt faceplate, a certain redundancy is a good thing. The more spokes, the less load each carries, the less essential each spoke is.

This isn't to scare, but point out one of the many things we like about traditional box-section clincher rims like this DT RR 1.1 rim. We might not race them anymore, but they're light, durable, and can take years of daily riding. And with a light rim, the wheel accelerates nicely. People sometimes think they build into heavy wheels, but the DT RR 1450 uses the 1.1 rim and builds up into a 640g front wheel. Pretty light.

The DT RR 1.1 rim comes in 28 and 32 drillings. The eyelets are single eyelets. The ETRTO dimensions are 622 x 15. The rim is 19.4mm wide and 20.4mm tall. The brake tracks are machined. The rim joint has Strength Boost Welding Technology (SBWT) which means two small sleeves are pressed into the rim ends, the rim is welded, then the seam is CNC machined. There are wear indicators in the brake tracks; when they're gone, the rim is getting dangerously thin. The rim color is black. The weight is 415g.