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Kinlin Rims Custom Hand Built Wheels
Custom Wheels on Kinlin Rims, Built by Hand
Pick a Kinlin rim, choose your hub, spokes and color, and we lace and true the wheel ourselves, one at a time, in our Georgia shop.
Why build your wheel around a Kinlin rim:
- Three Kinlin rims to start from, including the XR 31 Disc Asym
- Build for road, cross and gravel, touring, track, mountain bike and fat or plus
- The builder only offers parts that fit together
- Laced and trued by hand, one wheel at a time, in our Georgia shop
Build your custom Kinlin wheel for:
From our truing stand
Kinlin wheels we’ve built
Every one of these was laced and trued in our shop.
Start with the rim
The Kinlin rims we build with
Each card opens the builder with that rim already chosen. Scroll for all 3.
How it works
From parts bin to your doorstep
1Pick your parts
Choose a Kinlin rim, then the hub, spokes and nipples. The builder only offers parts that fit together.
2We measure and prep
Rim and hub are measured here: real ERD, real flange geometry. Spokes are cut to the length your build needs.
3Laced by hand
One builder laces your wheel on the stand. No machine builds, ever.
4Tensioned and trued
Brought up to even tension, stress-relieved, trued round and true, and checked again after it settles.
More about Kinlin custom wheels
Specs, pairings and FAQ
Custom hand built wheels with Kinlin rims
KinLin extrudes rims in Taiwan and supplies a great many wheelbuilders under other names - good sections at prices that leave budget for a better hub.
We lace Kinlin rims to the hub of your choice and build the wheel by hand in our Georgia shop - tensioned evenly, trued flat and round, and stress-relieved before it ships. You pick the hub, spoke gauge and color, nipple material and lacing pattern; we make sure the combination is one that can actually be built.
Why Kinlin rims are different
- KLM41 alloy. Kinlin developed this aluminum alloy with manganese and niobium, and lists the XR-31, TL-23 and TL-29 in it. Kinlin says it offers twice the elongation of conventional alloys, so the metal stretches further before it fails.
- T-10 process. Kinlin cold works each rim once it is round, rolling it twice on a patented machine, and only then heat treats it for 8 hours. It rates that higher in total strength and steadier in durability than the T-6 process it compares against.
- Steps kept in house. Kinlin says it runs the T-10 courses in house, including cold working, heat treatment, surface treating, drilling and finishing, and that T-6 makers outsource most of theirs. One factory stays responsible for the rim from start to finish.
- Offset versions. Kinlin's drawings show the XR-31RT and TL-23R with the spoke bed off center, which evens out spoke tension between the two sides of a dished wheel.
- A rim specialist since 1972. Kinlin started in the fall of 1972 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as a specialty bicycle rim maker, and says it has delivered more than 30 million rims. It also says it works with professional teams and pro testers to improve the product.
The Kinlin rims we build with
Every Kinlin rim we build with is aluminum. That is not the budget option so much as the practical one: an aluminum rim can be trued back from an impact that would write off a carbon rim, and it is far easier to justify on a bike that gets ridden in winter.
Internal width is the number that decides your tire. The Kinlin rims we carry sit mostly in the 19.0-30.0mm band, and that band is what determines the tire sizes that will take a sensible shape on the rim - too narrow and a big tire rolls on the sidewall, too wide and a small tire is left square and harsh. Tell the configurator what tires you run and it will steer you inside the right band.
What to pair with a Kinlin rim
A wheel is a system: the rim decides the tire and the braking, the hub decides the drivetrain and the axle fit, and the spokes have to suit both. Start from whichever end matters most to you and the configurator will keep the other end compatible.
Popular Kinlin rim and hub pairings
Hubs our customers build with each Kinlin rim, led by the pairings they choose most often in our build records since 2009. Every hub listed is in the builder today in a drilling and brake type that fits; tap a rim to start that build.
- Kinlin XR 31 with Bitex BX 106, White Industries XMR, Hope Pro 5, White Industries CLD, Bitex MTR, Velocity Race
- Kinlin TL 23 with Bitex BX 106, White Industries XMR, White Industries CLD, Bitex MTF, Shimano 105 R7070, Hope Pro 5
- Kinlin TL 29 with Velocity Standard Atb, Chris King MTB, Onyx MTB, Industry Nine Hydra 2 MTB, Industry Nine 1/1 MTB, Wolf Tooth Mountain
Popular hubs brands for these builds:
- Bitex Hubs
- Boyd Hubs
- Chris King Hub
- DT Swiss Hubs
- Hope Hubs
- Industry Nine Hubs
- Nextie Hubs
- Onyx Hubs
- Paul Hubs
- Philwood Hubs
- Shimano Hubs
- Son Dynamo Hubs
- Surly Hubs
- Velo Orange Hubs
- Velocity Hubs
- White Industries Hubs
- Wolf Tooth Hubs
Want to check spoke lengths for a Kinlin rim before you order? Our free spoke length calculator has the measured dimensions for it.
Kinlin custom wheel questions
Can you build a wheel with a Kinlin rim I already own?
Yes. Choose the supply-your-own rim option in the configurator, ship it to us, and we will lace it into a new wheel with new spokes cut to the right length for that exact rim. You pay for the parts you need and the build labor.
What tire width suits a Kinlin rim?
The Kinlin rims we carry are mostly 19.0-30.0mm internal, which covers most modern tire choices for their intended use. Tell the configurator what you ride and it will keep you in a sensible tire-to-rim ratio rather than leaving you to work it out.
How many spokes should a Kinlin wheel have?
It depends on your weight, the terrain and the rim, not on the brand. The configurator recommends a count from your bike type and rider weight, and will not offer a count that cannot be laced to the parts you picked.
How long will my Kinlin wheel take?
Build time comes down to parts availability rather than bench time. Your estimated ship date is shown in the configurator before you check out, so you know the date before you pay.
Not sure what to pick? Email info@prowheelbuilder.com (fastest) or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
Not sure which rim or hub?
Tell the Build Assistant how you ride and what you want to spend, and it ranks complete builds for you.
Open the Build Assistant →