Are these rims a death trap?

Hello, I'm new here* :)

I'm in the process of building my first bike relatively from scratch. It's a 650c track frame, which means I have to get wheels built for it. Finding rims is not easy, all I found so far are Mavic Open Pros, at least when it comes to modern rims.

I do have a pair of older 36 spoke rims, but I'm not sure whether they are ridable, because they have a number of issues (I'll attach pictures)

• Some of the eyelets have rust.
  
• One eyelets is missing
  
• One rim has a significant gap where it is connected.
  
• Someone obviously took a Dremel like tool to the rim, I assume to remove stuck spoke nipples. It seems like they hit the outside of the rim and left a mark.
  
  

Writing it out, the answer seems somewhat obvious, but I wanted to have an outside opinion.

The frame itself is nothing to write home about, low quality tubing and quite heavy for its size(just shy of 3kg with fork and headset, for a 48 cm t-t, 650c frame), so I am not too keen on dumping tons and tons of money into building it up. At the same time, rims are obviously one of the parts which are on the "should not fail" list within the top three, so buying a set of new rims will happen if it needs to be done.

Thanks in advance :)

*I've been lurking here for years, especially the bike porn (and anti-porn) thread.

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Get the Kinlin 650c on SJS for like £46 a pair

Hmmm, obviously it's best to tell others to err on the side of caution lest you be blamed if things do go awry but IF THEY WERE MY RIMS the rust wouldn't bother me, I've seen much worse.

The gap may close up as they are built, I've seen similar gaps disappear once the rim is built into a wheel. Maybe ask in the wheelbuilding thread. If you have spokes and hubs handy then it'd certainly be worth a try. If you'll have to spend money in order to build them, maybe not worth the gamble.

The scratch/gouge...doesn't look too bad. Is the bike for the track or road? If road, how many brakes are you using? Could you put the gouged rim on the back where you wouldn't have to worry about it interfering with the brake? Or you could lightly sand/file it down a bit and use it on a braked wheel. Since the brake is going to strip the anodised finish off the rim anyway you might be able to sort of hide the scratch that way?

Thank you both.

Good call on the Kinlin. Definitely a consideration (although they look, well, ugly).

Yeah, the gambling thing is the problem… The only new 650c rims I can find have a maximum of 32 spokeholes while mine are 36 and I don't have hubs laying around, which means when I buy the hubs, I'm commited either way.

It's going to be a road rat, fixed, brake in the front, none in the back.

I'm not in a rush, so I'll give it a bit more thought, but currently I'm tending to spend the extra cash for peace of mind.

I've got a couple of 650c front wheels that I'll never use. Send me a PM if you're interested.

Likewise, if you need something to tide you over I'll have these available soon. Ambrossio balance 650c on Suzue hubs, run tru and the front hub is smooth enough but the rear hub def needs attention. Won't want much if interested.

Thank you both, but I just bit the bullet and got a pair of mavic rims. I don't want to worry about wheel collapsing under me every time I ride the bike.
Looking at the picture of @jono84 this might have been premature :/
But I'll go with low flange hubs; I feel like that's a better look on an already small wheel.

That's a lovely frame by the way, looks like a breeze to ride.

(I'm also not UK based, so stuff needs to be sent internationally. I appreciate the offers nonetheless).