Originally Posted by
agobel
This was extremely helpful; thank you! This bike is in almost literally showroom condition. I can't imagine the rims being damaged. Are you saying this was common due to the way they were made at the time? Could any feature in a brake, lever, or replacement pad reduce the problem on this rim? Thanks again.
I guess I can cite you a specific rim as an example. Wolber Alpina rims from the 80s were considered a pretty good rim with some fairly respectable technology: Hard anodizing, spoke holes offset and equipped with eyelets. They were standard equipment on a lot of higher end road bikes at the time. But they didn`t have machined braking surfaces.
So directly related to the production method used to drill the spoke holes or secure the eyelets - the braking surface had subtle waves where the metal was distorted immediately next to each spoke. It was most noticable at lower speeds.
We`re kinda spoiled today.