I purchased an 09 Fuji Roubaix Pro off CL for a pretty good price a couple of weeks ago. Last night I took it for its first spin and noticed the front brake was making a "sschh" sound every rotation. I noticed two things - first, that the brakepad was covered in little aluminum bits, and second, that the braking surface on the rim had a pretty large gouge. I tried to take some pictures, which didn't really come out so clear:
http://imgur.com/a/eNZ4Z
Would I be sacrificing the rim integrity if I took some sandpaper to the rim and tried to smooth it out? It doesn't seem to impact the braking abilities of the front brake but I try not to use it if I don't have to due to the scraping. Can I buff this out, or do I have to get a new front wheel?
I was planning on running to Performance tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) to pick up a Forte Titan front for hopefully $60 (their online price) plus the 10% discount, but I'm a little bit concerned about the spoke count, since I'm a little heavier at 170lbs. I just don't want to shell out cash on a new front rim if I can save this one.