Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Non-machined rims and brakes

I'm thinking of getting some special colored rims that are available as machined or not. Yes, those. And fine, yes, in that color. I was going to get one machined for the front, one not for the back, but they look pretty cool without the machining.

Can you still brake? Is it really bad for braking and/or does it quickly make the rim look really really bad, and having you wish you got one with a braking surface?

Sounds like a dumb question, but people have to have done it. Save me from a 75$ experiment.

you can brake on a non-machined rim. it's just that machining makes the brake surface smoother and more even. on a non-machined rim the surface can be a bit uneven (especially at the seam) making for grabby or just plain weird braking feel.

on top of that, braking on a wet anodized surface sucks.

however, after a few days/weeks of braking, your pads will basically machine the brake surfaces anyway. if your pads are wide enough, it just ends up looking like a regular, dirty machined braking surface.

then again, some of *those* wheels are powdercoated, not anodized, so i don't know how all that would apply.

I rode my non-machined deep vs for a while. You could feel the seam everytime it rubbed by the brake pad (during braking). I would recommend getting a machined rim if you're going to use brakes on it.

These would be powdercoated for sure - whoever posted their ride with pink rims, my pink bike was all bummed out that I didn't know and wouldn't have had the money for them, and is all, "you better not do to that bike what you did to me." The new bike isn't pink, but I think I have to listen.

I didn't think of the seam, good point.

Mount a front disk brake. ;) Double the attention.

Mount a front disk brake. ;) Double the attention.

I'm a wild believer in disk brakes, and am sort of shopping for an unburly 700c disk fork without canti mounts for this very same steed. Especially if it's the same color as the metallic Surlys. This will be a pretty fairweather bike though.

And I've already got one like that (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=2138670&postcount=6887) anyway.

Come to think of it, the rhyno lite on the front of the above bike isn't machined, but it's a rimbrake or disk brake rim. Hmmm.

Maybe we don't need no stinking machining.

I rode my non-machined deep vs for a while. You could feel the seam everytime it rubbed by the brake pad (during braking). I would recommend getting a machined rim if you're going to use brakes on it.

im riding with machined deep vs and i can still feel the seam every time it rolls around

im riding with machined deep vs and i can still feel the seam every time it rolls around

that would be because the seam is pinned* and not welded. on a welded seam (like a mavic open pro, or cxp33, or the DTSwiss RR1.1) you're less likely to feel the seam after it's been machined.


*the "pins" they use are actually more like sleaves that press-fit and frequently bonded into the inside of the rim and are quite strong. welded seam rims also use pins to hold them together before welding, but these are usually look a lot more like actual pins...and they can sometimes come loose, which doesn't affect the structural integrity of the rim, but it is damn obnoxious to have it rattling around in there.

*the "pins" they use are actually more like sleaves that press-fit and frequently bonded into the inside of the rim and are quite strong. welded seam rims also use pins to hold them together before welding, but these are usually look a lot more like actual pins...and they can sometimes come loose, which doesn't affect the structural integrity of the rim, but it is damn obnoxious to have it rattling around in there.

i just had a rear wheel built with a Sun "venus" rim and i think i'm experiencing the obnoxious rattling around noise you are talking about. i've taken the rim tape off and nothing fell out so i'm assuming it must be something trapped in the deep section of the rim. damn annoying!!!

I actually had a very similar thought, as far as wondering how I should go about running a front brake with non machined rims. I was actually thinking about a drum brake maybe. It seems like it would be the most elegant solution. I'm not very familiar with them and was wondering how they compare to the braking power of rim brakes. Anyone have any to give a good comparison?

i saw a guy with a track bike that was set up with a drum brake in the front (presumably because the bike had no brake holes). it looked super sweet!