Bicycle Mechanics - Wear on Rims ?????

When is the wear on rims from braking enough that you replace your rims? ???

I have Wolber rims circa '89 on my good (i.e put on lycra and bikes shoes for the clipless pedals) bike. I don't have that many miles on it....couple of thousand.(typical story, cute girl, marriage, kid, work...but now it looks like I will make more time for biking :) ) The anodized rims are showing scratches from the brakes. I am in the process of upgrading to 9 spd triple, and will be replacing the rear hub. I am going to build the wheel myself (first one) and do not want to redo the effort in the near future for a new rim but on the other hand if I can use the exiting rim that will save some $$ and the effort of rebuilding the front wheel also.

thanks for the input (suggestions for strong 32 h rims appreciated also)

A rule of thumb I've heard is that when the rim wall becomes convex, rather than flat, it should be replaced. I also am interested in this, because I have had two catastrophic failures due to excess rim wear.


When is the wear on rims from braking enough that you replace your rims? ???

I have Wolber rims circa '89 on my good (i.e put on lycra and bikes shoes for the clipless pedals) bike. I don't have that many miles on it....couple of thousand.(typical story, cute girl, marriage, kid, work...but now it looks like I will make more time for biking :) ) The anodized rims are showing scratches from the brakes. I am in the process of upgrading to 9 spd triple, and will be replacing the rear hub. I am going to build the wheel myself (first one) and do not want to redo the effort in the near future for a new rim but on the other hand if I can use the exiting rim that will save some $$ and the effort of rebuilding the front wheel also.

thanks for the input (suggestions for strong 32 h rims appreciated also)

I've also had several rim failures from brake-track wear but none of them have been catastrophic. I've just been riding along (the classic JRA failure) and noticed a "click" when I applied the brakes. Ride home very gingerly and buy a new wheel. A major crack would, of course, allow the tube to blow out but I've been lucky so far and the cracks have been relatively small. BTW, all but one of the failures have been rear wheels.

You can monitor the brake track thickness by inspecting them for deep scratches and seeing if they flex under finger pressure. When you can feel them flex, it's time to consider replacement.

Some rims come with "dimples" or similar depressions machined into the brake track by the manufacturer. When the wear is deep enough to erase the dimple, the rim is due for replacement.