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Spray painting bicycle rims

Old 05-26-15, 09:54 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Your cars discs clearly didn't get the patented Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation treatment from Campy Miracle Services.
True... gosh darn it.
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Old 05-27-15, 01:52 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by keyven
... is there no way to "make" it black without affecting performance (or just slightly)?
I can't think of any way to make it black where result would be worth the effort.
Well, possibly the marker.
But last time I checked, there were still ceramic coated rims available.
They're expensive, but unless you hit potholes, or jam the wheel into a bike rack etc (which can cause chipping) they'll last for ages.
The brake tracks on those are kinda black. Or a dark graphite gray.
You'd have to have the wheels rebuilt around those, or have them built up as a new wheel set.
You can keep the brakes, although new, ceramic-specific pads are recommended.
Braking would be improved, particularly in the wet.

Ceramic coating is sometimes applied to piston heads on high-preformance engines. If I had any pals in that line of business, it'd be interesting to know if an existing wheel could be "upgraded" to ceramic brake tracks.
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Old 05-27-15, 02:04 AM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
The ONLY way to have a brake track stay black is to have a rim made of a material that's black through and through, like black plastic would be. But that's a different can of worms.
I've used wheels very similar to these: Bicycle Wheels - TuffWheels - Skyway a fair bit.
And braking has been an issue.
When they're new/clean, they EAT brake pads.
Brake better than aluminium though, even in rain. Nice.
Eventually they build up a shiny layer of brake pad deposits on the brake track.
At which point they stop eating brake pads - which is good.
But simultaneously, the brake advantage vs aluminium rims disappear.

A scenario I've heard summed up as "operation successful - patient died" - as I wanted better braking in wet.

But if the primary purpose is "black brake tracks" then one might be content with that.
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Old 05-27-15, 06:14 AM
  #29  
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i have these steel 26" wheels painted light grey from the factory, made to look like aluminium rims.....also on some low end bikes... which is still holding up coz they haven't done much work.
the majority of them have worn through.. which left a rusty affect....i mean.. what were they thinking?! cheapos!!
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Old 05-27-15, 06:18 AM
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Originally Posted by spdracr39
Paint the wheels solid black and add Disc Brakes. Problem solved.
lol, good one
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Old 05-27-15, 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by keyven
I'm thinking of spraying my rims completely black, to fit with the overall aesthetic of the bike. Currently the spokes + outer rim is completely black but there's a strip of reflective silver which would be the contact point of the caliper brakes.
The reflective strips are intentionally placed on the tire sidewalls, not the rim, that just the base metal , aluminum, showing..

If I spray paint that silver strip will it affect brake quality? Can anyone recommend a particular brand or type?

I understand the silver strip helps with side visibility at night, but I use a plethora of lighting systems and clothing to ensure sufficient visibility at all times.

Thanks for any advice.
buy black anodized rims , and have the wheels rebuilt, the anodizing will wear thru after braking for some time.. but in the mean time the braking wont be too bad..

Hard anodizing effects braking a bit more , I fitted more abrasive brake pads to speed that up , then once scoured thru the [Mavic CD] anodizing , reverted to softer compounds.

Last edited by fietsbob; 05-27-15 at 07:08 AM.
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