Originally Posted by
FBinNY
You might have notice that I limited my comments to road use. Rim brake track failure is very common in mtb. Your description of your winter conditions sounds more like mtb than road, so I guess it wouldn't be surprising if your results were more like mtb than road.
BTW- you've probably already considered this, but just in case, you might look close at your brake shoe position. If the rims are deep enough and the brake track allows consider moving the shoes inboard as much as possible. On my commuter, I have the shoes set so they strike almost entirely on the box section rather than the flange. After 3 NY winters the rims are visibly worn, yet the flange is still OK (so far). This method isn't without problems. There's significant underhang, so I periodically have to dress the shoes flat.
If I had my druthers, rims for hard brake use would be deep enough to have the brake track entirely in the box section, so brake wear wouldn't affect flange strength. I don't make rims so like you I have to choose from what's out there, but I rank brake track options pretty highly for the commuter's rims. Probably second only to ease of tire mounting.
Good points. The rims I'm running don't offer much choice about shoe location. It's not so terrible, anyway. I used to replace my own rims, but now I have a wheel builder who'll do it for $20 and he's very good. So I'm out the cost of the rim, which is about the cost of a one-day ski lift ticket these days, plus $20. Not the end of the world. And hey, it's a new rim!
If I didn't already have a pair of ceramic rims, I'd be interested in the CSS Rigida for my rain single. Doesn't look strong enough for our tandem though. I prefer a deep section rim for the tandem. Both the Open Pro and the Deep-V on the tandem mount tires very easily, which as you say, is critical.
Thank you for your comments.