Old 04-28-14, 11:49 AM
  #2  
FBinNY 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: New Rochelle, NY
Posts: 38,725

Bikes: too many bikes from 1967 10s (5x2)Frejus to a Sumitomo Ti/Chorus aluminum 10s (10x2), plus one non-susp mtn bike I use as my commuter

Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5793 Post(s)
Liked 2,585 Times in 1,433 Posts
The metal shavings you see in the pad are fairly common, and not by themselves an indicator of anything.

If the rim looks fine it probably is, but you can get a better idea on some rims because they have wear indicators. Not all these rims have these, but look for small, shallow holes or dimples, or a machined groove in the rims braking surface. If you have any of these, the rim is designed to be safe until worn ro where they disappear. Otherwise you can also get a sense of the wear bu feeling the sides of the brake track for a ridge where it's unworn. Rims vary but the wear allowance is typically 1-2mm, so there's quite a bit that can come off.

Otherwise, if you don't see anything, and there are no deep gouges which an embedded stone might have cut, odds greatly favor that the rim is fine. In any case, rims rarely fail suddenly due to track wear. There are usually early warning signs such as measurable bulging in areas which causes pulsed braking (dirt, or oil films can also cause pulsing), or hairline cracks forming at the line where the unsupported tire flange meets the braced part of the rim. If you see any of these cracks, or if the rim clicks or creaks when inflating tires failure is imminent.
__________________
FB
Chain-L site

An ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure.

Just because I'm tired of arguing, doesn't mean you're right.

“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN

WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
FBinNY is offline