Originally Posted by
bradtx
TallRider, I suspect the number one reason is aesthetics. I bought my OPCDs simply because it fit into the scheme of that bike's appearance, which was basically as few bright items as possible.
Fortunately I have not had any of the cracking or braking problems mentioned. The anodizing is wearing thin along the brake track, however.
I don't mean to suggest that hard-anodized rims are at high risk for cracking. Just that they are at greater risk than the same rim in bare aluminum.
The size of this difference may be very small nowadays, and mean the major consideration is cosmetics.
Don't worry about the anodizing wearing down on your brake track. This is normal and if anything, your brake performance will slightly improve once your pads are contacting bare aluminum.
Originally Posted by
T Stew
Mine are definitely black, not dark grey. I'd ask if they perhaps did this dye-infused anodizing over the hard-anodizing but there are plenty of places the anodizing is worn through and I see no layer of grey in there.
Given how easily the anodizing is wearing away in multiple places, I assume this is a thinner anodized layer purely for cosmetic purposes.