alxsmlv

I found a disc wheel which was accidentally built with rim brake surface and a disc brake hub. Can the wheel then be used both in rim brake setup as well as disc brake? Or are there implications or limitations in construction that would restrict using the wheel in both cases? Like maybe disc brake hub wouldn't fit in my road bike fork or something like that.

Since I am not experienced in wheels and braking systems, i thought to check with you what I should be aware of.

Thanks.

cobba

It probably would of been built like that on purpose, I don't know if they're still making them but you could buy factory built wheels that were rim and disc brake compatible.

Yes as long as the frame/fork is built for the hubs that the wheels have. hubs can come in different sizes and axle types.

ClydeClydeson

I have several sets of rim/disc compatible wheels. This allows me to use the wheels on multiple bikes. There is no downside to this strategy, except maybe a slight dishing of the front wheel that would not be present on a rim-brake-only wheel.

Bill Kapaun

As long as you don't try to use a disc rim on a rim brake bike there isn't a problem.
Just aesthetics for those that care about such things.

alcjphil

This is very common, especially for 26" mountain bike wheels. Both wheels of my 26" wheel mountain bike have disc hubs with rims that could be used for rim brakes. Disc specific rims have the advantage that they can be made lighter not having to have a brake track.

Kapusta

Yep. No problem. I have 2 older sets of wheels like this.

fietsbob

It was not an accident, just a choice made.... don't worry so much..

My 2 _ 26" wheel bikes have brake pad track rims , only 1 uses them..

My disc brake bike uses 20" wheels it has Sun CR18 rims, factory may have bout thousands of them.


Quite fit for purpose,,





..

fietsbob

Or, just don't try using rim brakes on a bike with rims not suited for them,
... because they lack the parallel faces for the pads to grip.

Charliekeet

Hi- since there’s no pics in this thread, I thought I’d bring up this question, but with a specific example.

Just picked up a nice Gary Fisher Wahoo for my kid. It came with pretty old Weinmann 519 single wall wheels, and I thought I’d spruce things up, but the spare 26” wheel set I have has discs. Is this rear wheel usable with rim brakes?





Though it’s black painted, it looks to me like it has a wear track (as opposed to the front wheel- pics below) and the wall height is the same as the Weinmann at about 12mm.

Wishful thinking? I’d like to use it cause it looks fresher, is double-walled, and has a better hub and spokes I think.

Charliekeet

For comparison, here’s a disc front wheel I have which I has different geometry than the rear one, and seems clear to me cannot be used with rim brakes?

hokiefyd 

Not only is this okay (building a wheel with both a disc brake hub and a rim brake rim), some say the increased profile height now common with disc brake rims reduces ride compliance of the wheel assembly. I understand some folks who build disc brake wheels continue to use the shorter "box" profile rims that used to dominate the scene when machined brake tracks where used.

Charliekeet

Thanks, hokie - just to be clear though, the wheel pictured in my 1st post above IS legit OK to use with a rim brake (and I just remove the disc from the hub)?
Whereas the other wheel pictured in my 2nd post would not be OK for a rim brake?

hokiefyd 

I don't think I'd use either with a rim brake. To be clear, that looks like a rim designed for rim brakes, but it looks to me like the final machining step was left out, knowing that particular lot was going to be built into disc wheels. If you tried to use that with rim brakes, it'd just be the brake pads against the painted rim surface, which probably isn't ideal.

I suspect in some of these cases, they start with the same basic rim brake box section rim...and the ones that will get built into rim brake wheels have that track machined as a final step. Those that will get built into disc brake wheels don't have that brake track machined. That probably makes procurement and inventory easier, and probably saves some cost as well.

(I apologize -- I didn't see earlier that this was an older thread that you added pictures to.)

Charliekeet

OK, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification!
These will just continue to be a backup to our disc mtb, and I'll focus on other upgrades to the rim-braker.