How to know when rims should be replaced
 

How can you tell that your rims have been worn to the point that they should be replaced? My current rims are nice and heavy, but they have about 30,000 miles on them and are definitely scored and feel noticeably thinner where the pads go.

I ride quite a bit in slop, so grime inevitably sands down my rims. How do I know that it's time to get a new one? I couple years back, I had a front rim explode and I'd like to prevent a repeat since that can be very dangerous. On the other hand, I don't want to buy more stuff unless it's necessary.

On a related note, does anyone have recommendations for touring rims to be ridden in crummy conditions? I don't care so much about weight, but I like to stick with 700x28 tires. Thanks,

kyle

Some rims, a couple of Mavics I know of, have a small dimple in the brake track that's a wear indicator. When the rim wears enough that the dimple disappears, it's time to replace it.

I've had a couple of rims fail on the road by cracking through the brake track but the results were just an obvious thump while braking, not catastrophic failure and I was able to limp home with no further incident. Maybe I've been lucky.

I've started to use the "pinch test". When a rim gets thin enough that pinching the sidewalls reasonably hard produces noticable flex, it's replacement time.

30,000 miles? Yeah, they owe you nothing. Give them an honorable retirement and hire replacements.

Ive seen worn rims go a long way before the force of the tire pressure splits it. Its a matter of how much do you trust it. Personaly I wont trust a wheel that I can see the concave in the brake surface.

This is how I see it. keep riding it, blow the rim up 20miles from home, have to walk it home or pay for a ride, only to replace it and maby some spokes too cause they bent when it went if you fall. Of you could avoid a situation and change it now. PLus this time of year bike mechanics are practicly begging for work other than building bikes depending where they live in the climate.

I'm also looking for replacement touring rims...anyone have recommendations? Weight is no issue. I have the stock rims on my '03 Trek 520 and cracked the rear rim pretty badly - I hit something hidden in the leaves on the trail.

Anyone know if the LBS can build a wheel from the old spokes, etc by replacing the rim only?

Thanks for the help.

If you want to spend a lot of money, Mavic A719 seems to be the gold standard. Salsa Delgado and Sun CR18 are more affordable alternatives.

I haven't used the Salsas, but I've built and ridden the CR18s. They are servicable rims though Sun's quality control isn't quite to the level of Mavic's. It might take a little more effort to get it built round and true. Plus, you'll ride a few miles before the seam wears smooth.

Only if it is the same model rim or it has the same ERD. Even given that, they may refuse. If the spokes are toast and the wheel blows up, they don't want to have to deal with your personal injury lawyer claiming that reusing spokes is a form of negligence.

Sun Rhyno's have extra thick braking surfaces so are stronger and should last longer than the CR18. They also have a wear indicator to let you know when to replace it.

I've used a pair of these on a fully loaded tandem over some rocky tracks and they seemed pretty bombproof.