Can track style Velocity Deep V rims be used with caliper brakes?
 

Hello

I had a new rear wheel built for my bike on a Velocity Deep V rim. When I picked it up yesterday I noticed that they had used the track version without a machined braking surface-even though I ride a single speed/free wheel with front and rear brakes.

When I inquired I was told that both versions the machined and non-machined were both compatible with standard caliper type brakes, using this version wouldn't effect braking power and "it would just take longer for the powder coating to wear off on the non machined version". Is this accurate? I consider this a safety issue as this is essentially a commuter bike that I ride in heavy traffic in San Francisco and I need effective brakes!

Any feedback or information you could provide would be extremely helpfull! Thanks!

Brian

The brakes won't work quite as well on the powdercoated surface. Especially if it's wet. Given a few weeks/months, the powdercoating will wear off and the brakes will work fine, but you'll have an ugly wheel.

It will work but as sivat mentioned above the braking force will not be the same and especially in the rain, it will be like riding a chrom steel wheel in the rain. Also the powdercoating will develop lines and ridges and will make your rim look really bad.

IN addition to the "it won't stop as well" it might also squeal when you brake. I would push really hard to get exactly what you ordered in the first place.

They are not "the same" and when someone says compatible, I bet they have a different version of what compatible means.

It will definitely squeal. Learn from examples, this is my front wheel after I, stupidly, rode it on my single speed for only an hour, while the other wheel was out of service.

They won't squeal if you set the brake pads correctly. The "track" rims were the normal rims 15 years ago when they didn't have machined braking surfaces. I speak from experience because I rode Velocity Deep V rims on my road bike back in the mid 90's, along with Mavic Open 4 CDs and Sun Mistrals, all of which had no machined surface. They only squealed if I didn't have any toe in the pads.

People sometimes forget that we didn't always have the technology we have today. Bike rims used to be made of wood, ya know.

edit: I agree that wet braking will suffer, and even dry braking is arguably better on machined surfaces.

But there is a difference between "not machined" and "powdercoated." The rimes I ride on my commuter bike aren't machined (Mavic Open 4cds) and they work fine, but they do look ugly now. I rode with powdercoated rims and the braking performance got really bad. Even in the dry.

+1

Entirely besides the point, even though you're wrong. Why buy into a problem when you already have a recourse (get exactly what you paid for).

I ride on Veolicity Deep V's that do not have machined side walls. All is good. The braking power was never sacrificed, and quiet as can be. I'm 2 months in with the wheel set and so far I haven't had a single problem with them.

Edit: If it matters, I have the silver anodized wheel set. Not painted.

Good point, I wasn't thinking about the powdercoating being a problem.

True, the OP should get what (s)he asked for. I'm not sure which part(s) you were referring to as being "wrong" though, since you weren't specific. I have ridden on powdercoated rims without squealing the brakes. You just have to adjust the pads correctly.

The powdercoating part :) No worries. All good.

Ah yes, I obviously wasn't paying attention on that.