lhill 

I have been running my vintage Peugeot with Kool Stop black and salmon brake pads on my original equipment Rigida wheels. I liked the feel and power of the brakes and rate them a “9”. Then I bought a brand new set of Mavic Open Elite wheels so I could use bigger tires, 700 x 30 fit nicely. I installed the new wheels and went for a ride, brakes were crap, I give them a “6”. Installed brand new salmon pads, brakes then maybe a “5”. I put the black/ salmon back on until new all black pads arrived, now with the new black pads my brakes are nowhere as good as with the Rigida wheels, but an acceptable “7”.
What a disappointment! Is this crappy braking considered normal with an inexpensive aluminum wheel? Wish I could find a set of wider Rigida wheels.

degan

A couple wild thoughts. Some sort of oilyness or coating on the rim as a result of the production process that either needs to be cleaned off with rubbing alcohol if its oil, or the rims need to be broken in a little to have that coating or whatever rubbed off. The last thing it could be to me is a loss in mechanical advantage. Its possible that the narrowness of the previous wheel allowed the brake calipers to clamp down more and reach their maximum braking power, where as the new wheel makes contact with the brakes while the calipers are in a wider, less powerful position, especially if they're single pivot calipers. How much wider is the new rim and what calipers are you running?

Moe Zhoost

I think the above post covers it. The only thing I'd add is that I believe your Peugeot uses centerpull brakes, right? If so, you may have to adjust the angle of straddle cable to improve the mechanical advantage. This is done by adjusting its length, which is easy to do on Mafac brakes.

lhill 

Thank you both for your help, everything said makes perfect sense. I cleaned the wheels brake surfaces with alcohol and a scuff pad, but I will clean and adjust again. Thanks again!