draxine

Hey all

Just curious: how long do your rims last, given daily commutes of 20 miles or so in traffic, London weather, and that you regularly clean the rims and brake pads on average once a fortnight?

I'm asking because my aksium front wheel is maybe just under halfway until the rim-wear groove disappears entirely, and I've only had the wheel for nearly 2 years...

Cheers!

CliftonGK1

Seattle weather; rain, fog, similar to London with some snow. Sand and cinders on the roads and lots of hills. I have a 25mi r/t commute (shortest route) and I burned through an Alex DA16 rear rim in just over a year, or about 5500 miles.

mjw16

I have to admit, I have no idea how long a fortnight is but, I clean brake pads when I hear grinding and the rims probably once a month or so... That said, as a year round commuter, with Mavic Open Pro's and rim brakes, I average a new set of hoops about every 3 years. The back takes more abuse and wears sooner (I may get two rr. wheel replacements to every front wheel replacement), so one only seems to coincide with the other (both) every 4 years (???). Anyway, after my last wheel build/replacement, I've been more cognizant of this wear (and $) and try to clean/replace pads more frequently and use the brakes (especially in Winter) as little as possible-instead predicting/planning better, not grabbing the brakes too hard or too long, utilizing friction from the road surface (or snow) to control speed, etc. We'll see if this lets my rims wear better. Ideally, disc brakes would be your best option.

draxine

haha no disc brakes for me - they wouldn't fit on my road bikes and i prefer the feel of rim brakes anyways.
a fortnight is two weeks. At the current wear rate, i expect to need a new front wheel in maybe another 18-24 months, so there's still plenty of life left in them. it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the constant stop-starting once i get into central london.

sharkey00

My preferred braking rim lasts about 2 years. I suspect 75% of that wear is from winter riding. My "good weather" bike rims should last about twice that. I hope....

I also keep kool stop in business with my excessive brake pad purchases....

CliftonGK1

I think that's the same for most of us with rim brakes up here.

Soft compound + road grit = 3 pairs of brake pads in one winter.

markhr

When I was using rim brakes (never again) mine would last between 6 and 8 months depending on the time of year (winter grit = shorter). While I did experiment a bit with different pads to try and minimise wear I wasn't anal about keeping my rims free and clear of dirt so that will havew reduced the rim life.

Either way get some disc brakes and stop worrying about rim wall thickness (or what's left of it).

ghettocruiser

Much is said (with validity) about using the front brake for stopping most of the time.

But this preferentially wears the front rim.

I've had worn sidewalls let go while riding, and I was real glad it was the back wheel involved.

draxine

i think this must be part of it, as i probably do over 90% of my braking on the front. beginning to see the benefits of the back brake too now after throwing myself off the front of the bike at 20mph grabbing only the front brake while my other hand wasn't really holding the bars properly...

ghettocruiser

It's worth mentioning that when my rims failed, it wasn't just a blown tire that resulted. In addition, the mangled sidewalls were blown far enough out to wrap around the brakes and instantly lock up the wheel.

It would have been quite nasty on the front wheel at speed.

K6-III

With my fleet of drum brake hub bikes...until I hit something.

With my Downtube Mini and it's itty-bitty 16" 305mm rims and V-Brakes, we'll see.