Newbie Question on rim brakes.
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
How many miles does that take? I could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors. |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
How many miles does that take?
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
II could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors.
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Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
How many miles does that take? I could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors. |
More interesting, perhaps, is the number of sets of pads one would go through before the rim would be considered worn out.
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Ok. Thank you.
So if I’m coming up on 40. Full time job. Don’t commute on a bike. And only started getting back into bikes to ride with my kids- I’ll never wear out rims through braking. If I want a disc brake bike for other reasons that’s a different subject. Do disc pads last longer than rim brake pads? |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21970052)
Ok. Thank you.
So if I’m coming up on 40. Full time job. Don’t commute on a bike. And only started getting back into bikes to ride with my kids- I’ll never wear out rims through braking. If I want a disc brake bike for other reasons that’s a different subject. Do disc pads last longer than rim brake pads? Otto |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21970052)
Do disc pads last longer than rim brake pads?
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All the other comments are spot on. I just had to rip you on -forever bike.
Do you really want to be riding the same bike forever? Are you going to be happy foregoing all the improvements (arguable in some cases) that 50 years of cycling will bring? Wheels will be an expendable item if you ride enough miles. I've never really ridden one bike enough to wear out the rims. I've got some that are close, but then I stopped riding that bike because newer bikes superseded it and were more fun to ride. As for how many miles that might be, I don't know, the bike with the almost worn out rims is of unknown history. But it's a lot more miles than most will ride. If you wear the rim out, then be proud, post a pic and I'll clap for you. I'm sure a lot depends on how much you have to brake. |
Anecdata here: Family fleet of bikes, used daily for commuting and around town plus weekend recreational rides. In my entire life I've replaced exactly one worn-out rim, and it was on a bike being used year-round in a particularly gritty area by a rider who was only using the rear brake and neglecting its adjustment.
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Originally Posted by Iride01
(Post 21970114)
All the other comments are spot on. I just had to rip you on -forever bike.
Do you really want to be riding the same bike forever? Are you going to be happy foregoing all the improvements (arguable in some cases) that 50 years of cycling will bring? Wheels will be an expendable item if you ride enough miles. I've never really ridden one bike enough to wear out the rims. I've got some that are close, but then I stopped riding that bike because newer bikes superseded it and were more fun to ride. I don’t ride bikes enough to wear a bike out. Joined the forum to learn stuff because now my kids ride. If they really get into riding, we all might upgrade from big box store bikes to LBS bikes and get fitted. I pulled the springs out of my big box MTB fork and welded the stanchions together. Will probably do the same for my firstborn until we get different bikes. |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
The failure is an extremely gnarly blow-out. The failure of the rim sidewall generally causes the rim's hook to separate from the rim base along a section. The tire finds itself no longer laterally contained by the rim, so it blows off. It sounds a bit like a gunshot. How many miles does that take? The big exception is if you're living somewhere where the regional gunk eats bicycles. Some people in the PNW burn through rims in just a few thousand miles if they're riding in wet conditions. I could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors. |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
How many miles does that take? I could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors. Consumables are consumable. Brake pads, rims, rotors, handlebar tape/grips, tires, bottom bracket, cables and housing- all of that is meant to be changed as it wears. |
Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21969946)
If you ride a bike with rim brakes long enough, will you eventually wear through the rim itself?
How many miles does that take? I could see that being an advantage if you wanted a -forever- bike, just change pads and rotors. |
yeah, that would be a LOT of miles! By that time, your bigger problem would likely be spoke nipples (difficult to turn). You would have ridden so many miles by that time.......keep riding!
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Originally Posted by mstateglfr
(Post 21970181)
I dont see a difference between changing a rim on a forever bike and changing pads and rotors on a forever bike.
Consumables are consumable. |
If ridden in wet and dirty conditions (like a commuter bike) and cleaning of rims and brake pads is infrequent, you could possibly wear the sidewall of the rim thin enough that it cracks in a season or two. I have had one rim worn so far that the pressure from the tube split the side. Another wore down enough that it was starting to break and the spokes were losing tension and the rim would not stay true.
Disc brakes are the perfect solution for this, but regular cleaning of the braking surfaces is a decent preventative. |
Originally Posted by HTupolev
(Post 21970179)
It is possible, yes.
The failure is an extremely gnarly blow-out. The failure of the rim sidewall generally causes the rim's hook to separate from the rim base along a section. The tire finds itself no longer laterally contained by the rim, so it blows off. It sounds a bit like a gunshot. Depends extremely heavily on the context. What conditions you're riding in, what rims, what pads, your maintenance habits. In most cases, tens of thousands of miles. The big exception is if you're living somewhere where the regional gunk eats bicycles. Some people in the PNW burn through rims in just a few thousand miles if they're riding in wet conditions. If rim wear is an issue for you, then yes, disc brakes can be nicer to deal with. Or, alternately, they can remove a reason that you weren't using nice rims. |
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Originally Posted by SkinGriz
(Post 21970263)
Didn’t think about that. But probably not as loud as a split ring on a tractor trailer giving way. “BOOM!”
When it's worn out, usually on many of the rims today, it'll look like a depression in the braking surface of the rim. Simply the outer wall of the rim getting thin and beginning to collapse. Some have wear indicators. |
Originally Posted by Iride01
(Post 21970336)
Just to be clear he was talking about complete failure. Not wearing out.
(Obviously you should replace a rim long before this happens.) I don't know if I've ever heard of anyone having such a failure, unless maybe a high dollar carbon which I'm not into yet. I've been in the room when it's happened, but I also live in the Seattle area where we have rim-eating road grime. Even here it's a pretty rare occurrence. When it's worn out, usually on many of the rims today, it'll look like a depression in the braking surface of the rim. Simply the outer wall of the rim getting thin and beginning to collapse. |
Originally Posted by Iride01
(Post 21970336)
Just to be clear he was talking about complete failure. Not wearing out. I don't know if I've ever heard of anyone having such a failure, unless maybe a high dollar carbon which I'm not into yet.
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Originally Posted by HTupolev
(Post 21970179)
The failure is an extremely gnarly blow-out. The failure of the rim sidewall generally causes the rim's hook to separate from the rim base along a section. The tire finds itself no longer laterally contained by the rim, so it blows off. It sounds a bit like a gunshot.
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I once had a steel rim on a Raleigh 3 speed bike split right down the middle of the spoke bed. The rim simply rusted through from the inside. The bike was ridden several winters on snowy salted roads. Not a spectacular failure, the rim split slowly and the wheel turned mushy. Was able it ride it most of the way back home
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I think a far more common problem no one talks about is a rotor warping. You can true them yourself and rotors are cheap but it does happen.
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Originally Posted by cbrstar
(Post 21970575)
I think a far more common problem no one talks about is a rotor warping. You can true them yourself and rotors are cheap but it does happen.
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