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brakes on non-machined rims

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brakes on non-machined rims

Old 01-14-07, 02:52 PM
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brakes on non-machined rims

help
i already searched and found a lot of shoulds and woulds and opinions.
im looking for first hand experience in answer to these quesitons:

how will brakes work on weinmann colored lp18 unmachined rims?

how do you know if the rims are powder-coated, anodized or simply painted?

thanks.
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Old 01-14-07, 03:00 PM
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on unmachined anodized rims braking will suffer a bit in the wet
however, after a couple weeks of riding that anodizing will be all rubbed off and you will have effectively "machined" the rims with your brakes

keep in mind though that pre-machined rims tend to have a flatter seam where the rim is joined
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Old 01-14-07, 05:40 PM
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If you are going to run a brake, buy machined rims and put your style points aside.
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Old 01-14-07, 06:26 PM
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not style points. if you must know i accidentally bought nonmachined and don't know if i want to go through selling them to buy machined. thanks for the helpful post though.
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Old 01-14-07, 06:59 PM
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If the seams are not gnarly (see above), just run 'em, especially if this is a fixed bike and you can stop by other means if the breaking is a little squirrelly for a while. They are much more likely to squeal, that's something you will just have to deal with for a while -- no amount of brake toe will shut up some new rims.

As for being able to tell what kind of finish it is, I could blow 1000 words trying to explain how p-coat looks different from paint looks different from ano, but it's really just one of those things where when you've seen enough parts you know the difference. The only nondestructive easy way of telling anything I can think of is that if any part of the rim other than perhaps drilled stuff (spoke/stem holes) isn't colored, it's not anodized, as anodizing requires dipping the part. There are ways around this, but nothing anyone making low-end bike parts is going to do.
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Old 01-14-07, 07:47 PM
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I just got a pair of Velocity aero's. With salmon Koolstops, braking is as sweet as I've ever experienced.
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Old 01-14-07, 09:13 PM
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I've been riding some Velocity Sparticus (non-machined) for a few years on a geared bike. They work fine with brakes in the dry, on wet not so great at first. One of the prievious posters had it right, after you ride 'em for a while you will machine the rims yourself. Kool stops are better pads for them also. Ride 'em, you'll be fine.
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Old 01-15-07, 01:55 AM
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mlk2k7 (or, sloshfest 2k7) bump. looking for more input.
(with much thanks to those who have responded)
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Old 01-15-07, 07:53 AM
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I believe there is an article on the Rivendell website concerning this... here it is:

https://www.rivbike.com/tires/our_approach_to_rims
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Old 01-15-07, 08:32 AM
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interesting, but i don't buy it. i think anyone who has had experience with both types would agree that machined rims making breaking feel easier, smoother, and squeek free. i know sheldon brown makes a similar argument as rivendell, but it hasn't been my experience.
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Old 01-15-07, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by nine
interesting, but i don't buy it. i think anyone who has had experience with both types would agree that machined rims making breaking feel easier, smoother, and squeek free. i know sheldon brown makes a similar argument as rivendell, but it hasn't been my experience.
Agreed, while 99% of what the rivendell guys write is good stuff, that article is contrarian bullcrap. Imagine making a similar argument about tires: "Brand X have uniform tread depth, but Brand Y are thicker but lumpy. We recommend Brand Y because you're getting more tire. Don't worry, it'll smooth out."
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Old 01-15-07, 11:53 AM
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my rims were anodised and unmachined, with cork pads [the previous owner used carbon rims].

basically: the only problems were in the wet, where, apart from being shi+e, the brakes squealed, were grabby and it was difficult to modulate them.

the anodising wore off within a month or so, and after sanding the pads lightly, all was fine and normal.

fsnl
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Old 01-15-07, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by nine
interesting, but i don't buy it. i think anyone who has had experience with both types would agree that machined rims making breaking feel easier, smoother, and squeek free. i know sheldon brown makes a similar argument as rivendell, but it hasn't been my experience.
Not everyone, I'll stick with 'machining is unnecessary'.
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Old 01-16-07, 05:09 AM
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Running non-machined Velocity Aeros with original 1970s "ventousse" brake pads on Mafac centrepulls - they work great!

My tourer has machined rims with (modern) cantilevers; the feel is remarkably similar. They are both centrepull brakes, both with black rubber pads; the tourer is heavier, so some difference there.

Cheap MTB/hybrid bikes I've ridden have all had rims that show a pronounced seam after a few hundred km.

No experience with anodised rims.

Conclusion:
- Good machined and good non-machined rims are both good, in wet or dry
- Crap rims with crap brake pads suck big-time.
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