I've had zero issues with 2.5 Drifters on Cliffhangers on my Big Dummy, which has carried more weight than any of my old touring bikes every have...albeit for shorter distances (so far).

I'd agree. It looks like the rim is separating at the pin. Braking results in repeated impact at a slight offset and lead to fracturing of the rim. Time to look for a rim with a welded joint. Going with a 36 spoke 26" wheel bike shouldn't be a problem, either. 26" wheels are stronger than 700C so you shouldn't lose any strength.

You may want to run the tension on your spokes higher too. This will pull the joint tighter.

Might as well share some other words from my wheelbuilder friend regarding pinned vs welded rims:

"There's no perfect rim out there. Welded-seam rims tend to be distorted around the weld, which is invariably the first point of failure, and always a source of compromise when it comes to roundness and run-out. Show me a welded rim that got a nicely ground brake track, and I'll show you where it's been weakened; on every one of them you can see where the joint has been compromised. Pinned rims are always rounder, truer laterally and tend to have a longer lifespan. A pinned rim can separate, as the blogger illustrates, but it cannot come apart more than a fraction of a millimeter while the wheel is built and a tire is mounted. Even so, the slight separation can lead to an annoying tick-tick-tick when applying the brakes, but is generally little more than an annoyance."

Now I don't know what to think. I was all set to be happy going with rim brakes, now I'm back vacillating on disc brakes again. Sheesh.

Neil

I've had just the opposite experience. Welded seam rims are much much smoother and easier to get straight and true than pinned rims. The difference isn't huge but it's enough that I go with a welded rim if I can.

As for breaking a rim, I've also never had a rim fail at the weld. I've broken lots of rims and had them crack down the middle (in parallel to the line of travel), wear through the braking surface, pull a spoke head out, or get blipped because I jumped something rather...um...clumsily. But none have ever broken at the seam.

Both of our Topeak Road Morphs consistently read the same PSI for the last 8 months. I sure hope so! Also, with this much time on the road I can now tell the difference between 50 and 60, I imagine it'd be the same if I was over-inflating a lot.

You are second-guessing yourself here. The issue the OP is having is very unusual. People have done all sorts of "horrible" trips with rim brakes and not had anything like these problems!

+1 literally billions of miles have been toured using rim brakes

But that doesn't mean you can't upgrade to discs ;)

Steel, the next miracle rim material!!

Just to throw it out there, but if you're having issues with a wide tire and a skinny rim, you might ask Velocity for a set of their Psychos. They are really beefy down hill rims. I use them on my commuter when I started riding and I was 350 pounds. I am still riding them. They are probably the widest rim that you can find. Super strong. I've literally removed a spoke and they stay in true.

funny you should say that emperorcezar! that is the rim they are sending :D

round up of the situation here: http://journal.goingslowly.com/2009/...ms-part-2.html

more to follow when the rims arrive.

My email to Velocity a few minutes ago:

I found the real source of the problem when I installed our Pyscho rims today. It wasn’t the braking surface. Here it is:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/...8b6fba9b_b.jpg

I think the heavy load + our super wide tires was just too much stress for the rim. Either that or it is a manufacturing defect. Interestingly, my rear rim (the one under the heaviest load) seems fine. I’ll update you with a link when I publish a follow up on our journal.

Holy sh*t these Pyscho rims man. Talk about inspiring confidence. If I had known about these before we left I would have gone with them from the get go. Talk about heavy duty! Now I wish I would have asked for you guys to send all four. Hopefully we don’t have any troubles with our fronts. We have a year or two in front of us, so we’ll see!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/...2822d05c_b.jpg

THANK YOU!

Tyler