Cleaning road bike rims for better braking?

spotlamp

I upgraded the brakes on my commuter bike (racing bike) after an incident with a non-indicating car in the wet about 6 months ago. Anyway I stuck a set of Dura-ace brakes on the front and rear to try and improve the situation but it made only a marginal difference.

I then picked up a new bike a few weeks back with Ultegra brakes and the thing stops on a dime. What occurs to me is that the only difference between the old and new bike is the rims. My old bike is now running a set of mavic rims that must be 6 or 7 years old. Could it be that the surface of the rim has a nice sheen to it that's preventing the brakes from biting properly? If so how do I clean it? I've not tried anything on it yet but suspect that de-greaser just won't cut it and that something stronger like wire wool or fine grit sandpaper is the way forward. I've not found anything on the internet or youtube so has anyone tried this on old rims and does it work?

Many thanks
H

nicklouse

Mavic do do a rim rubber that can help bring the braking back.

But a general clean and degrease will help a lot. Also give them a good inspection for ware as the surface does tend to go concave after some time as it wears away.
If it is no longer flat the braking will not be as good as it could be. (and the rim may be reaching the end of its life).

spotlamp

I'll give the de-greasing a go tonight. I don't think the rims are particularly worn, they feel flat to the touch but also like they've got a nice sheen to them! If de-greaser doesn't work I'll take some fine sand paper to it and see how it goes.

Thanks for your reply.

H

neiltb

when cleaning the rims I just use a fine wet/dry sand paper on the rims and some rougher sandpaper on the pads.

msw

I read the other day about someone using citrus degreaser. Sounded good but I was in a hurry the other morning, the degreaser was in the box in the garden, back door locked, raining... and the word "citrus" stuck in my mind. I cleaned the front rim with half a lemon. Did the trick though, braking is much better.

fossyant

Car alloy wheel cleaner..like wonder wheels - works a treat !

dazzawazza

Check the brake cables are in good condition and well lubed. If not replace.
I recently replaced the cables on my road bike and the increased brake performance was very significant.
Also, you could try upgrading the brake pads. I'm not sure how good the Dura Ace pads are, but Kool stop Salmons always get good reviews. I recommend them.

Bassjunkieuk

+1 for the Salmons :-) I'm running Dura-Ace pads after my LBS replaced them (and a few other components) during a service without so much as a call to ask (hence I'm not taking bike in there for a service again :evil: )

Before that I was using the Salmons (replacing the cr4p factory blocks that had worn down) and the braking in both wet and dry was great! I'm holding off replacing the pads in the hope that I can get some new rims from santa, so I'm just being a bit more wary as it's getting wet now having got used to the rather good salmon's during the last wet period!

Rich158

I use a bike specific disc brake cleaner on the rim, it works a treat. Most of the stuff for cars leaves a thin oily residue on the surface which plays havoc with your brakes. Thats why citrus cleaners work so well, they cut through all of the grease.

An old trick trials riders use is to grind their rims, ie take an angle grinder very lightly to score the rim at right angles to the rotation. i wouldn't recomend it with road wheels, but I've used coarse sandpaper to create the same effect on my mtb in the past. It takes ages though as you have to sand up and down. Another old trials trick is to use tar on the rims, although this giives a very on/off braking feel that's great for trials moves, but may not be so great on the road

always_tyred

Scotchbrite (kitchen scourer).

Perfect - not as destructive as wet&dry.

Don't forget to clean up the pads as well.