Brakes for painted wheels or strip the paint

kinto

Hi all

I have an old Peugeot ladies touring frame with white painted wheel rims & spokes. I have lever brakes that aren't effective at stopping and squeak like hell when fully depressed. I can't actually come to a complete stop on the bike and have to apply a 'foot brake' at lights. When it rains, the brakes don't work at all. Obviously, this is all pretty dangerous!
I'm considering stripping the paint off the rims, which is a shame because it looks pretty. Before I do, is there a better sort of lever brake and pad I could use?
- I don't know what it's painted with.
- the wheels aren't original to the bike, don't know where they came from or how old. (the seller had a huge garage of odds and sods)
- there is no capacity to fit disk brakes to the forks.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

arlowood

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19693339#p19693339]kinto[/url] wrote:

Hi all

I have an old Peugeot ladies touring frame with white painted wheel rims & spokes. I have lever brakes that aren't effective at stopping and squeak like hell when fully depressed. I can't actually come to a complete stop on the bike and have to apply a 'foot brake' at lights. When it rains, the brakes don't work at all. Obviously, this is all pretty dangerous!
I'm considering stripping the paint off the rims, which is a shame because it looks pretty. Before I do, is there a better sort of lever brake and pad I could use?
- I don't know what it's painted with.
- the wheels aren't original to the bike, don't know where they came from or how old. (the seller had a huge garage of odds and sods)
- there is no capacity to fit disk brakes to the forks.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

First comment - STOP riding that death machine until you sort out the brakes. We cyclists come in for enough grief from other road users without adding to the problem by riding bikes that can't be stopped without sticking your foot against the wheel.

Rant over - Sorry :roll:

You don't explain what the existing brakes are - cantilever or caliper??

Assuming they are caliper type brakes on that frame then these might do the trick for not much money

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tektro-tektro-r359-caliper-brake-set-47-57-mm-drop-nut-fitting-prod29405/

You could also look at fitting some Swisstop pads which will probably be a better bet then the standard fitted to the above.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/swissstop-flash-pro-green-alloy-rim-brake-pads/

wongataa

Remove the paint from the braking surfaces. It will help. It would wear off anyway over time if the brakes worked.

jgsi

I'm a bit speechless to be honest .. great first post though.... disc brakes ..? on a frame that possibly came out when drum brakes were at the cutting edge in cars..??????

Monty Dog

If the rims are steel, that's the problem, whether they are painted or not they're still death-traps - only option i to find some alloy-rimmed wheels.

Giraffoto

Get a cheap replacement alloy wheelset. You'll find that the ability to brake properly will make up for the loss of the painted wheels.