Clean rims

myideal

I've read that cleaning the rims will increase breaking performance, however what do people use to clean their rims? I tried a cloth and warm water but didn't seem to have any effect on the black rubber that has clearly marked and worn it's way on to to rim.

Is there a magic tip that people use to get them back nice and clean?

ayjaycee

I use a kitchen scourer (the type with sponge on one side and a rough pad on the other) with warm water and car soap. I take the wheels off the bike and wipe over the tyres and rims with an old cloth or the large(ish) sponge that I use to clean the bike, go around the rims only with the scourer and rinse off with clean water - works a treat and I think I paid about £2 for 20 scourers in B&Q. I usually give the brake pads a quick clean at the same time by rubbing them with the scourer side of the sponge followed a quick swipe of sand paper as I can't see the point in having clean rims and dirty pads. In practice, it probably takes about 15 minutes including prep time. I might be wrong but I suspect that it increases rim life as well helping keep brake performance up to scratch.

onionmk

I think the method above would work quite well. I've never tried it as I'm too scared of scratching my rims or the sidewalls of my tyres. I usually use some rubbing alcohol on a cloth which always picks up a lot of black gunk but never gets them sparkling. I even used hand sanitizer once ( contains alcohol) and that worked too. Be sure to clean your brake pads and use a pin to pick out any pieces of metal that may be stuck in the pad. This Yields the greatest results for me.

ayjaycee

Onion is right about picking any stray bits out of the pads (which I do but forgot about in my original response) but I wouldn't worry too much about scratching the rim or sidewalls. The scourer side is pretty soft and, anyway, I am try not to scrub anything but the brake surface too hard.

Garry H

White spirit

Gromson

Baby wipes work fairly well

myideal

Thanks, I'll give these ideas a try.

So it is true that having clean rims do improve the braking performance as such?

onionmk

myideal wrote:

Thanks, I'll give these ideas a try.

So it is true that having clean rims do improve the braking performance as such?

Clean rims do help restore the braking to its original performance. However, It's worth mentioning if the performance of the brakes are poor to begin with then it won't help much. The best bang for your buck when it comes to improving braking performance is a new set of pads. There's a night and day difference between the one piece pads my sora brakes came with and the shimano R55C4 cartridge pads I replaced them with.

myideal

onionmk wrote:

myideal wrote:

Thanks, I'll give these ideas a try.

So it is true that having clean rims do improve the braking performance as such?

Clean rims do help restore the braking to its original performance. However, It's worth mentioning if the performance of the brakes are poor to begin with then it won't help much. The best bang for your buck when it comes to improving braking performance is a new set of pads. There's a night and day difference between the one piece pads my sora brakes came with and the shimano R55C4 cartridge pads I replaced them with.

Much the same for me. I can't believe the difference with the cheap wiggle cartridge pads compared to the Sora one piece pads on the bike.

Just think I should try and do a proper job and get the rims back nice and clean so the pads can work to near 100% of their ability.

myideal

I have used the white spirit and amazed how much black has come off them. I was not expecting that at all and even though they are not back to shiny it's clean they have had a clean.

ugo.santalucia

If you ride in the dry it is best NOT to clean them... rims work best when they have a layer of pad rubber on them... however, if they get dirty with road muck, then you need to clean them... water and a sponge suffice

ugo.santalucia

myideal wrote:

I have used the white spirit and amazed how much black has come off them. I was not expecting that at all and even though they are not back to shiny it's clean they have had a clean.

Waste of time, you have removed the pads rubber, that helps with braking

ayjaycee

Rightly or wrongly (and probably the latter!), I only ever clean my bikes when they actually get dirty with the aforementioned road muck which, in practice, means quite often in winter and far less frequently in summer. A mate of mine has quite the opposite cleaning regime in that he washes and lubes his thoroughly a couple of times a week come rain or shine which always seems a bit excessive to me!

pottssteve

I have something like this: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/hk/e ... -prod42618

Clean the rim with soap and water first.
It works well.

Cheers,
Steve

supermurph09

Gromson wrote:

Baby wipes work fairly well

You can pretty much clean your whole bike with baby wipes, although I think it's only fair you discover this after having a baby.

fat daddy

Supermurph09 wrote:

I think it's only fair you discover this after having a baby.

Its one of those enlightening moments when you realise a moistened bit of tissue out of a pink packet can magically remove dried on sticky tar like baby poo at the same time as covering the smell.

shortly after this you start to wonder what else it can clean ..... engine bays, bikes, tools, creosote from anything, doors, car interiors.

navrig2

myideal wrote:

Thanks, I'll give these ideas a try.

So it is true that having clean rims do improve the braking performance as such?

Yes BUT ride through a puddle and apply the brakes and the rims are dirty again. Quick wipe with soapy water and a sponge when washing the bike.

geryben

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

mercia_man

I use a small piece of damp Brillo pad to clean rims. I then wipe off the soapy residue with a clean cloth. Brilliant for removing black film and grease. Done it for years and never had any issue with scratching my rims. Braking performance is considerably improved after cleaning.

meanredspider

ugo.santalucia wrote:

myideal wrote:

I have used the white spirit and amazed how much black has come off them. I was not expecting that at all and even though they are not back to shiny it's clean they have had a clean.

Waste of time, you have removed the pads rubber, that helps with braking

Surely it doesn't need any help...