Rim Wear: How Worn Is Worn Out? Pics Included
buckmulligan
Posts: 1,031
So I've been keeping an eye on my rear rim for the last 12 months or so, I know it's approaching the end of its life but when do you call it a day and replace it?
The wheels in question are Mavic Ksyrium Elites; the front isn't so bad at all, but the rear is looking more and more treacherous every time I look at it! :shock: I'm well aware that it's not cost-effective to buy new rims and rebuild these wheels, so it'll just be a case of binning it and buying a replacement.
I've had these wheels since late-2012, so they've served me well but where do you draw the line with regard to rim wear? Do Mavic rims from around this time have a wear indicator at all?
Front:
Rear:
The wheels in question are Mavic Ksyrium Elites; the front isn't so bad at all, but the rear is looking more and more treacherous every time I look at it! :shock: I'm well aware that it's not cost-effective to buy new rims and rebuild these wheels, so it'll just be a case of binning it and buying a replacement.
I've had these wheels since late-2012, so they've served me well but where do you draw the line with regard to rim wear? Do Mavic rims from around this time have a wear indicator at all?
Front:
Rear:
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In my career as a wheelbuilder I have replaced a rim or two... never seen a front wearing quicker than a rear. The rear wheel is always filthier than the front
Fixed it for you
But joking aside, the op is on the verge of something major happening on that back wheel, but had the sense to ask for adivice, how many people don't? In these days of health and safety regulations , I can't see why rim brakes are actually road legal....
Well I've just returned from another 55 miles on it so I wouldn't say I'm that sensible :oops: But yes, now that I know how badly worn it is, I was a bit more concerned every time I hit a bump or pothole. Perhaps I should switch back to my winter wheels until I can source a replacement.
As for front vs rear rim wear, I certainly primarily use the front brake when coming to a gentle stop, but I suspect most of the wear comes from aggressive braking into corners where I use both brakes hard, and possibly subconsciously favour the rear. I agree that the build-up of dirt and grit can be much worse on the rear caliper and probably contributes significantly to the rate of wear, which is even more annoying because that feels very much as though it's preventable.
*SIGH*
OP, time to start a "What wheels" thread in RBA ☺
If you're interested I can get a photo and we can go to Pm
I have been getting worried about the rim wear on my ksyrium SL wheels which have done 27500 km, but after seeing your pictures, i see that they have lots of life still left as they are nowhere near as bad. Although i will replace mine well before they get to that state.
I only use mine if the front starts grumbling on a steep descent which I need to creep down because of blind bends or gravel. Never used it on a motorbike, except to trigger the brake light.
Anyway it took out about a third of the rim, was quite impressive - and a 7 mile walk for the guy. Luckily it happened on a slight downhill not the big one we had done just moments before.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
That is interesting! I always wear my front wheels out. I have two sets of Campag wheels with worn out fronts and serviceable rears. Maybe I need to look for all those folk who wear their rears out and make an offer for their fronts!
Perhaps it just means I'm better at cleaning my rims than everyone else!
I just follow Campags instructions and measure the width of the rim - if it is larger than it is meant to be I replace it (though by then you can feel it anyway under braking without measuring).
Re f/r braking - I'l trail brake the rear but the front is the main one for stopping - same on the moto-sickle. You only realise how much you use the rear brak if you disconnect the cable then go for a spin - it's trail braking Andy all the really slow stuff, like plotting through traffic and stopping at red lights/hot chicks waiting to cross the road.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
There's not a lot of metal in a Ksyrium rim to start with; that one looks to be at the point of failure to me :shock:
You're obviously a lucky censored what with still being alive, so can I have your lottery numbers?
I guess I should probably retire it but it seems such a shame as I bet they're well under Mavic's claimed 1520g per pair now
how many miles have they done ??
Yeah, I did that with an old pair of Zondas as I was interested to know how much of a variance there was between measuring with sprung calipers (which simply cannot go perpendicularly across the whole brake track due to the internal tube bed interfering) and the reality (with a rim section cutout). The general guidance is caution under 1mm and replace around 0.7mm so, with the brake tracks tangibly concave and measuring 0.6-0.8, I figured it was time to get the hacksaw out. Turns out the min was actually about 0.8mm so I had at least another month of safe riding on those wheels. Never could work out out to stick the section of rim back in though
To be honest, I think Shimano's bloody awful stock-brake pads that came with my calipers were to blame for a good majority of that wear. They always used to make a horrible scratching noise under braking and I remember being alarmed at the wear to the rim after the year or so that they lasted; I switched to Swisstop after that and they seem a lot kinder to the rims as well as actually braking better.
However, I only ride for leisure and all of it on quiet country lanes with very little braking. I don't do any stop-start commuting, I'm a relatively light rider, and there's not much in the way of hills round here so my rims have a pretty easy life. My winter / wet weather bike has full guards, which probably helps.
If I weighed 18 stone and commuted somewhere hilly and with luggage I'd probably have disc brakes.
The scratching is the metal embedded in the pad. I don't find Swissstops noticeable less prone than other pads for picking up chunks of alloy after wet weather. The solution, whatever pad you use, is to regularly check the pads for metal and dig the offending chunks out when found.
I'm sure most of my wear comes from the 10% descent to my house at the end of my commute.
Send it to Campagnolo and see if they'll weld it back in
Or set fire to it with fire and turn it into a hoop of fire.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
I would change it sooner rather than later, a mate of mine had a rear wheel which looked in a similar state to yours, I said to him I'd lend him a rear wheel as his didn't look safe but he reckoned he'd get another few weeks out of it and off we went. About 45 minutes later I was riding behind him and he hit a sharp bump in the road and the rim obviously caved and buckled, the rear derailleur caught in some of the spokes and ripped it off breaking the hanger and taking a chunk out of the drop-out at the same time. Not only did he need a new wheel, he needed a new frame and RD also. It was an expensive mistake and a classic 'I told you so' moment.