Checking rims for wear

flateric
flateric Posts: 201
edited July 2010 in The workshop
OK, more sagas with a bike i am rebuilding.....

The bike, according to the little cat eye the guy left on has done 8000 miles!!! i want to know how to tell if the rims have had it as well as the hub, rebuilding wheels i can do but its not worth doing if all i keep is the spokes!!!

Anyway, the wheels run true, and the brakes work. There is a small ridge along the top edge wear the brakes have caused some wear.

Mike
Bike one Dawes Acoma (heavily modified)
Bike two (trek) Lemond Etape (dusty and not ridden much)
Bike Three Claude Butler chinook, (freebee from
Freecycle, Being stripped and rebuilt
(is 3 too many bikes)

Comments

  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    Feel the braking surface with your finger tips. If they're noticeably dished then they're worn.

    Also, check to see if your rims come with a wear indicator (Google them!). Some rims have a groove, and when the braking surface is level is that they're worn, others have markers of a different shade which show through when the rims get thin.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • snellgrove
    snellgrove Posts: 171
    davis wrote:
    Feel the braking surface with your finger tips. If they're noticeably dished then they're worn.

    Thats what my LBS told me when I was (needlessly worried) that my rims had done ooh, er.. ?000s of miles :)

    If they feel nice and square, you don't really need to worry yet.
  • JohnCleland
    JohnCleland Posts: 172
    This topic title just made me laugh out loud in work,


    Is it just me that thinks this way?
  • antikythera
    antikythera Posts: 326
    This topic title just made me laugh out loud in work,

    Is it just me that thinks this way?

    Just you :D

    If your really concerned and don't trust your judgement, a cheap option is dental calipers. But they make most sense if you have a reference width to start with.