Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
Rims on touring bikes
- Thread starter HelenD123
- Start date
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I have worn out three rear rims and broken at least another three while touring - are you suggesting I have somehow been careless?
MacB
Lover of things that come in 3's
- Location
- Farnborough, Hampshire
No surprise that I agree with this idea, for me it's a simple matter of weighing up the pros and cons of disc v rim:-
Pads - both types wear out but discs pads last longer
Braking surface - rotor v rim, I'd rather replace a rotor than a rim - how long could a rim last with only disc braking?
Adjustability - assuming mechanical discs then the only ones I've looked at in detail, and in the flesh now, are the BB7's. Maintenance doesn't seem any more onerous than with V or Canti brakes.
Reliability - rim brakes are fine but discs do seem to offer more consistency in variable conditions and are less sensitive to wheel truing issues
Cost - discs cost more
Weight - the difference is not as much as some may think, BB7's including pads, rotors and bolts come in at 700g a pair compared to 400g for a reasonable pair of rim brakes. You do need to add on a bit more for additional cable and frame fittings but also offset the fact that rims could now be lighter. I'd be surprised if you increased the overall weight by more than 450g, or 1lb.
Compatibility - this is where discs are more of an issue as so many bikes exist without the necessary fittings for disc brakes. You also have the variance in hub/rotor connection ie 6 bolt or center lock.
I'm convinced enough that I wouldn't now spec a bike, other than for racing, without disc brakes.
However all of my current bikes have rim brakes and no disc fittings plus all the rims are either Mavic A719's or Rigida Sputniks, so I have a bit of time on my side.
On the OP, that does seem an extremely short lifespan for a wheel, I'd have a try at complaining at least.
frank9755
Cyclist
- Location
- West London
Very short lifespan, especially for a rear rim.
By comparison, my Super Galaxy had the same WTB rims and they have been fine. The rear hub died at 6,000 miles but the rim has easily as much life again left in it. The front is going strong still - may get to 8 or 10,000 before the wear indicator says 'replace'
It does vary a lot by terrain, as in a flat area you hardly use the brakes but in mountains they get a lot of use.
By comparison, my Super Galaxy had the same WTB rims and they have been fine. The rear hub died at 6,000 miles but the rim has easily as much life again left in it. The front is going strong still - may get to 8 or 10,000 before the wear indicator says 'replace'
It does vary a lot by terrain, as in a flat area you hardly use the brakes but in mountains they get a lot of use.
"To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness". Oscar Wilde
Crankarm
Guru
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
No, but are you?
Ticktockmy
Guru
- Location
- Crawley, West Sussex
The reason Rims wear can be very hard to pin down, on my touring bike I had identical Bontrager rims front and rear, front one only lasted 4000 mls the rear one I just changed after 9000 or more miles and it would last a few more thousand miles, if just used for commuting. I think that maybe firstly I favour the use of the front brake more.. mind looking at the figures a lot more, or maybe different brake materials wear the rims more?
numbnuts
Squire
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
On my touring bike I use Sun CR18 the rear cracked after 10,000 miles the front is the original and has covered twice that distance. Rim mesurment on new rim is 22 mm the front now is at 21.5mm hopefulley it will see me out as I’m not doing the miles now
This is interesting, and also how it often goes: the rim cracked. What surprises me time and again is that cyclists do not follow preventive maintenance procedures, and ride on until a part fails. On my recent tour in Norway we had five wheel failures in a group of sixteen people (...). Those rims or hubs should have been replaced beforehand. It would have been a lot easier, cheapar and safer than trying to find a replacement somewhere in a small Norwegian village. Do people also maintain their cars in this way? Drive till the timer belt or the brakes fail?
Willem
Willem
Totally agree - but the problem with rims is accurately assessing how much life is left in them - my first rim failure was a combination of ignorance by myself and a rear wheel that was probably not that durable - the second I checked before I set off on tour and decided that it was OK - my existing rim I decided was dodgy somewhere in the east of Poland - pretty much declared it to be worn out - however, now I am at home if I am honest it does not look much more worn than it was 1800km back!
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Perhaps this is part of the problem, people have cars which have become a lot more reliable in recent years and they can't understand why bicycles shouldn't be the same.
My rim didn't crack, it just wore thin. It only had 1200 miles on it before the tour so it was too soon to replace it. The bike shops are probably even more spread out round here than in Norway which is why I had the bike checked over when I had the opportunity and I'm so glad I did. It was 700 incredibly hilly km to the next bike shop! Not the sort of place you'd want a rim to fail.
