Photos taken are of the brake tracks of the front and back wheels on the non drive side of a bike I bought used. On the drive side there is no light visible at all between the track and the card.
How much life is left of these rims and why is the wear asymmetrical on the non drive side for both front and back? Is there something I should check (besides the centering of the brake calipers)?
by No-Cattle-777
5 Comments
There’s probably an actual measurement from the wheel manufacturer, but to me that wheel still has lots of life left.
You can check the rim with an Iwanson caliper after removing the tire, comparing to a section of the brake track without wear, or a new rim of the same model if you have access. It varies from rim to rim, but %50 wear from new is probably a decent maximum limit.
As for why they are unevenly worn, check your pads for debris. Brakes that are properly adjusted should exert the same amount of force on either side, but if your housing is too short it could cause the brakes to bias to one side too.
I mean, there’s literally an indicator on your rim… when you can’t feel it anymore, the track is done.
Some rims have a small indentation (about the size of the tip of a ball-point pen) in the brake track. Once you can no longer see the indentation, the rim should be replaced.
Aside from that, I believe many rim brake tracks are around 2.5 mm thick, so maybe no more than half that depth.
No indicator on this wheel unfortunately.