Road Bike Rim Wear

If your road bike was built in the last 20 years and has rim brakes it most likely has a 130mm width quick release rear axle written as 130mm qr or 130 9mm and a 100mm 100 qr or 100.

Road bike rim wear. Each time the brake pads come into contact with the rim s braking surface a little rim material is abraded away. A concave rim just like with an aluminium rim is a telltale sign of a worn carbon rim so that s one thing to check for. When the tires are worn down after less than 1000 km already can be the indication for an improperly adjusted tracking of the vehicle. However if you ve got aluminium rims and rim brakes read cantilevers v brakes calliper brakes hydraulic rim brakes etc then you should regularly inspect your wheel rims for signs of wear.

Wear the track too much and braking performance will be severely degraded the rim s strength can be compromised and with a clincher tire the chances of a sidewall blowout increase. Take a look at our selection and feel free to call one of our gear advisors at 888 880 3811 if you have any questions. The idea for tips on rim wear comes from my buddy leo jed who when he s not bicycle touring with the santa cruz county bicycle club serves tirelessly to improve cycling here on the santa cruz traffic safety coalition and santa cruz regional transportation bike committee. Some tyres come with tread wear indicators that tell you when it s time for a replacement.

A dented rim or displaced spoke can cause unwanted friction for tyre and tube which could lead to a puncture on a later ride tread wear indicators. But it s harder to tell by eye when a carbon rim is worn out you won t find handy wear indicators like on an aluminium rim so you want to pay particular attention to the carbon surface. Severely worn out rim several times during the year its a great idea to check your rims for wear. Ditto if you ve got an old roadster or cheap bike with steel rims your knees will wear out before steel rims will.

Brake blocks wear down in use but rim brakes will also wear down the braking surface on a bike wheel rim. Aluminium rims wear faster than steel carbon rims wear fastest of all. After a while the rim will have a concave channel cut into it from the brake pads. At jenson usa we carry dozens of road bike wheel options from top brands like enve shimano dt swiss mavic hed stan s notubes zipp and others.