Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Bicycle Mechanics
Reload this Page >

Rim joint gap assessment

Notices
Bicycle Mechanics Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

Rim joint gap assessment

Old 10-04-20, 11:15 AM
  #1  
yannisg
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NW Peloponnese, Greece
Posts: 546
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 112 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times in 22 Posts
Rim joint gap assessment

Shimano ultegra wheels WH 6500
I have these wheels since 2001, and have been doing all my training klms on these wheels.
The hubs run smoothly with very little resistance, and I have never had to re-pack the brgs. I have seldom trued them since the wheel stands well.
Recently, the upper part of the joint on the rim opened up slightly, and was "catching" slightly on the brake pad while braking.
I could grind down the un-eveness of the gap so the brake pad will not catch.
However, I would like an recommendation whether it is safe to continue using the rim in such a condition. In other words, do I risk rim failure going downhill?



yannisg is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 11:21 AM
  #2  
guy153
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 950
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 321 Post(s)
Liked 261 Times in 212 Posts
Definitely time for a new rim ASAP.
guy153 is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 12:13 PM
  #3  
Iride01 
I'm good to go!
 
Iride01's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 14,800

Bikes: Tarmac Disc Comp Di2 - 2020

Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6099 Post(s)
Liked 4,730 Times in 3,260 Posts
I wouldn't worry about the joint itself. It looks better than many new rims I've had and the bump felt in the brakes went away quickly on their own as the pads wore them in.

Did you perhaps hit a big bump recently? Maybe re-adjust the pad postion? Check and make sure there aren't some really loose spokes that might be letting the rim joint begin to move too much.

However on a rim that is from 2001, then you might have nearly worn out the braking surface. A shop with a good wheel person can tell you more about it.
Iride01 is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 01:01 PM
  #4  
epnnf
Full Member
 
epnnf's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 400

Bikes: 2016 Masi strada vita due, 2019 Kona Dew Plus

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 267 Post(s)
Liked 80 Times in 55 Posts
The defects in the rim aren't much to worry about, but I would replace almost any wheel after 10 years or so.
epnnf is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 01:50 PM
  #5  
blamester
Blamester
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Ireland
Posts: 1,043

Bikes: Peugeot teamline

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 264 Post(s)
Liked 122 Times in 101 Posts
Is the braking effected?
It doesn't look bad and the tyre and spokes are all holding the rim in place. So if it failed in that spot it doesn't mean the wheel would disintegrate. You would have plenty of notice.
Keep an eye on it.

​​​​​
blamester is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 01:53 PM
  #6  
dsbrantjr
Senior Member
 
dsbrantjr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Roswell, GA
Posts: 8,319

Bikes: '93 Trek 750, '92 Schwinn Crisscross, '93 Mongoose Alta

Mentioned: 30 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1438 Post(s)
Liked 1,092 Times in 723 Posts
You can monitor the brake track thickness with an Iwanson dental gauge such as this one: https://www.net32.com/ec/jsp-iwanson...-tips-d-151620
dsbrantjr is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 03:18 PM
  #7  
Crankycrank
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3,648
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 835 Post(s)
Liked 1,053 Times in 739 Posts
Originally Posted by dsbrantjr
You can monitor the brake track thickness with an Iwanson dental gauge such as this one: https://www.net32.com/ec/jsp-iwanson...-tips-d-151620
+1. I'm just giving an educated guess but the joint may be starting to distort due to the brake track being worn down too thin. Measure to be sure.
Crankycrank is offline  
Likes For Crankycrank:
Old 10-04-20, 09:14 PM
  #8  
mrrabbit 
Senior Member
 
mrrabbit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: San Jose, California
Posts: 3,504

Bikes: 2001 Tommasini Sintesi w/ Campagnolo Daytona 10 Speed

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 145 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 35 Times in 30 Posts
It has probably always been like that...just that due to pad adjust, you wore down the 80% below it so that it's now more pronounced.

=8-|
__________________
5000+ wheels built since 1984...

Disclaimer:

1. I do not claim to be an expert in bicycle mechanics despite my experience.
2. I like anyone will comment in other areas.
3. I do not own the preexisting concepts of DISH and ERD.
4. I will provide information as I always have to others that I believe will help them protect themselves from unscrupulous mechanics.
5. My all time favorite book is:

Kahane, Howard. Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life
mrrabbit is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 10:42 PM
  #9  
LV2TNDM
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 731

Bikes: Cannondale tandems: '92 Road, '97 Mtn. Mongoose 10.9 Ti, Kelly Deluxe, Tommaso Chorus, Cdale MT2000, Schwinn Deluxe Cruiser, Torker Unicycle, among others.

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 275 Post(s)
Liked 201 Times in 127 Posts
It looks to me like the left side has bulged out a little bit and this is "catching" your brake pad. Is the other side off the same amount but in the other direction? I've seen this before where the two rim edges have twisted a little bit relative to each other. I've quickly fixed it with two adjustable wrenches on either side to bring the faces into the same plane before. (With the tire off.) I've also had just one side bend out a little bit. Again, an adjustable wrench has been able to "finesse" the rim flange back flat with its mate on the other side.

It appears some external force caused this. It may be VERY easy to resolve. Or not. Is the insert connecting your rim ends failing? Who knows?

Given your wheels are now 19 years old (my daughter's age!), you should check everything for wear, damage, or any dangerous condition. Rim wear from braking? Any other potential problems. 20 years out of a pair of wheels is impressive. Probably don't want to embark on a cross-country tour on them!
LV2TNDM is offline  
Old 10-04-20, 10:59 PM
  #10  
Andrew R Stewart 
Senior Member
 
Andrew R Stewart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 17,999

Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4171 Post(s)
Liked 3,789 Times in 2,269 Posts
Rims are a wear item. The current market view of the wheel as somehow a magical component that won't be subject to age, fatigue or wear (because modern wheels are so costly) is so miss led. The wear on the brake track of these rims is pretty significant. At some point the bead portion of the rim will bow out enough to crack/peal off the rest of the rim. You won't likely to be able to tell just before that's it about to happen... Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
Andrew R Stewart is online now  
Likes For Andrew R Stewart:
Old 10-05-20, 02:27 AM
  #11  
Amt0571
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Catalonia
Posts: 956

Bikes: Canyon Grand Canyon AL SL 8.0, Triban RC520 Gravel Ltd, Btwin Ultra 520 AF GF, Triban Road 7, Benotto 850

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 402 Post(s)
Liked 215 Times in 137 Posts
Check the thickness of the rim. It's probably worn and has deformed because the metal that is left doesn't have the required strength.

When you have rim brakes, the rim is a wear item.
Amt0571 is offline  
Old 10-05-20, 07:28 AM
  #12  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,763
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6881 Post(s)
Liked 10,869 Times in 4,634 Posts
No opinion on the rim, but that tire looks pretty dodgy.
Koyote is online now  
Old 10-05-20, 07:57 AM
  #13  
Unca_Sam
The dropped
 
Unca_Sam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 2,406

Bikes: Pake C'Mute Touring/Commuter Build, 1989 Kona Cinder Cone, 1995 Trek 5200, 1973 Raleigh Super Course FG, 1960/61 Montgomery Ward Hawthorne "thrift" 3 speed, by Hercules (sold) : 1966 Schwinn Deluxe Racer (sold)

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1739 Post(s)
Liked 1,014 Times in 696 Posts
I've also read that a straight edge set perpendicular to the rim across the braking surface with the tire removed will give you a quick visual indication of how worn the rim is. IIRC, if the lowest point is close to 2 mm or greater from the high points, the rims need to be replaced. Looking at your pictures, I can see that your braking surface is concave; I agree that there's not much life left in them and you're risking injury (or walking at the least) if you continue heavy use. Consider buying some wheels, and run these while they're shipped.

If the hubs are in good condition (I recommend looking at just how worn the cups and cones are) you can rebuild with new rims. If not, mount the entire wheel as a trophy of your endurance. You are harder than hardened steel and tougher than anodized aluminum!

Last edited by Unca_Sam; 10-05-20 at 08:01 AM.
Unca_Sam is offline  
Old 10-05-20, 01:16 PM
  #14  
yannisg
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NW Peloponnese, Greece
Posts: 546
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 112 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 25 Times in 22 Posts
Thanks everyone for responding, and I appreciate the recommendations.
The braking surface is concave so there must not be much material left.
I'm looking at a new wheel set to replace these rims. Its not worth the risk.
I've been totally satisfied with these wheels, and have definitely got my moneys worth out of them.
yannisg is offline  
Likes For yannisg:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.