Originally Posted by
777funk
I didn't think of that with the braking force. Makes sense. I would think going from chromed steel to aluminum would help bring up the braking force a good bit. I notice all my aluminum wheel bikes stop a lot better than these old steel rims. The steel rims make brakes almost non existent if a little bit wet. I've learned to stay off this bike when there's any moisture on the ground.
Yes, going to an aluminum rim will definitely help with wet weather braking performance. You might also consider replacing the brake calipers with dual-pivot calipers to improve mechanical advantage. Tektro makes an inexpensive, long-reach, dual-pivot caliper I've used for such conversions.