VegasJen

Yesterday I picked up a rim brake wheelset I found on Craigslist. Carbon fiber Bontrager Aeolus wheels. I did take a look at them but obviously not closely enough. I did notice a couple of very small areas where the wear had gotten down to the mat, but I mean these were pencil thin and only about an inch long, like maybe a piece of debris had gotten in the pad and gouged the surface. I paid the guy and went on my merry way.

I mounted them up today and got to looking a little closer and turns out I totally missed a spot on the front wheel that pretty much makes the wheel garbage. There's a spot that goes the full width of the brake track and about 1-2 inches long where it's all the way down to the mat. I don't know how I didn't see it when I looked them over the first time, but I completely missed it.

I suspect the guy probably used regular pads rather than the carbon specific pads. I don't know if he knew the wheel was junk or not. But now I'm out a few hundred dollars and my research so far tells me rim brake carbon wheels cannot be resurfaced. So disappointed in myself. I think I just got in a hurry and didn't pay attention. Expensive mistake.

indyfabz

Yeah. It was called a Schwinn 754. Suntour GPX group. My favorite part is when the bearings started falling out of the freewheel while I was riding up a long hill from the PGH Amtrak station to my apartment.

Koyote

No, I don’t buy junk. Why would I?

Duragrouch

I could be wrong... but if the area where mat is visible seems structurally ok, I think you've got nothing to lose by cleaning that area with something that will clean it but not dissolve any resin, recoat it there with the appropriate resin, and either a nice flush swipe and then leave it, or a bit proud and sand flush. My guess would be to try the first approach, and if it needs more after hardening, a scuff sand and put down more.

I once helped a friend who had a sailboat with fiberglass osmotic "blistering" below the water line. Ground out the blisters with a grinding wheel, wearing full eye, breathing, and skin hazmat protection. Cleaned. Filled with Fiberlay Fiberfiller, a resin putty with random glass fibers. Tried filling proud and sanding, was like trying to sand iron. Then instead, just gave a flush swipe with an extra-wide (drywall) putty knife to flush, let it cure, perfect (no shrinkage), easy.

So just try that technique, apply resin, a flush swipe, let it cure. What've you got to lose?

I don't know what would be the proper resin to try.

If you have any experience, you could vacuum bag the surface after coating.

EDIT: I wondered if JB Weld epoxy would work, and if they made it in black? Looked, yes, and it says can be used on carbon fiber, at least to bond it, don't know how it will hold up to braking:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld...0139/308472914

Do a small sample first, on something hard. See how well it hardens up. See if it softens when you heat it with a blow dryer.

tomato coupe

Have you ever just bought junk?

"We buy junk and sell antiques vintage."

slow rollin

Sometimes I worry about a vintage bike I bought. Like that one time I used steel wool on the chrome, and had to accept the chrome was toast and hit it with sandpaper to get down to bare metal then chrome paint. Then I rode it and loved the bike.
One time I got a 10usd wheel from the local...... bike guy? wheel dealer? bike stealer?
Anyway the hub was dubious, but after a repack and 30 miles she was good. Nice japanese hub with matrix rims.
I am with duragrouch on this one. Try a diy fix since you ain't getting your money back.

Duragrouch

JB Weld is a known hold-my-beer-Bubba solution, but in this case, it might actually work. It's an epoxy resin. It's black. It says ok to use on carbon. It's cheap. But I'd still try a dab on something else, then heat it, poke it, see what it does.

CrimsonEclipse

Bought from Bikes Direct once so... yeah.

Duragrouch

LOL!

I hadn't heard of them until seeing the Mercier Nano on there, looked like sensational deal, then looked deeper for reviews, not terrible, but not quite up to typical bike standards these days in paint.

shelbyfv

Bummer but kudos for owning up. Some would have posted a rant about Trek.

indyfabz

Trakhak

Bought from them twice. Closest I could get to the bike store employee discount I used to enjoy. Great bikes.

shelbyfv

I used to have a thing for 60s sports cars. By the time they reached my hands most would have considered them junk. That didn't prevent me from sinking even more $ and time. If the rim damage appears to be from impact rather than wear, OP might consider re-lacing with some generic Chinese carbon.

TiHabanero

Carbon wheels are expensive and something tells me that people don't simply get new ones to "try them out" and then sell the old ones. Typically I shy away from used carbon rims and hbars.

70sSanO

More people take a perfectly good item turn it into junk.

John

bruce19

Nope. I either buy from friends or some place like the Pro's Closet where there is a good return policy.

CrimsonEclipse

Garbage frames and trash welds.

Run away... run FAR away....

ScottCommutes

No money changed hands, but a once drove pretty far to grab a bike based on pictures taken in the dark on our janitor's cell phone. I didn't want to offend the guy, so I took it home, but it was junk.

Troul 

not bicycle wheels, but other things i have. it's a learning experience that teaches you that people can be shady... more so when involving private sales of "preowned" shhhtuff.

georges1

No, because I am very nitpicking and I take time to see the photos and check thoroughly when it does arrive.I only bought carbon rims with alumnium brake tracks such as zipp 60, zipp 404 and mavic cosmic carbon. Carbon rims with full carbon brake tracks require specific brake pads. For my MTB , I had 5 pairs of customs wheels assembled , and for the other 3 MTB projects, three other pairs of wheel be assembled. Never rush when you are buying carbon wheels.

50PlusCycling

Buying a used carbon fiber, rim-brake wheel set is like buying a half eaten piece of toast. I wouldn’t do it. I have bought junk more than once, some things are more likely to be junk than other things, I weigh the risks, and while I usually am satisfied with what I have bought, sometimes I’m not, and have to throw it out with the garbage.

Duragrouch

Fun trivia: What was Redd Foxx's birth (real) name?

indyfabz

iirc, it’s something like John Sandford.

urbanknight

I recently bought a wheelset that turned out to be 650b when I thought it was 700c. To put the icing on the cake, when I went to sell them since I had no use for them, the potential buyer noticed a broken spoke. While I know how to replace a spoke, I felt bad about the buyer driving out to see me for nothing, so I gave him the wheelset for $40, which brought the cost of my lesson to $120.

Polaris OBark

Even the show's premise was a rip-off:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_and_Son