Sun CR18 rims

[jawj]

Oh yeah, and another thing, there seems to be some wildly differing rim-life-spans being thrown around. One poster mentions being happy if they get 8000 out of their rims. You might do, if you ride in the dry and stick to the flat...

In my humble experience, rims die eventually, even if you religiously wipe them down (which we should definitely do and I try to do...), replace the pads in good time (not with overpriced Shimano rubbish pads that are abrasive poo in pad-clothing) and make sure your brakes aren't rubbing (obvious, but all too common - balance your brake springs and true your wheels).

Rims are disposable. Shock, horror. Yup, it's a hassle when they wear out, but they do. Just put aside 50p a day and when they do wear out, get yourself a nice new set, always built by someone who knows what they're doing.

(No, I'm not a Shimano-hater. Shimano make great components, but their brake pads and some of their chains are quite awful.)

[rualexander]

Thanks for all the replies to my original post. Interesting stuff. I must look into the brake block brand suggestions, although I don't think these were shimano anyway.
I am used to rims lasting in excess of 10,000 miles which is why I was not expecting this one to blow yet.
Anyone tried Sun Rhyno Lite rims? I have had a Rhyno before but very (and noticeably) heavy, although probably saved a holiday one year when a rear hub flange broke and left me short of 3 spokes on my rear wheel drive side.

[sloe]

This guy

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=QzzM&page_id=33080&v=Ka

swears by the Rhyno-Lites, and BMX-ers use them. So I guess they're v. strong but will wear out quicker than the Rhynos.

[goosander]

I'm appalled at the lack of mileage some of you seem to be getting from yours rims, what are you doing to them?

My RST has just passed 2000 miles and there is negligible wear on the rims (Mavic XC717's) and thats with riding in all weathers, using the original shimano brake blocks and only cleaning the rims occasionally.  Going on the current rate of wear I'd expect to get 10000+ miles out of the rims.

Out of interest, how many set of brake pads do you get through before wearing out a rim?  I seem to get 3000 to 4000 miles out of a set but have no idea if that is good or not.

[jawj]

What am I doing wrong?? Why do my rims die (relatively) early?

Tricky one this, but I suspect it's because the vast majority of my miles are, sadly, London-based. I reckon that the constant slowing down for slow, fat cars and taxis takes its toll and eats my rims.

Anyone else find that city riding munches down on yer Mavics (or Suns, etc.)?

I will be VERY interested to see how these new Rigida tungsten carbide impregnated rims fare. If they work, I'm rebuilding all my wheels with them!

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You can never have too much grease.

[bike_the_planet]

quote:Originally posted by rualexander

What is the general opinion on these rims? Just had a rear rim blow on Raven Tour while on holiday in Western Isles, bike shop in Stornoway unable to help so had to buy a cheap front wheel and dismantle the original front wheel (identical cr18 rim so knew it would fit with spokes) and transfer the rim to the rear using existing spokes, then try to rebuild wheel as best as i could in the frame. It worked ok and managed to finish our tour thankfully but the rim that blew only had about 5000 miles on it, if that.
 Also lost an eccentric BB shell bolt somewhere on the road, so worth carrying a spare I think. SJS sent one up to us c/o post office though.

I have a pair of 26" CR18s on my xTc, and IMHO they do wear quickly. My wife's Club Tour runs on the 700c version, and they're pretty much the same.

In the days of yore (ie 20 + years ago) brake blocks were soft, rims were hard, and braking (particularly in the wet) could be a bit of a hit and miss affair. In an effort to improve braking, manufacturers made brake pads harder and rims softer (and lighter/thinner-walled to improve acceleration). All these factors, of course, have contributed to a much reduced rim longevity.

As Chris Juden said in a CTC mag a couple of years back, rims these days must be considered a consumeable, much in the way brake pads are. Also, smaller diameter rims wear slightly faster.

I was using CR18s on my xTc (as well as my old Nomad). I found that Alex DM18s were a cheap alternative 'consumeable', and being the same diameter as CR18s, I could do an easy 90 minute rim-swap whilst keeping the same spokes.

For an extended tour, I think the only real option is to buy thicker walled rims, such as Rhynos, and put up with the more sluggish feel, or buy carbide coated rims.

Or use disc brakes. Given that the majority of 26"-wheeled bikes for sale in your LBS now have disc brakes, then 26" rims for rim brakes will start to become less common.

Cheers

[PH]

I've just invested in a Rigida Grizzly Carbide rim for the front, It'll be at least a year before I know if it was a good buy.  I am hoping it's less of a consumable...It needs to be at £60[:0]