How do you know if your rims are worn out by braking?

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Mr Haematocrit

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should have wear indicators on the rims. usually holes or a groove which can be raised
 

Iain M Norman

Well-Known Member
I ignored the markers once, soon knew about it when the seam popped a little and there was a 3mm wall for the brakes to hit.
 
A rough guide - put the edge of a ruler across the edge of the braking surface.

You should see light between the ruler and the rim.

If so get a page of a glossy mag and try and fit the corner of that page between the two.

The general rule is one page ok, two pages dodgy and three pages new wheel but it does depend on the rim.
 
Use your finger and thumb to feel both sides of the rim surfaces.
If it feels a bit concave, rather than flat, they're somewhat worn.
If the concave feel is quite 'deep' - time to replace the rims.
The above uses experience though; doing it for the first time you don't have any frame of reference. So pop by a couple of bike shops... I hope they won't just be interested in selling.
Accountantpete's advice is useful.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Mavic SUP rims don't have markers as it's a machined rim.

As others have said - if it starts to go concave, keep an eye out. Any cracks = replace NOW. They do go bang quite spectacularly when worn out ! :whistle:
 
OP
OP
M

Mitford

Impressive Member
Magnificent response, thanks, I have ordered a dental gauge (only around sick squid!) which looks like it could be useful for other tasks.
 
OP
OP
M

Mitford

Impressive Member
Get yourself an Iwanson dental gauge and measure the rim wall thickness.
Rims seem to fail at about 0.7mm, so replace if you measure less than 1.0mm

I measure 1.1 to 1.3mm with my lovely new dental gauge, so I feel reassured. Curious to know what the original thickness was though. Thanks again Andrew, the gauge was a great suggestion.
 
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