Braking surface - Tracking?

READYBREK

I recently bought a wheelset for a fixie build. The wheels are not tracked(I think this is what it is called) for braking. i.e no braking surface.

For safety I want to put brakes on the bike.

Does anyone know of anywhere in Dublin that can do this job? Is this something that can be done in lbs?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

ednwireland

if they havent got a brakeing surface my guess is they are not designed to have one, i'm guessing they are track wheels ?

TinyExplosions

READYBREK wrote: »

I recently bought a wheelset for a fixie build. The wheels are not tracked(I think this is what it is called) for braking. i.e no braking surface.

For safety I want to put brakes on the bike.

Does anyone know of anywhere in Dublin that can do this job? Is this something that can be done in lbs?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Cheers

In a word, probably not. Rims with a braking surface usually have quite a different profile to rims that don't...

For example, there is no braking surface on this rim:


There is one on this rim:


So you can see that it's not straightforward to change a non braking rim to a braking one.

There are some people that will run brakes on rims that aren't designed for it, but that's not a good idea imo

Bluefoam

You should invest in one of these:

Chips Lovell

As Tiny pointed out, a lot of track wheels have no braking surface. You'll need to change them.

READYBREK

ednwireland wrote: »

if they havent got a brakeing surface my guess is they are not designed to have one, i'm guessing they are track wheels ?

Yes, i bought them on ebay-

Description: NEW Track Bike Fixed Gear SS Wheel SET Cog Freewheel/flip flop

They are perfect for the bike, but dangerous with no breaks.

ednwireland

READYBREK wrote: »

Yes, i bought them on ebay-

Description: NEW Track Bike Fixed Gear SS Wheel SET Cog Freewheel/flip flop

They are perfect for the bike, but dangerous with no breaks.

thers your prob, track bikes dont have brakes

Morgan

You can still use brakes even if your rim doesn't have a machined braking surface - but performance won't be great. As long as there's a vertical braking surface on the rim it'll be OK. The paint will gradually wear off (and look crap) improving things slightly.

READYBREK

Balls!

TinyExplosions

I've also realized how filthy dirty my rims are in the pictures above... apologies to all Euro types who are offended by the filth... when clean, the rims look lovely though

TinyExplosions

Morgan wrote: »

You can still use brakes even if your rim doesn't have a machined braking surface - but performance won't be great. As long as there's a vertical braking surface on the rim it'll be OK. The paint will gradually wear off (and look crap) improving things slightly.

Very few track rims have enough vertical area ime, most are similar to the pic I posted above (though not always as deep)

Morgan

The wheels are listed as singlespeed too so they're not pure track wheels.

(Pics not appearing for me btw)

Lumen

Morgan wrote: »

The wheels are listed as singlespeed too so they're not pure track wheels.

This is ebay we're talking about, the place where I once spent money on a "signed photograph" that was actually a "photograph of a signed photograph".

Morgan

Lumen wrote: »

This is ebay we're talking about, the place where I once spent money on a "signed photograph" that was actually a "photograph of a signed photograph".

Why would you want a signed photograph of a pair of wheels?

READYBREK

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-Track-Bike-Fixed-Gear-SS-Wheel-SET-Cog-Freewheel-GN-/380104199350?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item587ff9ccb6

These are actually the ones I got. They have enough vertical space for brakes as I have brakes fitted, they just dont stop very well and are very noisy!

TinyExplosions

Morgan wrote: »

The wheels are listed as singlespeed too so they're not pure track wheels.

(Pics not appearing for me btw)

Bloody twitpic stopping serving up my lovely H+Sons...

@READYBREK, I think you're best bet is a new front wheel (if you're fixed) or pair if you're Single Speed... alternately, get an angle grinder and remove the paint/powder coating from the vertical part of the rim that you want to break against and it may help

Morgan

H+ Sons are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to braking surfaces.

It's most likely the mystery eBay wheels have a braking surface, just painted. Just put on a brake and quit worrying.

TinyExplosions

Morgan wrote: »

H+ Sons are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to braking surfaces.

It's most likely the mystery eBay wheels have a braking surface, just painted. Just put on a brake and quit worrying.

I don't know about that... most of the manufacturers (outside of the 'pure' track ones) do have the option of a braking surface (velocity etc), but they aren't that popular and you usually have to custom order them...

If I have the ebay wheels, I'd be tempted to not worry too much, but also don't want to give out potential leathal advice on t'internets

READYBREK

I wouldnt say "worrying" is what Im doing, more just looking for a solution to a problem.

I have a brake on and they dont work properly and squeak like a mf!

IM0

why does this come to mind?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsP38IVTLW8