Life expectancy of A23 rims

[mmfs]

What is the life expectancy of bike rims?

My Velocity A23 rear rim has become noticeably concave (maybe 1mm?) on the braking surface after about 6000 miles. Is this reasonable mileage?

The same happened with my previous A23 rim, which Velocity gave me a warranty replacement for.

650b size, 38 mm or 42 mm tires, Kool Stop salmon brake pads, riding in a variety of conditions (including rain).

[ColonelJLloyd]

My A23s have a brake wear divot. Mileage is not a good metric for rim life/wear for obvious reasons. That's why there are brake wear indicators.

[cinema]

they're really soft. they don't last long. I've killed two sets of a23 wheels before moving on. I weigh 130ish.

[dem]

25,000 miles on a set before I tossed 'em, mostly due to a big ding on the rear wheel. Didn't seem super concave, although the tracks were pretty scored.

I use SwissStop blue pads (BXP)

[oldpotatoe]

What is the life expectancy of bike rims?

My Velocity A23 rear rim has become noticeably concave (maybe 1mm?) on the braking surface after about 6000 miles. Is this reasonable mileage?

The same happened with my previous A23 rim, which Velocity gave me a warranty replacement for.

650b size, 38 mm or 42 mm tires, Kool Stop salmon brake pads, riding in a variety of conditions (including rain).

Depends on a lot. Dry weather, long time, wet, sandy, mucky with lotsa braking? Less.

As to the above, being 'soft' and don't last long
they're really soft. they don't last long. I've killed two sets of a23 wheels before moving on. I weigh 130ish.

..well, YMMV. I built a hundred or so and they build well, last on par with most modern bike rims.

[bward1028]

I had one last for about 2 miles before it got unusablely dinged, and I usually wear rims out instead of destroying them.

They build up ok if you know what you are doing. You could basically build them into any shape you want because they are so soft.

I think quality varies a lot between batches, and there appeared to be some changes in quality when they moved production to the US.

[jbay]

I wore out the sidewalls of a practically new pair of A23s in a single two hundred mile ride. Admittedly it was a very hilly, wet two hundred miles on dirt roads, but their wear rate in more benign conditions always seemed excessive too. Also, and in similar fashion to that mentioned by others in his thread, I found them to be the most easily dinged rims I have ever used - and I never used them with less than a 32mm tyre and never even got a pinch flat. Factor in their minuscule brake track height, which calls for supreme accuracy when aligning brake pads, especially as cantilever or centre-pull pads wear, and I have all the motivation I need to choose something else to replace them.

That said, I use disc brakes 95% of the time these days, so my remaining pair of A23s are lasting very well. :rolleyes:

— John

[mmfs]

It seems like one other option in the 650b rim brake world is the Pacenti Brevet. Anyone have experience with that?

[rowebr]

What is the life expectancy of bike rims?

My Velocity A23 rear rim has become noticeably concave (maybe 1mm?) on the braking surface after about 6000 miles. Is this reasonable mileage?

The same happened with my previous A23 rim, which Velocity gave me a warranty replacement for.

650b size, 38 mm or 42 mm tires, Kool Stop salmon brake pads, riding in a variety of conditions (including rain).

I think it matters a great deal what kind of miles you put on them.

I have two A23 wheelsets right now, both with several thousand miles of use and there is no discernible wear on the brake tracks. Kool Stop salmon pads. However, both sets have mostly been used for fun stuff like group riding, not much in foul weather and not too much stopping and starting. But a friend of mine wore out the brake track on an A23 wheel in just one winter of commuting.