So I recently went from the original steel wheel on my Motobecane to an aluminum alloy rim. The old steel wheel had the textured braking surface that I've seen on most of these old steel rims. I kept the same brake pads that I'd been using on the steel wheel. Ever since I've had the new wheel, the brakes don't seem have what I would consider an adequate amount of friction on the rim.
I looked around online a couple days ago and some people were saying that this might have been from even a tiny spot of oil or grease on the braking surface, so I cleaned the rim with some 409. No change from that. Others said that the pads would need to be sanded, as the srufaces may have "glazed" and weren't suitable to make friction. So I pulled the pads off and the surfaces were pretty polished and shiny looking, so I laid some sandpaper on the workbench and sanded them down. Went for a ride today and still had terrible braking on that wheel.
So now the question is, what the hell? LOL. Do I just need to start with new pads? Is there a different compound that gives better friction on alloy rims? I've been cleaning, and sanding and adjusting and getting pretty frustrated with having crappy brakes...
I looked around online a couple days ago and some people were saying that this might have been from even a tiny spot of oil or grease on the braking surface, so I cleaned the rim with some 409. No change from that. Others said that the pads would need to be sanded, as the srufaces may have "glazed" and weren't suitable to make friction. So I pulled the pads off and the surfaces were pretty polished and shiny looking, so I laid some sandpaper on the workbench and sanded them down. Went for a ride today and still had terrible braking on that wheel.
So now the question is, what the hell? LOL. Do I just need to start with new pads? Is there a different compound that gives better friction on alloy rims? I've been cleaning, and sanding and adjusting and getting pretty frustrated with having crappy brakes...