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Bad Boy rims damaged by V brakes

6K views 29 replies 8 participants last post by  pimpbot 
#1 · (Edited)
Black paint on rims of Bad Boy worn by V brakes

Hi everybody

I recently purchased a Cannondale Bad Boy 2010 V brake which I absolutely love.

The problem is that even though I have only been riding it for a couple of months where the brake pads come in contact with the rims the colour has worn away and they now have great big silver circles which ruin the look of the bike what with it being an all black bike..

Is this normal? is it not possible to use v brakes with black rims without ruining the colour?

Have any of you had the same problem?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
I picked up a Bad Boy today & had my mind set on the V Brake until I saw your post.
I asked in my LBS & they confirmed that it is normal for the brake to remove the paint from the rim over time.
Not great news for you but I kind of owe you a thanks for the heads up.

I ended up with a custom Bad Boy Disc.
 
#3 ·
Oh well! At least my post did some good!

I wish I had gone for the disc version. You are going to love this bike, I cant get enough of it, I find myself taking the longest possible root to were I'm going just for the ride.

I just wish I had the disc version cause this has spoiled the look of the bike.
 
#4 ·
Hi everybody

I recently purchased a Cannondale Bad Boy 2010 V brake which I absolutely love.

The problem is that even though I have only been riding it for a couple of months where the brake pads come in contact with the rims the colour has worn away and they now have great big silver circles which ruin the look of the bike what with it being an all black bike..

Is this normal? is it not possible to use v brakes with black rims without ruining the colour?

Have any of you had the same problem?

Thanks
So basically, you are agonizing that your rims dont match the color of your bike. and how old are you? :rolleyes: Cheer up man, V-brakes are lighter, cheaper, easier to fix, easier to find for sale, easier to install and less problematic than disc brakes.
 
#5 ·
You might have had the incorrect rim installed at the factory.....normally all v brake bikes' rims come with a machined / silver braking surface. if you had all black rims it could mean the rims are disc specific and would then not be designed for the forces of the v brake squishing them...this could lead to a very abrupt failure and possibly to a bad crash.
I would go back to the LBS where you bought it and ask him to have a look.

either that or make sure your dental insurance is paid up.
 
#17 ·
Yep, that's normal for any anodized/painted rim with V-brakes. Every time the brakes are applied, a little aluminum is worn away, along with any coating. My Bad Boy looks like this too, although I have since upgraded to disc brakes. Personally, I don't think that it looks bad. But if it really bugs you, perhaps consider upgrading to disc brakes, and then painting your rims.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the info TobyGadd, I just wanted to know if this has happened to any other badboy vbrake owners and you have just confirmed that.

Yes I was thinking of upgrading to discs but cant afford to at the moment. But I think you have to change the wheels too cause these rims dont take discs apparently
 
#19 ·
You shouldn't need to change your wheels to upgrade to disc brakes. All V-brake rims work fine with disc brakes, but the opposite isn't always true. Check your hubs--if they have bolt holes for discs, then all you need to do buy some disc brakes and put them on. That's what I did with my Bad Boy, and it's worked out great.

You could, of course, just stay with the V-brakes. The silver-sided rims are actually kind of cool, in my opinion. I only changed my brakes because I wanted my mountain-bike and commuter to have a more similar feel.
 
#30 ·
It's not paint....



... It's anodizing.

Anodizing is basically a dye that is applied in an acid tank under an electrical charge, and leaves a nice corrosion resistant layer. You can't exactly mask your item to chose where the anodizing goes, either. It basically stains the first 10 microns of the aluminum.

So some will wear off. Nice thing about aluminum is when it corrodes, it corrodes in a way that seals itself... unlike steel which rusts and the rust keeps eating away until its all gone.
 
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