Hello, I'm new.... And a brake question!

[Gingertimmins]

Hi guys and gals, this is my first post. I originally joined as I have some questions about my bike however, following a lazy cycle with my girlfriend today, I have a question about her bike.

She has an old Raleigh caprice ane she loves it but the brakes are terrible. It's the same old issue of chromed steel rims.
Are there any specialist brake pads that could be used to improve braking? From my research I seem to think that even the improved pads are far from good?
I'm considering buying some alloy rims and rebuilding the wheels. I did consider just buying new wheels but then theres the gear hub to consider so I thought maybe I could use the existing spokes and hub and build them into a new rim. Is this even a thing?
As you can probably guess I don have experience in this but it would be a great skill to learn with the added bonus of not having my bike off the road for any period of time!

I do have a set of mavic wheels that I could spare but they are 700c with a 38mm tyre and don't think they would fit without a lot of fettling. And then of course there is the hub gear to consider.

Has anyone gone through this before?

Thanks,
Chris

[Mick F]

Welcome to the forum.

Has anyone gone through this before?

Yes, and I would expect loads of us have done too.

Steel rims are awful for braking.
The best thing to do, is forget trying to find better brake blocks, and find some aluminium rims and have the wheels rebuilt.
I would think her wheels are 27" wheels, so the ability to find new rims is limited and no doubt they will have to be 36h.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rims-27-630/

[Gingertimmins]

Welcome to the forum.

Has anyone gone through this before?

Yes, and I would expect loads of us have done too.

Steel rims are awful for braking.
The best thing to do, is forget trying to find better brake blocks, and find some aluminium rims and have the wheels rebuilt.
I would think her wheels are 27" wheels, so the ability to find new rims is limited and no doubt they will have to be 36h.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rims-27-630/

New rims- just as I thought!
I'm sorry, I should have included details about wheel sizes. the tyre says 37 590 on the size which I have tracked down to be a 26x 1 3/8 wheel.
If I were to find some rims matching that spec could I assume that all of the other bits from the existing wheels (spokes and hubs) would fit the new rims?

[Gingertimmins]

I know they're cheap but would these do the trick?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Rigida-Po ... WBfgVuqYwA

[Graham]

Welcome to the forum.

Beginner beware.

No, in order to reuse the spokes you will need an exact match to the ERD ( Effective Rim Diameter ). **
This will be a challenge in itself. There are previous long topics about measuring this dimension on this forum.

I suggest that you find a competent professional wheelbuilder to do this task.
- for your peace-of-mind and that of your partner. ( safety )
- to minimise the period when the bike is out of action.
- to avoid the multitude of pitfalls that the beginner needs to identify and resolve.

Start with a less safety-critical, wheel-building / rim-swapping project.

** there may be some leeway here, but experience / trial will tell whether you can go a mm or two over / under on the ERD match.

[Gingertimmins]

Welcome to the forum.

Beginner beware.

No, in order to reuse the spokes you will need an exact match to the ERD ( Effective Rim Diameter ). **
This will be a challenge in itself. There are previous long topics about measuring this dimension on this forum.

I suggest that you find a competent professional wheelbuilder to do this task.
- for your peace-of-mind and that of your partner. ( safety )
- to minimise the period when the bike is out of action.
- to avoid the multitude of pitfalls that the beginner needs to identify and resolve.

Start with a less safety-critical, wheel-building / rim-swapping project.

** there may be some leeway here, but experience / trial will tell whether you can go a mm or two over / under on the ERD match.

Solid advice. thanks! I do understand that wheel building is quite a specialist area and if you say that it would be unsafe for me to do it then I will take that on board and steer clear!


Can anyone recommend a wheel builder in Bristol?

[Mike Sales]

Give wheelbuilding a try. Everyone begins somewhere. I learned from a book. That wheel lasted many miles. After hundreds of wheels I am just faster.

[Gingertimmins]

Give wheelbuilding a try. Everyone begins somewhere. I learned from a book. That wheel lasted many miles. After hundreds of wheels I am just faster.

Hmmm, i do have an old fixie that needs a new front wheel. maybe I could try that out as the furthest I go on it is down to the local shops.

What are the wheel building essentials with regards to parts and tools. Am I right in thinking I'd need a spoke wrench, some new spokes and a rim?

[531colin]

Is this a Ladies Raleigh Caprice with a step-through frame and 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub gear?
I don't want to be a bike snob, but if the two of you get interested in cycling and want to do (for example) day rides in the hills, then your GF will very soon want and need something with more gears and very probably lighter weight as well.
So, a very cheap (and also very quick and dirty) thing to do is to to remove the chrome plate from the bit of her existing rims where the brake pads go. Bare steel is a great deal better than chrome plate for braking friction, although not as good as ali and the right brake pads.
you will need to take the wheels off the bike, and the tyres and tubes off the wheels, and take the chrome off the brake track with an electric drill and fine grade abrasive paper for metal on a backing disc.

[Mike Sales]

Give wheelbuilding a try. Everyone begins somewhere. I learned from a book. That wheel lasted many miles. After hundreds of wheels I am just faster.

Hmmm, i do have an old fixie that needs a new front wheel. maybe I could try that out as the furthest I go on it is down to the local shops.

What are the wheel building essentials with regards to parts and tools. Am I right in thinking I'd need a spoke wrench, some new spokes and a rim?

Just the spoke key really, if the old parts are reusable. New bits make it easier. Your frame serves as a jig.

[Gingertimmins]

Is this a Ladies Raleigh Caprice with a step-through frame and 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub gear?
I don't want to be a bike snob, but if the two of you get interested in cycling and want to do (for example) day rides in the hills, then your GF will very soon want and need something with more gears and very probably lighter weight as well.
So, a very cheap (and also very quick and dirty) thing to do is to to remove the chrome plate from the bit of her existing rims where the brake pads go. Bare steel is a great deal better than chrome plate for braking friction, although not as good as ali and the right brake pads.
you will need to take the wheels off the bike, and the tyres and tubes off the wheels, and take the chrome off the brake track with an electric drill and fine grade abrasive paper for metal on a backing disc.

You are correct about the bike!
I'm very much into cycling and have a road bike which I use to commute daily and occasionally some longer rides but try as I might, she's just not that interested.
I have tried to persuade her to get a lighter, more modern bike but for her the most important aspect of the bike is how it looks. Silly, I know!
All she wants is to be able to occasionally bimble along a shared foot/cycle path.

Give wheelbuilding a try. Everyone begins somewhere. I learned from a book. That wheel lasted many miles. After hundreds of wheels I am just faster.

Hmmm, i do have an old fixie that needs a new front wheel. maybe I could try that out as the furthest I go on it is down to the local shops.

What are the wheel building essentials with regards to parts and tools. Am I right in thinking I'd need a spoke wrench, some new spokes and a rim?

Just the spoke key really, if the old parts are reusable. New bits make it easier. Your frame serves as a jig.

I think spokes qould be essential as the fixie I mentioned has a pretty messed up wheel. Any advice on buying spokes?

[Mike Sales]

Online spoke length calculators. Sources known better to others.

[mjr]

There are steel- specific brake pads from Fibrax which will work better. It may well still not be enough but at about a fiver, it's a fairly cheap and fairly easy thing to try. Some pads intended for aluminium rims can be really useless on steel.

Don't push the bike snobbery. I love my three speeds. Even the one currently being cantankerous. Higher efficiency, standing shift and simpler gear choice have much to recommend them... and the ticking as one cruises in top is just bliss for a while. Just keep it topped up with oil and correctly adjusted and it'll usually run like clockwork, too.

[Cyril Haearn]

Is this a Ladies Raleigh Caprice with a step-through frame and 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub gear?
I don't want to be a bike snob, but if the two of you get interested in cycling and want to do (for example) day rides in the hills, then your GF will very soon want and need something with more gears and very probably lighter weight as well.
So, a very cheap (and also very quick and dirty) thing to do is to to remove the chrome plate from the bit of her existing rims where the brake pads go. Bare steel is a great deal better than chrome plate for braking friction, although not as good as ali and the right brake pads.
you will need to take the wheels off the bike, and the tyres and tubes off the wheels, and take the chrome off the brake track with an electric drill and fine grade abrasive paper for metal on a backing disc.

How long will the rims last with the protecting chrome removed, will they soon rust away?

[djnotts]

All the above (other than removing the chrome!) are very probably more expensive and more time/trouble than a 50 quid bike from local ads.