|   Ceramic chip repairable? | Mikey
Nov 21, 2002 12:45 PM | | Just got this 3/8" chuck of ceramic taken off of my front RaceLite rim (not tubeless) in a crash, resulting in thumping feedback on each revolution when braking. There's also a slight indentation in the rim.
Replacement rim is $100 + rebuild labor. Can I repair this, and if so with what?
Thanks
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| Not likely... | GregR
Nov 23, 2002 6:52 AM | | You have two problems here, the dent and the chip in the ceramic. The anodizing on the racelite is pretty hard and when you try to bend the lip of the rim back into place it will likely crack, or at the very least have stress fractures. Bending it back will also likely cause more of the ceramic to break loose.
I never heard of any successful attempts to patch a ceramic chip. This is one of the major weaknesses of ceramic rims, when they chip you might as well toss them.
To get better wet performance, you are better off going to a disc brake setup. |
| possible repair | jw25
Nov 25, 2002 2:00 PM | | I've heard of people using epoxy resin to fill ceramic chips. I've not tried it, as I was lucky enough not to chip the ceramics I owned for a year.
I'd use the strongest type you can find - stay away from the 5-minute versions. Maybe something like J.B. Weld would be best - visit a decent hardware store and pick something.
Also, realize that filling the chip won't solve the thumping issue, but it will prevent a sharp edge from eating your pads away. If you had standard rims, I'd say bend them back, but with ceramic, you face a bigger chip.
Good luck. |
| I expoxied it, hopefully it holds up | Mikey
Nov 26, 2002 2:49 PM | | Given the alternative of about $135 for a new rim & rebuild, I decided to try epoxy and I'll see how well it holds up.
I bought a "2-ton" epoxy, not the 5-minute kind. Straightened the rim dent (which loosened some more ceramic), picked any loose ceramic so that the remaining edges were firmly bonded to the rim, sanded a little to smooth the edge transition, and put on a thin layer of epoxy making sure to "seal" at the ceramic edges.
I put in two rides so far on it - a 25-mile road ride and a 10-mile off-road ride with steep descents requiring hard braking. Feels good as new. Can't feel any pulsing when braking.
Epoxied rim: |
| good job .. nm | GregR
Nov 27, 2002 6:59 AM | | |
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