Cleaning Rims?

[Zack]

Any protips for cleaning rims?

i have seen people talk about using super light grade sandpaper, simplegreen, rubbing alcohol, soap and water, etc.

what do you guys do to clean up your rims? 

I currently have some dirty rims, and i can hear the dirt on the front wheel when i am braking, so i am pretty sure i need to clean the pads and the rim up, wondering what is best method to do it!

[PATRICK MOORE]

I'm one more who wants to know. The rims on the Ken Rogers are ancient
Weinmanns and the aluminum is dull and somewhat spot-stained -- not
dirty as in dust or mud or road grime.

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[PATRICK MOORE]

Oh, forgot to add: to clean brake pads, medium sandpaper.

[Steve Palincsar]

On Sat, 2012-05-12 at 15:11 -0700, Zack wrote:
>
> I currently have some dirty rims, and i can hear the dirt on the front
> wheel when i am braking, so i am pretty sure i need to clean the pads
> and the rim up, wondering what is best method to do it!

Betcha that's not dirt on the rims you're hearing, but rather embedded
bits of metal in the brake pads. I dig them out with a needle or awl.

[Michael Hechmer]

Steve may be right, but the other possibility is tar and gravel, especially if you have ridden through some road construction sites.  Mineral spirits will work, of course, but I have found an old stand bye, Bon Ami, which is a mix of limestone, feldspar, coconut, corn, soda ash, and baking soda, to be a very effective and safe cleaning agent for grease and oil.

Michael

[Zack]

brake pads are pretty much brand new, so i am guessing is not embedded metal, but i'll check and sand the pads to be sure.  maybe i should have roughed them up with some sandpaper before i used em?  

so that's one vote for bon ami - any other cleansers?

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 6:11:14 PM UTC-4, Zack wrote:

[Frank Quan]

> Any protips for cleaning rims?

I use Pledge wipes for a weekly wipe-down and rubbing alcohol for
stubborn marks..

[Zack]

Frank -

you use pledge wipes as in the furniture polish?  doesn't that make it challenging to stop?  

[LF]

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 6:11:14 PM UTC-4, Zack wrote:

Any protips for cleaning rims? <snip>

what do you guys do to clean up your rims? 

Kool Stop Continental Brake Pads is what I use. Although any decent brake pad will do.
JB, a pro if there ever was one, once advised a nice ride in the rain, and some down hill intermittent brake use. The wet road grit does a good job of cleaning the rims. Sounds good to me. Quick, get your poncho and head for the hills, before the sky clears!

Best,
Larry "bike commuting in rainy New England" Fieman

[Jeremy Till]

+1 for the noise probably being metal or sand embedded in your brake pads.  Dirt big enough to make noise generally doesn't stick to rims (unless, as Michael said, there's tar or some other sticky substance involved), but you'd be amazed at how fast brake pads pick stuff up.  In fact, if there is dirt on the rims, it's usually picked up by the pads the first time you brake.  I use a sharpened spoke to dig stuff out of brake pads.

At the shop where I work, we use a standard diluted orange degreaser to clean wheels, but you have to be careful since it can leave a filmy residue.  I usually clean all of the grime (mostly brake pad residue) off of the wheels, then wipe down the brake tracks with a clean rag. 

[Zack]

'twas indeed embedded metal, there was a ton of it.  i have no idea how that happened, brake pads are like three weeks old.  

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 6:11:14 PM UTC-4, Zack wrote: