Mavics carbon rims and glue remover, a big no no!!?

[wheelsONfire]

I'd thought i would like to share some of the discussions i had with Mavic, regarding CCU.

This concerns, pads, glue removal and possible revised rim width.

My concerns with the braking in wet. I don't like Mavics standard yellow pads.
Last year, Mavic told me SwissStop Black prince and yellow pads were OK with their rims (warranty is intact with SwissStop).
I also asked if they tested latest revision of Reynolds cryo blue.
As far as the cryo blue, they say they are not OK with CCU rims (possible miss match with resin and compound) and they found braking was no better than Mavic original pads.
Further, now they prefered usage of only Mavic pads.

Glue removal. This is something i am glad i asked!
No such agents should be used on the rims. We should scrape glue bumps off with something like a screwdriver.
Glue removal reacts chemically with the resin in the rim and actually damage the durability of the rim.

Wider rims and/ or higher depth version CCU. No revision is in sight. Mavic rely on the fact that pro riders ride with 25mm tires and very much love these wheels.
So, nothing will be revised in near future.

[ergott]

Glue removal reacts chemically with the resin in the rim and actually damage the durability of the rim.

Either the person you spoke to doesn't understand carbon or Mavic is doing carbon wrong. Nothing wrong with acetone on any other carbon when I've asked other manufacturers.

[Calnago]

Acetone is fine for cleaning, but does little in my experience to help with glue removal. I tried to get a hold of some Schwalbe Tubular glue remover but the Schwalbe distributor in the US can't bring it in (don't know if this has changed). Anyway, I found a product by Kleenstrip (think that's the brand) and it is an adhesive remover which works on mastiks, among other things. Used mostly for floors probably but I've found it indispensable for removing glue from my carbon Boras. The surface is like new each time. I don't like just adding layers to old glue. So far no problems whatsoever. I suspect it's s very similar product to the Schwalbe Glue Remover.

[kavitator]

If mavic has rim filled with foam acetone could be problem

[HammerTime2]

I tried to get a hold of some Schwalbe Tubular glue remover but the Schwalbe distributor in the US can't bring it in (don't know if this has changed).

Here you go. http://www.tiremaniacs.com/schwalbe_tubular_glue_remover___100_ml-details.aspx

[wheelsONfire]

Yes, i find it a bit strange that this is what they came up with.
If i have questions, i ask Mavic mp3 as this seems to be the only way to get answers directly from Mavic. These questions i had, were sent from UK to Mavic in France.

I can't either get it why a glue remover should be an issue.
Only time i actually can see a problem, is if you have managed to cut through the surface layer (brake track, rim side or bead of rim) so the carbon in itself can soak up the glue remover (or any other agent).
This could probably be a problem. Neither would i like to scrape glue with any sharp object that risk to damage surface of rim bead.
Funny that you mentioned Schwalbe, i bought a set of tires, glue, glue remover and the secret sauce that prevents puncture from Schwalbe.

I was previously told to use Scotch none scratch pads to clean rim bead from glue. Anyone of you using these pads?

Thanks for input!

[LouisN]

I've used paint thinner to remove tubular glue very effectively for years, without any effect on carbon, or clercoat.

Can't speak for Mavic carbon or finish though. I've used it on FFWD and Asian OEM rims.

Louis

[11.4]

Mavic never has had a consistent voice when it comes to technical issues on their wheels. The right people to talk to are the national tech reps at Mavic, either in the US (if you are American) or in France. Among other things, they manage the support wheel systems and also the large track wheel collection (Io's and Comete's) that they supply at World Cups, Worlds, etc. They clean their own wheels with a profusion of solvents. They always finish up with acetone to remove whatever else might have been left behind by other solvents. They do avoid toluene-, xylene- and methylene chloride-containing solvents simply because those can damage the finish of the carbon and because of toxicity. It IS important to protect your decals and labels, especially on Mavic wheels -- either don't let solvent near them or tape over them securely before using solvents -- but that should be a rule for all wheels.

I avoid exotic solvents because they may not have been tested when designing the resins for a particular wheel, and I avoid the unspecified "mixed petroleum distillates" kind of products -- those are just waste fractions from a refinery and can contain oil residues, a wide range of potentially awkward agents, and worst, they can vary from one month to the next because the packager buys the stuff just as a general class of product and not because it is precisely defined. We've tried them all, at length, and by every application method we've ever heard of. If you are sloppy with any of them you may live to rue it, but we've never seen a problem with a resin on modern quality rims. There's no saying what's used in some cheap Asian rims, so I'd be pretty cautious there. Acetone tends to be one of the safest, but it evaporates so fast you go through quite a bit and cleanup actually takes longer because you have to keep reapplying it. We found that we'd buy some heavy twill tape and fasten it snugly in the rim bed and then add the acetone to the tape till it was saturated. It kept the acetone from running all over everything and it slowed evaporation so the glue would soften more. A few rounds of solvent, then toss the tape and use a scorp or other scraper of your choice to work the glue off. The glue needs to be softened but if it's too soft and sticky, it's actually harder to remove. One thing about acetone is that it doesn't cause residual damage to the rim cement, which we've seen with some of the mixes. That means you don't have to remove every last bit of glue to get rid of contamination, just get the glue down to the level you can work with.