Is this dangerous..?

Hello you lot.

I've just got back in from a damp and soggy ride home. My undercrackers are still wet, but that's by-the-by.

I was just wiping my rims down and tweezing the bits of glass out of my tyres when I spotted this.

Crappy iPhone pics I know, but what we have here is a small crack.
It runs along the seam of the rim, but the seem is turning into a crack at the top of the clinch.
I've not had the tyre off to examine it so I can't tell you if it goes through the rim. From the looks of it I would guess so.

Now, these rims are well old and I've been getting ready to treat myself to a new wheelset altogether but I guess this might make it sooner rather than later.

My question is this.
Is this a "stop riding it now the shit is dangerous" kind of crack...?
Or can I get away with it until payday when I can afford a new rear wheel set up...?

Any opinions/flame/guidance welcome.

Are you sure it isn't the joint?

Yeah. It definately isn't the joint.
It runs along the joint and seperates at the top.

But the brake surface is laid on top of the rim's joint.

i think the technical term for that is 'it's proper fucked mate'.

get some gaffa tape to it, STAT.*

*do not do this

dibs the underwear.

look out as i had a rim that had a hair line crack slight ding, going down a hill it simply gave way blew the tyrwe and gave way, could have been very nasty, luckily i am a very slow cyclist!

Replace it!

Inconclusive so far.

Pot - you don't want to dibs that. Really. S'not right.

The only way.^^ With dental calipers FTW.

It looks like the rim joint if the sticker is opposite the valve. If the rim is pinned, no problem. If it is a welded/machined job, more of a problem.

can't tell from the pic if we're looking at a vertical crack or one that follows around the braking surface of the rim?

either is bad. braking surfaces wear out, as quickly as a week for mtb's in "perfect grinding paste" type of mud. vertical is mega bad

Araldite is your friend. I got a crack in a spoke hole, araldited then rode it for about 3-4 months..

But I am ghetto.

Circled it to be clear.
Mad potatoskills on display.

It is a vertical split, one side definately sits higher than the other.

Whatever the specific verdict is, looks like I'm in the market for a new rear rim/wheel.

MADSKILLLZ does the wheel have a ding there or warp ?? looks like the natural join, but you said it aint already..er im not sure

might just be the join. I remember when mavic rim's with 'SUP' stickers on em were considered extreme fanciery, now its just standard to have a perfect braking surface.

if you think its just a join (there should be only 1) it'll be fine, just eats into your brake pads.

Cracked aluminium can fail catastrophically at any time. It might last for weeks if you ride light and it could go tomorrow if you hit a bump... I'd be going shopping this weekend if I were you.

i am with Gav on this, the potential risk is not worth it

Araldite??????

Fucken hell.

can you get your finger nail under the thing? not the bit immediatly circled (join line) but the radial line to the left of the circle?

could be that was the manufacturers join and then with wear its torn vertically and is coming away.

If the wheel is old as you say and you are looking to get a new set of wheels go do it before you land on your head.
Your life must be worth more than the cost of a pair of reasonanble wheels.
(See the Planet X site for cheap Fulcrum 7's, Think there at £ 77.00 in the sale. OK not the best wheels in the world but solid and safe.)
Really is not worth risking the wheels if you have any doubts.
Why not pop into your lbs for an 1st hand opinion?

nah, fuck it

avoiding the potential for a wheel to fail and get crushed by a bus is not worth the cost of a new wheel,

your suggestion is madness

It'll be fine. If it goes bang, it goes bang. You skid to a stop or fall off.

I say take the risk.

you can get new front teeth pretty cheaply in eastern europe these days i hear
so don't worry about your rim falling apart

The only way.^^ With dental calipers FTW.

It looks like the rim joint if the sticker is opposite the valve. If the rim is pinned, no problem. If it is a welded/machined job, more of a problem.

Just looks like a pinned joint to me. Some of the cheaper ones start out with an edge you can catch your nail on and then any bit that is not actually subjected to brake wear stays like that. Also here is a more reasonably priced (£7) tool that could measure rim thickness: http://www.tickintimeworldofwatchtools.co.uk/jewellers-thickness-reading-gauge-00-15mm-949-p.asp
EDIT: also Chris Juden of the CTC has come up with a cheap method, if you already have a vernier gauge, using a section of old 2mm. spoke bent round so it contacts either side of the rim, I am still trying to track down his instructions, but here is a picture that should make it fairly clear:

Chris says rim failure is around 0.5-0.7mm. so replace anything at or close to 0.7.

I have a fluro yellow halo aerorage rear wheel i want rid of if your interested...

This is not a valid excuse for an Arrospok