Always inspect your bike - example of a cracked rim

Here's a good example that when overhauling or just cleaning a bike you need to also perform a careful inspection for damage.

I was working on a friend's bike and when I got to cleaning the rear wheel I got a surprise. I noticed cracks around the eyelets of the rim on his rear wheel. The rim is a 36 spoke Mavic Open Pro so it should be plenty strong, but the rider is a Clydesdale and the rim are several years old.

This picture shows the worse of cracks. The cracks are so bad I declined to attempt to true the wheel and strongly recommended the rim or entire wheel be replaced. Being a Clydesdale myself I recommended what I normally ride which are Velocity Deep V rims with 36 spokes in the rear and 32 or 36 spokes in the front. I have found this combination to be near bullet proof.