CSS rims - has anyone worn one out yet?

[geocycle]

As an update to my original post - the brake blocks have just been replaced for the first time at about 24,000km. The rims are still true and without noticable wear.

That's phenomenal.  I made the mistake of buying a spare set of pads when i moved to css rims.  I can guarantee I will not be able to find them when the time comes!

[wowbagger]

I'm thinking about replacing the front rim of my Thorn Raven Sport Tour. This will be the second change. First 10000 miles were on Sun Rhyno. I've got Rigida Andra non-carbide and I've just passed 20000 miles. I think I've got another couple of thousand miles left in them, but have already bought the Rigida Andra CSS rim as a replacement. It's been sitting beside my desk awaiting its call of duty!

Incidentally, the original Panaracer Pasela tyre lasted longer than the Sun Rhyno rim: I changed it at 11000 miles. The current PP still has loads of tread left on it at 9000 miles' use. I use Marathons on the rear wheel though. I'm over 110 kg and PPs wear out in 1500 miles on the back!

My wife and I broke a Rigida Andra CSS rim on our tandem. According to Robin Thorn, they've never before seen one of these having been broken. Mind you, we've also cracked the flanges of 3 Rohloffs. The 4t, with reinfocing ring, has now had over 2 years' use and seems fine.

We got about 4000 miles out of Swissstop Blue blocks on the tandem.

[spokenword]

I think you may have seen me post, in another place, a couple of months ago, that I replaced my Swisstop blues after 14'000 miles and they were not realy desperate then. I'd actually carried the replacements as spares from LE to JOG 18 months earlier but better safe than sorry.
I'm sure that I've read that my Deore hubs are likely to wear out before the CSS rims and I can't see any signs of wear yet

[zerodish]

I had a Mavic ceramic crack the second wall separated from the sidewall. The crack was barely visible but it was enough to cause the brake to lock up. Granted the CSS is quite a bit heavier than the Mavic but the ceramic coating will make the rim brittle.

[mylesau]

CSS aren't ceramic?  They are made by embedding Tungsten Carbide into the rim.