Noisy brakes & rough front rim

[RolliePollie]

Hey whaddya talkin'?!! 75 miles a week is not an "only"!!

I want to do closer to 100 a week! But unfortunately, that darned job of mine makes it hard to ride as often as I'd like. And also unfortuntately, the 75 is usually one flat 35-40 mile ride and two 18-20 mile rides. I'd much rather be doing 5-6 days of shorter rides. Uh oh, am I doing that thread drift thing?

Back to the brakes...why the heck did Trek put this combination of rims and pads together if they don't get along well? I am learning a lot about how much money you can easily spend upgrading even an entry level bike. But it's worth it so I'm really not complaining. I'll just have to add "really good wheels" to my wish list for a new bike that I'll be purchasing SOMEDAY!!! In the meantime, I'll become an expert at removing those tiny shards of metal. And I'll go look for the Kool Stop pads too.