Basically mate its really a personal preference , grinding your rim's is a cheap way of drastically improving your braking , the pads will hold better as it gives them more to grip on to . A lightly grinded rim with a lit- tle tar is my personal choice . it also depends on the pads you run with, Tartybikes give information on each pad they sell ,this includes what the pads would be best ran with . pads I’ve ran in the past include - Rockpad Blues - i found that these were an all round good pad . - Snowies - when run with a smooth rim are dang good . - Try-all croco browns - good pads with unbelievable life . By the sounds of it you have your heart set on running smooth rims , in which case go for snowies ! Hope this helps ! Brock