My rim has been compromised!

[Andrew_Culture]

Unfortunately Mavic don't make the MA3 rims any more.

 

[I like Skol]

The wheels are Mavic MA3 rims laced to Shimano Ultegra hubs and as far as I know are pretty solid. I didn't mind if they did turn out to be buckled; they've had a hard time of it over the last few weeks and truth be told I quite like truing wheels

I've had Alex Ace-17 rims fail like this on my hybrid after only 1800 miles and these hadn't needed any attention or truing until they failed. I'm a little worried that you expect to have to true wheels almost as a maintenance item, a decent wheel shouldn't need any further attention IME (but then, I do build my own ) I wonder if your constant 'corrections' have led to an over tensioned spoke/s and this is why the rim failed?
I am also a little worried that your Mavic rim has failed as I have sworn by them over the years and they have withstood all the abuse I give them without flinching or needing any truing. I have just built a new set of Mavic rimmed wheels for my MTB as I am going to disc brakes and now wonder if the rims are the right choice.
I built some wheels for my hybrid 5000 miles ago and despite quite a bit of this>>>>>
View attachment 30023
They are still true and untouched since the day I built them.

I think it's time you built your own wheels. You have a quality hub so with good spokes and a decent rim you could have indestructible wheels like mine.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I've had Alex Ace-17 rims fail like this on my hybrid after only 1800 miles and these hadn't needed any attention or truing until they failed. I'm a little worried that you expect to have to true wheels almost as a maintenance item, a decent wheel shouldn't need any further attention IME (but then, I do build my own ) I wonder if your constant 'corrections' have led to an over tensioned spoke/s and this is why the rim failed?
I am also a little worried that your Mavic rim has failed as I have sworn by them over the years and they have withstood all the abuse I give them without flinching or needing any truing. I have just built a new set of Mavic rimmed wheels for my MTB as I am going to disc brakes and now wonder if the rims are the right choice.
I built some wheels for my hybrid 5000 miles ago and despite quite a bit of this>>>>>
View attachment 30023
They are still true and untouched since the day I built them.

I think it's time you built your own wheels. You have a quality hub so with good spokes and a decent rim you could have indestructible wheels like mine.

I've never had to correct these wheels, but the first singlespeed I built had some very old wheels that were made of cheese.

 

[mcshroom]

The MA3 apparently had an ERD of 607mm - http://www.kstoerz.com/freespoke/rim/288

Look for a rim with a similar ERD number and it should be a straight swap

 

[Sterba]

If the LBS will do it for £35 it's hardly worth doing it yourself. If you were doing it yourself for the first time you would probably run into unexpected problems (nipples stuck to spokes, jammed into the rim etc) which would leave you in a foul temper and having to take the mess down to the shop anyway. Unless you have a friend nearby who has done it before, which is the best way to learn how to do it.

It's disgraceful that the rim should pack up like that. But I suppose there's nobody you can complain to at this point. It's good that we can all see it on this chat. No wonder Mavic don't make this rim model any more. I have always been a great fan of Mavic, they have focussed on doing a few things very well and built an enviable reputation, while others have faded away. What happened to Weinmann? Or Fiamme?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Says a good thing about taking time for bicycle maintenance. Your attention may have saved you from a nasty accident. I have to say, that in years of driving sag wagon for local club rides when events were going, that I have seen rims fail, mostly in the wall, but never quite like that. When I had a wheel failure myself, I ripped 2 spokes from the hub end, due to hitting some sticky tar in the road at 20mph.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

bromptonfb's suggestion is the best. Tape a new rim alongside the old and transfer the spokes over.

And then what? That only takes care of the lacing.

The hub should still be good but you can inspect the cones and racers for pitting. Cones are cheap to replace if they need be.

The picture suggests to me over tensioned spoke.2000 is not enough to have that kind of problems unless you use your bike to ride stairs, jump,etc. All the things I only wish I had the skills to do
Getting your LBS to rebuild your wheel is a good decision.

 

[Globalti]

Fitting a new rim is a challenge and good fun and something every cyclist ought to try. Actually tensioning the wheel isn't that difficult either as long as you go slowly and systematically. For a rear wheel you will need to bodge up a dishing tool, made from a length of wood batten with three long screws through at the middle and each end, to bear on the end of the axle and the rim. You would adjust this to the "dish" of the rear wheel before dismantling and this simple tool ensuresthat you are rebuilding the rear wheel with the rim CENTRAL on the hub (and therefore central in the frame) despite the fact that the drive side spokes are flatter and much tighter.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Fitting a new rim is a challenge and good fun and something every cyclist ought to try. Actually tensioning the wheel isn't that difficult either as long as you go slowly and systematically. For a rear wheel you will need to bodge up a dishing tool, made from a length of wood batten with three long screws through at the middle and each end, to bear on the end of the axle and the rim. You would adjust this to the "dish" of the rear wheel before dismantling and this simple tool ensuresthat you are rebuilding the rear wheel with the rim CENTRAL on the hub (and therefore central in the frame) despite the fact that the drive side spokes are flatter and much tighter.

Yeap, for somebody that probably has never seen a dishing tool, let alone dishing a wheel, those are very clear instructions

Sorry, I couldn't stopped myself

 

[Beebo]

What would make the rim fail like that?

 

[fossyant]

Over tensioned spokes usually, or a big hit.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

And then what? That only takes care of the lacing.

The hub should still be good but you can inspect the cones and racers for pitting. Cones are cheap to replace if they need be.

The picture suggests to me over tensioned spoke.2000 is not enough to have that kind of problems unless you use your bike to ride stairs, jump,etc. All the things I only wish I had the skills to do
Getting your LBS to rebuild your wheel is a good decision.

Over tensioned spoke ime would lead to either the nipple stripping / shearing or the spoke shearing either mid point or the the head. Surely the rim should be stronger than a spoke? I know for a fact my Mavic rim which went the same way wasn't over tensioned.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Over tensioned spoke ime would lead to either the nipple stripping / shearing or the spoke shearing either mid point or the the head. Surely the rim should be stronger than a spoke? I know for a fact my Mavic rim which went the same way wasn't over tensioned.

A spoke at a normal tension is about a 3rd of the tension it can take.

Spokes braking around the middle of the spokes are the hardest to diagnose. I would have to examine the wheel before volunteering a diagnose of spoke failure due to over tension.

What would you attribute the OP wheel failure if not an over tensioned spoke or perhaps hitting a kerb?

 

[bornagainst]

I once rode a wheel - cheap Easton that failed in this way. I had foolishly over tightened the rear brake caliper to the frame and it wasn't exactly straight. When braking the caliper would pull the rim over to one side slightly.. I'm pretty sure this caused the failure over time.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Over tensioned spokes usually, or a big hit.

Not to forget old age or too many miles. Rims don't last forever, sadly everything comes to an end.