Rear wheel f*****

[Holdsworth]

Yes the rear wheel of my bike is now dead, the rim has cracked badly at one of the spokes eyes (looks like the spoke has pulled the nipple through) and more are showing signs of wear. No wonder so many spokes have been going these past months!!!

I only found out about the rim after taking to another lbs in town, I have been getting multiple spokes replaced at another one for a while. Surely they could've spotted the hairline cracks when tensioning the spokes and told me but it seems they were milking me for more repairs in the hope I wouldn't find out

So the one time I take it to another shop for inspection, the guy immediately points out the fault and gives me a price for a new wheelset. I will be considering his offer over some handbuilts and most likely get them fitted this weekend, until then I am off the bike for commuting as I don't want a catastrophic failure of the rim miles from home!!!

 

[tyred]

Sounds to me like the spoke(s) were overtightened in the first place.

 

[Fnaar]

I only found out about the rim after taking to another lbs in town, I have been getting multiple spokes replaced at another one for a while. Surely they could've spotted the hairline cracks when tensioning the spokes and told me but it seems they were milking me for more repairs in the hope I wouldn't find out

Perhaps they didn't tell you because their spokesperson was unavailable (gets coat and leaves)

 

[Holdsworth]

Sounds to me like the spoke(s) were overtightened in the first place.

Reading a few other threads over 'net it seems that it might've been a combination of over-tightened spokes and the rough road surfaces that I have been riding on these past few months to get to and from work. Either way the wheels' a goner and needs to be replaced, it did good though, it looks like it was original to the bike which I bought used last year (bike was built circa 1991).

 

[Zoiders]

This may be considered impolite but...

What wheel were you riding - as in how many spokes, what rim, what tyre - and how much do you weigh?

Would you describe yourselfas a finessed rider or someone who ploughs on and lets it thunk over every pot hole and bit of raised road iron?

 

[Holdsworth]

The rims are marked as "Wolber", noother identification marks other than that, I assume they were just stock budget wheels that were supplied with the bike when new.

Spokes; there are a fair few spokes on the back, I haven't bothered counting but there looks to be a least 36 in all. The tyre is a Schwalbe Blizzard 23c, bog standard cheap tyre.

Weightwise I am a smidge over 80kg and I have a ~5kg saddlebag for commuting purposes.

With rough riding I try and stay in the smooth areas as much as I can, this is not always possible though on the route I ride to work. There is a stretch of rough, broken road surface that I can't avoid as it is the width of the entire road and goes on for a good few hundred yards, a detour would add a couple of miles onto my journey. I also have an intermittent problem with what I like to call "farm muck anti-potholes", you know those large lumps of dried mud that stick to the road after a farm vehicle has passed?

 

[Holdsworth]

I have it booked in at the LBS to get a new wheelset fitted, hopefully they'll keep it going until I have saved enough for a new bike.