Wheel flex

[Fab Foodie]

15 stone, massive legs ect yes but i can move the wheel to contact the frame with little force the skewers are nice and tight, ive never had them contact before though thats the thing the chainstays arent flexing at all its definatley the wheel, can lack of spoke tension cause this?

It might be spoke tension, but you're. Big bloke in a low spoke count rim. I'm 98 kg and can feel my lightest wheels flex laterally when riding hard and can move them laterly by hand. If the clearances are tight it might just be that they're not designed for the power/weight you can apy to them. Wheels are designed to be stuff vertically not laterally.
Having said that it wouldn't hurt to see what your local bike shop says, they could be a bit slack.

If you look at most wheel builders websites they suggest low spoke count wheels for riders up to say 75 kg and full 32 or 36 spoke wheels above that. Many commercial wheels get around this slightly by having cool looking low spoke counts and heavy and strong rims.

 

[raleighnut]

When you're applying power the wheel will 'wind up' reducing tension on the spokes in one quarter of the wheel as the tension increases elsewhere, get them set-up by a good wheelbuilder they need re-tensioning after about 4-6 weeks from new. A shop will normally do this for free but if you got them off t'internet.

 

[jowwy]

Might just be a curse on specialized's then haha

Nope, im a tad bigger than you and my SL4 doesnt flex under my weight, neither did my zipps or zondas either. So it must be your aksiums flexing. My brake blocks sat within a nats whisker of the rims too

 

[Globalti]

My Roubaix SL4 definitely doesn't flex. I've got Ksyriums. I'd say your wheel needs a re-tension; there's nothing unusual about this.

 

[User6179]

I am also 15 stone and my aksium do flex a lot when out the saddle , they can hit the brake pads , don't go as far as hitting the frame though .
On my second set of aksiums and the first set had stiffer back wheel .
I find the NDS spokes need tightening as they constantly twist and loosen so might just be them needing tightened .

 

[Globalti]

Don't let the tyre rub your chainstays; it will go through them in a very short time indeed.

 

[ColinJ]

I can't be bothered to go and check my Aksiums at this time of night but you've got me curious, so I will have a look tomorrow and see what mine do when lateral forces are applied.

Don't let the tyre rub your chainstays; it will go through them in a very short time indeed.

I checked my rear wheel. There is about 1 cm of clearance to the chainstays and pulling the rim sideways as hard as I was willing to (firmly, but not actually trying to break anything!) I could only deflect it by about 5 mm. Standing on the pedals with the back brake on and leaning against a wall, I could flex the stays but not enough to make the tyre rub. What happens when I am riding is that I can cause the chain to rub on the cage of the front mech if I really stomp on the pedals. If I pedal more smoothly then it does not happen.

I did notice that a small patch of paint had worn away next to the tyre on the left stay, but then I remembered that once I didn't tighten the QR enough and pulled the wheel out on a steep climb, so that would be the cause of that.

 

[lpretro1]

Adjust the hub bearings - there may be play in them

 

[jack smith]

Gunna do a full strip down of the bike tonight anyway so ill inspect it then too

 

[Fab Foodie]

Adjust the hub bearings - there may be play in them

To be fair, if you have that much play to get the wheel touching the stays I n a sealed bearing hub then it's totally shagged!
It's spoke tension vs big bloke.

 

[jack smith]

No lay in the bearings, ive totally overhauled the wheel tonight, and it seems a tad better but im not sure if thats just the pshycological effect of spending 4 hours working on the bike. Might see how much a rebuild is in my local area

 

[Fab Foodie]

No lay in the bearings, ive totally overhauled the wheel tonight, and it seems a tad better but im not sure if thats just the pshycological effect of spending 4 hours working on the bike. Might see how much a rebuild is in my local area

Having a wheel re tensioned in a decent local bike shop is pretty cheap as is having new bearings fitted.
But here's the rub, there's a fine line between a wheel that's tensioned enough for minimal flex and tightened that much that you break spokes (or as I seem to do - pull the eyelets out of the rim which borks the wheel).

If you want a stiff wheel in the future you'll need to buy one with a high spoke count and I'd suggest from a Wheelbuilder rather than off the shelf.

 

[jowwy]

I had some h sons built on novatech hubs, 32 hole for my commuter.........awesome wheels at a very good price from cycle surgery.

 

[PpPete]

If you can bear to ride something other than the fahsionable 20 front/24rear spoke wheels I'd strongly recommend learning to build your own wheels. H+son Archetypes look pretty cool, even with 32 spokes. Mine are on Hope hubs but you are looking at a lot more ££ than the Aksiums. Still, for an s-works Tarmac.... got to find something a bit better than Aksiums.

 

[totallyfixed]

^^ What he said, Aksiums on that bike, why? It's a bit like putting fast wheels on a bike then adding slow tyres.