Damn! Off the train tonight with 40 minutes to kill before work so I thought I'd rack up a few kms before arriving sweaty and smiling (it's a beautiful evening in Melb.) Not 200 m into it, heading over Collins St overpass to Docklands and PING, clatter, clatter from the front wheel Think I hooked a tram track Tim's gonna be flat out building up bikes for Chrissy too, bugger. I'll have to grab a spoke and do it meself, this is one of the areas I'm still not very comfortable fixing.
Seeing there's no room in the shed for wheels and spokes in the shed til now, let's go. The wheels are Shimano 500s with a bit over 2000 kms on them and this is no 2. I'm not gonna blame the wheelset unless you think I should, I'm 81kgs ATM, should I look at something better?, there's a pair of new Ultegra hubs on ebay due to finish soon...
Shaun
Wheels and spokes
- Mulger bill
- Super Mod
- Posts: 29060
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
- Location: Sunbury Vic
Wheels and spokes
Postby Mulger bill » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:52 pm
Last edited by Mulger bill on Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011
London Boy 29/12/2011
- europa
- Posts: 7334
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:51 am
- Location: southern end of Adelaide - home of hills, fixies and drop bears
Postby europa » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:54 pm
Have a go at it yourself Shaun. Wheels aren't hard, particularly when there are only one or two spokes involved. The worst that can happen is that you have to wait for him to have the time to sort out your mess ... but you were going to have to wait that long anyway.
I'd suggest you bring it around to my place ... but seeing you're there and I'm here, that's maybe a bit silly.
Richard
I'd suggest you bring it around to my place ... but seeing you're there and I'm here, that's maybe a bit silly.
Richard
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it
- europa
- Posts: 7334
- Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:51 am
- Location: southern end of Adelaide - home of hills, fixies and drop bears
Postby europa » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:57 pm
The other thought is that if you were to drop the wheel into your lbs, and say 'look, just get it done when you can', you may find it fixed rather quickly. I've found that jobs left to be squeezed into the gaps can get a sort of weird priority and be fixed sooner than you think.
Imagine yourself a bike shop mechanic. You've spent the last week bolting together kid's bikes and hybrids. Wouldn't you like a fifteen minute break to fiddle with a real wheel?
Richard
Imagine yourself a bike shop mechanic. You've spent the last week bolting together kid's bikes and hybrids. Wouldn't you like a fifteen minute break to fiddle with a real wheel?
Richard
I had a good bike ... so I fixed it
- Mulger bill
- Super Mod
- Posts: 29060
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
- Location: Sunbury Vic
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:01 am
Tell yer what, I go on leave on the 6th, maybe I'll jump the Overdue and get the resident wheel god to sort it out for me
Shaun
Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011
London Boy 29/12/2011
- Mulger bill
- Super Mod
- Posts: 29060
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
- Location: Sunbury Vic
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:03 am
That's not a bad idea at all It is about the time of year I drop a dozen cold ones in for the ladseuropa wrote:Imagine yourself a bike shop mechanic. You've spent the last week bolting together kid's bikes and hybrids. Wouldn't you like a fifteen minute break to fiddle with a real wheel?
Richard
Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011
London Boy 29/12/2011
- Kid_Carbine
- Posts: 1300
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:35 pm
- Location: Southern Tablelands N.S.W.
Re: Wheels and spokes
Postby Kid_Carbine » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:44 am
I've said it before & I'm saying it again, a tight wheel is a strong wheel & a strong wire spoke bike wheel will happily support many times your weight.Mulger bill wrote: I'm not gonna blame the wheelset unless you think I should, I'm 81kgs ATM, should I look at something better?, there's a pair of new Ultegra hubs on ebay due to finish soon...
Shaun
Grab pairs of spokes on opposite sides of the wheel & give them a gentle squeeze. If they feel soft & squeezable, then the wheel is well overdue for a tension & truing job. They should have very little give in them & feel nice & tight.
You don't need to be Hurcules, just a firm hand squeeze. Try it at several places around the wheel.
Drive side spokes should be noticeably tighter, but fronts should be even both sides.
It's my guess that the spokes broke at the bend & if this is true, then some more breakages are just waiting to happen as I believe that more of them have already fatigued there. Inspect the broken spoke carefully, under a magnifying glass if necessary, to see what type of fracture it is.
Carbine & SJH cycles, & Quicksilver BMX
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
- Mulger bill
- Super Mod
- Posts: 29060
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
- Location: Sunbury Vic
Postby Mulger bill » Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:58 am
Thanks for the tip Kid, it was the elbow, as I said, I'm pretty sure it was a lateral load that did it. What should I be looking for in that magnifying glass?
Shaun
Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011
London Boy 29/12/2011
- Kid_Carbine
- Posts: 1300
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:35 pm
- Location: Southern Tablelands N.S.W.
Postby Kid_Carbine » Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:59 am
The type of fracture is what you're looking for.Mulger bill wrote:Thanks for the tip Kid, it was the elbow, as I said, I'm pretty sure it was a lateral load that did it. What should I be looking for in that magnifying glass?
Shaun
A fatigue fracture propogates slowly & leaves a fairly smooth surface untill the remaining material is no longer enough to hold it together & it tears, leaving a much smaller patch with a completely different surface texture.
If this is the case, then it's not unusual for other spokes to break during the tensioning job.
Stainless steel is one of the worst materials to make spokes from as it has a low fatigue resistance, but it will still give good service as long as they are tight & are unable to flex at the bend every time the wheel goes round. A tight wheel distributes the load over the whole rim, but a 'soft' wheel sort of 'hangs' from the upper spokes meaning that the cyclic loading is much more pronounced on a smaller number of spokes. [the upper ones]
Carbine & SJH cycles, & Quicksilver BMX
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
- Kalgrm
- Super Mod
- Posts: 9653
- Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 5:21 pm
- Location: Success, WA
- Contact:
Re: Wheels and spokes
Postby Kalgrm » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:13 am
Just to be pedantic for those reading this later: if you're using disc brakes, the difference between tension on the drive and non-drive sides of the rear will not be as great because there is less "dishing" applied on these hubs.Kid_Carbine wrote: Drive side spokes should be noticeably tighter, but fronts should be even both sides.
Front wheels with disc hubs will have more spoke tension on the rotor side of the wheel than the drive side, because these wheels are dished to allow for the rotor.
Otherwise, KC is on the money.
Cheers,
Graeme
Think outside the double triangle.
---------------------
Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....
---------------------
Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....
- Kid_Carbine
- Posts: 1300
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:35 pm
- Location: Southern Tablelands N.S.W.
Re: Wheels and spokes
Postby Kid_Carbine » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:59 pm
Thanks for the additional info, it's all to do with mindset. My world revolves around bikes with 27" wheels & either single speed or 5 speed clusters, so what I wrote will apply there, but I keep forgeting that time has moved on & things change.Kalgrm wrote:Just to be pedantic for those reading this later: if you're using disc brakes, the difference between tension on the drive and non-drive sides of the rear will not be as great because there is less "dishing" applied on these hubs.Kid_Carbine wrote: Drive side spokes should be noticeably tighter, but fronts should be even both sides.
Front wheels with disc hubs will have more spoke tension on the rotor side of the wheel than the drive side, because these wheels are dished to allow for the rotor.
Otherwise, KC is on the money.
Cheers,
Graeme
I don't actually own any of these gall-durned new fangled substitutes for a real bike, [opinions may vary] so I forget to make allowances for them.
Thanks again for the additional info. I'll just go back to the dark ages now.
Carbine & SJH cycles, & Quicksilver BMX
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
Now that's AUSTRALIAN to the core.
Jump to
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Cycling Brands
- Cannondale
- Garmin
- Giant
- Shimano
- Trek
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+11:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
Brought to you by Bicycles Network Australia | © 1999 - 2024 | Powered by phpBB ®
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.