Servicing - New wheels required

stevedb55

Purchased new Pinnacle Expede 1.0 in March last year, keep it in reasonable order, cleaned ans lubed every couple of weeks.

Dropped it off for a service and, among other things, have been told that both wheels need replacing due to excessive wear from the brake pads making them unsafe, does this sound right? I commute approx 5 miles each way, have done approx 2000 miles since brand new. I thought a set of wheels would last much longer, or is it down to dodgy brake pads, hard winter last year, etc?

Not relishing the thought of a new set of wheels in addition to chain, cassette, cables, etcd, etc, each year or am I just expecting too much from a £750 bike in use on a daily basis?

ex-pat scot

New rims required, not necessarily new wheels.
Depending on how adventurous you are (and whether you have a friend who can do it) then you can DIY a rim swap (keeping hub & spokes & nipples).

Bad weather plus aggressive braking / brake pads can really chew through the soft alloy rims. Particularly on commute bikes. That's one reason why I think discs are a good idea. (although not got on any of my bikes )

ex-pat scot

New rims required, not necessarily new wheels.
Depending on how adventurous you are (and whether you have a friend who can do it) then you can DIY a rim swap (keeping hub & spokes & nipples).

Bad weather plus aggressive braking / brake pads can really chew through the soft alloy rims. Particularly on commute bikes. That's one reason why I think discs are a good idea. (although not got on any of my bikes )

gbsahne001

stevedb55 wrote:

..... have been told that both wheels need replacing due to excessive wear from the brake pads making them unsafe, does this sound right? I commute approx 5 miles each way, have done approx 2000 miles since brand new. I thought a set of wheels would last much longer, or is it down to dodgy brake pads, hard winter last year, etc?

Seems unlikely; I replaced the wheels on the hybrid this year because a) they were 12 years old and b) I'd been doing 30 miles a day through the winter and all the spokes had seized plus the hubs were shot but there was nothing wrong with the rims.

Underscore

The braking surfaces on the rear wheel of my commuter are looking a bit worn and might need replacing before too long but I've done over 5000 miles on it over several winters. The front is still looking fine. To need both replacing in 2000 miles would seem unlikely but I guess that it ultimately comes down to a number of factors - pads, adjustment, amount of braking, maintenance, the rims themselves. How many sets of brake pads have you got through in that time?

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Tom Butcher

Sounds very unlikely to me - lots of rims have wear indicators on them - have a look and see if they are totally worn down - the wear indicators should be quite conservative so if they are just getting close then keep using them.

If they really are in need of new rims then either the pads, the rims or perhaps how you've been using them (which I'm not suggesting is the case) are at fault because at that rate I'd be going through three sets every year.

jeepie

Sounds very unlikely. Have had just had a new front wheel on my ridgeback and it still worked fine with the brakes - but there was a very obvious ) in the rim (like a bite out of it) when my mate pointed it out to me. Must have done 10,000 miles easy.... as had it second hand and then for 7 years or so!

cyberknight

My front wheel has spokes that work loose every ride after only a few hundred miles, took it to the LBS to see if it needed re-truing and i think they did a shoddy job, they just tightend up the loose ones even though i specified the problem.

Currently i have to check for loose spokes every ride.

SamWise1972

Sounds like bobbins to me. I think they're just trying to make some money. LBSes can be like garages; if they think they can convince you to pay for something, they will. A friend of mine took her £90 MTB in to Hafrauds for a service, and they wanted to charge her £200! It needed a new chain, screw on freewheel, brake pads, and (they said) a new rear wheel because it had play in the bearings. I bought a new race of bearings and put them in, and all was well; cost a couple of quid. Got all the parts she needed for about £30, and put them on in about an hour. Do your own maintenance.