Just blew up a rim

Zephr

Holy CR@P.

Seems my rim was a little weaker than I thought.
Whacked in a new inner tube and pumped up the tyre to about 65psi, took off the connector and

BANG. (not just a bit of a bang, but a properly serious BANG that severely diminished any type of hearing for quite a while).
Scared the absolute sh1te out of me...

the top of the rim has ripped off of the rim, there is a handspan long gash in the inner tube and a very very shocked me and missus in the living room.

Id attach an image, but I have no idea how to....

never seen anything quite like it.[/img]

jonginge

A bit like this?

Happens when the rim is worn down by braking. The above rim had about 2 and half years of commute riding before it failed.

I check the rim wear indicators and for cracks a bit more often these days

cjcp

Yep, it makes an almighty bang. My rear blew a couple of years ago, just after I'd finished a twisting descent, fortunately.

desweller

I've had that. Blew the front tyre off the rim. Tyre got wrapped in the fork and stopped the front wheel dead at 20mph.

First I knew about it I was lying on my stomach in front of my bike thinking, 'WTF was that bang, and where's my bike?'

Oddjob62

Happened to me a month ago.

Zephr

Yeah, summat like that, though as well as shearing off the rest of the rim, it ripped apart and sprung out quite alarmingly.
I figured it was rim wear from excessive amounts of braking. I guess its had its fair share, commuting nigh on every day for the best part of... oh, call it 3.5 years, 15 adventure races and a fair few trips to trail centres and the like...
I THOUGHT it looked a bit worn down....

Duncan74

I went through a Mavic cosmos from new in 6 months of commuting from Glossop to Manchester. Quite hilly so the brakes did get more 'drag' use than city riding. But swapped to ceramic rimps on openpros after that and they lasted well. Thankfully was going uphill when it went, and I'd ordered the new rims the week before.

cyclopsbiker

hey Duncan, what's the distance from glossop to manchester....is it on busy/fast roads or can you avoid them? thinking of moving up to glossop area next year and likely that a job would be in manchester.

Duncan74

Well depends on the specifics, but c14 miles from centre of Glossop to centre of Manchester (Picc Gardens). The route I did was A57 all the way, so busy but generally 30mph roads and depending on the time it was stationary anyway. Plenty of hills at the Glossop end though, so you'll become a good hill cyclist if nothing else! Used to take me 42 minutes each way as a 'standard'. Absolutely flogged myself one day when I was in absolute peak form to nip under the 40, but faced with a very strong head wind and a bit of a cold then I took nearly an hour on another day. You'll need some good clothing kit though, layers as the hills make you warm and then you freeze on the descents. I went in very early (c 5:20am) to go to the gym before work, then back at 5:30ish. I did get a lot of grief over the years, especially the bit from Hyde to Mottram through Hattersley and there is no real alternative (I suppose Stalybridge, but adds a fair way to the trip). Definately need to be careful not to be late on a friday or else you're risking your life. Got punched by two kids on a moped, twice a week someome would scream out the passenger window as they went past and had a few rocks/bottle thrown at me. Just what you need on a 1.5km 1:10 climb.

cyclopsbiker

thanks for the info Duncan, you sure sell the joy of cycling
would rather know what I was faced with though...perhaps I should get a little better at hills before entering the hattersley triangle. commuting in London doesn't really give us any hill training!! looks like I have about 9 months to get some practice in

Duncan74

Very different to London, but start 2 days a week, then build up. I was cream crackered by Friday when I started, but by the end then I was fine. Of course there's the train which is cheap as chips if you're used to London prices (and crowding). So there's options.

Feel free to get in touch again if you need any more specifics. Or even if you want to buy some winter cycling gear, what I needed for the -16degree commute in the UK this winter isn't a lot of use for the 18 degrees it was here in our middle of winter. (joke re the buying stuff, not joke re the weather).

cyclopsbiker

yep, I'd definitely need to build up to 5 days a week but if all goes to plan I may not be heading that way 5 days anyway....the distance doesn't bother me, but the hills would be a challenge!
might just be in touch for more info nearer the time of moving up there....as for winter gear, none needed, I've been commuting pretty much everyday since last september, even the snow didn't put me off (though the ice forced me on to PT for a few days).