Spoke ripped through rim

Darrent72

I brought a pair of Omega Mach 1 Wheels with Shimano hubs brand new off ebay in October 2012 and have had to have them trued about 6 times. Halfords did them at first but after getting fed up with their crap mechanics at my local branch I tried the LBS on the advice of a cycling club mate.

The back wheel has been the main problem and the LBS have trued the wheel about three times but when I was cleaning the bike down after yesterdays ride I noticed that one of the spokes has ripped through the rim. I have spoken to the shop on ebay that sold them to me and they have advised that it is due to the LBS tensioning the spokes too tight and is not a manufacturing fault. I suspect the LBS are going to put the blame firmly with the seller leaving me in limbo with a wheel with a hole in it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated as I cant really afford to go and by another wheel at the moment.

seanorawe

The ebay shop and your LBS will probably both dig the heels in the ground and you will be banging your head on a brick wall for a while. Speak to your LBS about it and ask them to fix the wheel and true it. In the mean time contact ebay and let them decide if something can be done. Im sure your LBS are knowledgable enough to know if it was their fault.

seanorawe

Looks like your not the only one either

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... hubs-34038

gllewellyn

Assuming you can't get either the eBay shop or the LBS to sort it at their cost, I'd be tempted to either:
1: Ask your LBS to rebuild the wheel with a new rim;
2: Get yourself a new rim, and rebuild it yourself - theres loads of info online about how to do it, and the upside is you won't be relying on shops to true your wheels in the future.

farrina

I would put if down to experience - possibly a good reason for developing a personal relationship with a bikeshop where they are likely to provide a more bespoke (no pun intended) service.

I don't think you are likely to get very far chasing either party and would personally get the wheel rebuilt with a new rim. I have always used Mavic (loads here http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=rims&CategoryIDs=527&BrandIDs=1399 and never had a problem (I am 176lb).

I would not expect a reputable bike shop to overtension a spoke to the extent that it pulls through the rim - have you been kerb hopping or had any impacts recently ? Are there any signs of cracking with other spoke holes in the near vicinity ?

Regards

Alan

Darrent72

Thanks for your replies.

Alan Ive not been kerb hopping or had any impacts I'm pretty good at avoiding the numerous pot holes round the roads where I live! Having checked the rest of the rim I cant see any other cracks either.

Thanks, Darren

Monty Dog

Probably down to a rim made from soft alloy and over-zealous use of a spoke key. Either way, it's 50/50 you're on a hiding to nothing. I would put it down to experience, get the rims rebuilt with a decent rim and be grateful you've got some half-decent hubs as the basis for your new wheels.

farrina

Hi Darren

Note that I am not a wheelbuilder (no doubt a more learned person will be along shortly) just been cycling for many years. I don't have any experience of wheels with few spokes (I ride 36 back 32 front) so if you are riding significantly fewer this may increase likelyhood of problems as count reduces.

How tight are the remaining spokes - you should be able to move them relatively easily to each other where they cross. Block side will most likely be a bit tighter.

Sheldon Brown here http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/truing.html has lots of helpful advice.

Regards

Alan

ugo.santalucia

Probably worth keeping the hubs if they are 105 and ditching the rest. A rebuild on decent Ambrosio Evolution rims will cost you 130 pounds.
When you spend 100 pounds on a set of wheels, these days you can't expect much

Bar Shaker

The lesson here is buy your wheels from your LBS.

pinarellokid

I've just bought a set of wheels which had the same issue the seller told me his lbs over tightened too
I bought a new Mavic rim and enjoyed rebuilding them last night ..

Never done it before but it was very enjoyable and not too difficult