Wheel buckles AFTER every ride????

Fozzy279

This is weird, I know, but its happened 3 times in a row now...

Go off on my ususal 21 mile circuit.. get home no problem. get off the bike, wheel it indoors & notice the rear wheel is skidding because its warped & rubbing on Brakes - about 5mm out so I get the spoke key out, tighten it up & wheel straightens out - great!

Go out the following day, wheel fine. Get to my front gate after 21 miles - fine. Get to my door - wheel buckled again.

this has happened 3 times out of 4 rides now - always the same - only I managed to do one ride in between without this happenening. Haven't done it enough to notice if its the SAME spoke every time (Ithink it is) but how can a wheel do this in the 5 meters of so between getting off and walking to my front door? The rub is so bad I'd notice it if it was doing it going along - no noise, vibration & doesn't affect speed... only when I get off.

The only thing I could think of was the last few meters of my drive are quite large gravel (30mm pieces) and maybe causing weird movement so I've got off before this but no difference.

BTW, these wheels were bought to replace some deep section carbon fibre wheels which came with the bike, in which I noticed a small crack. I think this area of the wheel is for aero dynamics rather than structural (It feels vey thin & flexible in another similar, not not-cracked part of the wheel) Are these safe to ride or can they be repaired? I've looked up how much a new set would be and they are too expensive for me at the moment - but seems a shame not to be able to do anything with them.

Thanks for any info / advise

ugo.santalucia

Looks like you have too little tension (or too much and you have not destressed the wheel after truing) either way, it is a tension problem.

As for the carbon rims, difficult to comment without seeing

dennisn

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Looks like you have too little tension (or too much and you have not destressed the wheel after truing) either way, it is a tension problem.

+1 on the above comment. I would also ask the OP if he actually knows what he is doing while working on a wheel. It's not quite as simple as just cranking up the tightness on a few spokes. Sorry, but from what you've said thus far it sounds as if you've got this wheel all "out of whack", for lack of better words. Get a wheelbuilding manual and do some homework.

danlikesbikes

Does sound a little odd & Ugo is a good source of info on these things.

Would check that its not the same spoke.

As for the carbon rims in principle yes they can be fixed but might depend on where the crack is & how the wheel was made in the first place i.e. does it have a core which may also be damaged. Suggest you look for a specialist carbon repairer near to you, perhaps speak to a local bike shop for a recommendation & take the wheel along to them to look at.