Fulcrum Zero rim collapse

carrock

so I was merrily cycling uphill at about 10mph when I heard what sounded like a gunshot. I thought initially my tyre had blown out or the tube had blown off the rim but on closer inspection the rear rim of my Fulcrum Zero had delaminated along a 300mm length- see pic.



Now even allowing for the fact I am 100kg, this shouldn't happen.

I bought the bike 2nd hand with these wheels fitted, but even so the bike has hardly been used.

The wheel does have a slightlip on the edge, so there is some wear where the rear pads have tracked, but thought rims last tens of thousands of miles before wearing thin enough to break.

Still at least it didn't happen 5 minutes earlier when I was descending at 40mph ....

ugo.santalucia

Nothing to do with your weight... you went over the wear limit... I have loads of rims like that in my rim graveyard

nochekmate

A case of buyer beware.

cycleclinic

Look at the remaining rim it will be a bit concave. Retiring rims when the wall thickess is less than 0.9mm is always a good idea.

ugo.santalucia

I normally go on about factory wheels, but in this case hand built are no different... pass the wear limit and that happens. I am 99% sure the wheels came with plenty of warnings in that respect... people never read them, as most of the warnings are rubbish... but rim wear is real

As usual, I end up quoting my blog

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... t-too-much

Yellow Peril

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I normally go on about factory wheels, but in this case hand built are no different... pass the wear limit and that happens. I am 99% sure the wheels came with plenty of warnings in that respect... people never read them, as most of the warnings are rubbish... but rim wear is real

As usual, I end up quoting my blog

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... t-too-much

This^

I had a rear Aksium collapse on me last year. i'd ridden 1000's miles on it and it and I initially thought my 95kg had finished it off. Actually the rim was just [email protected] and had eventually become paper thin and split.

If the OP is worried about wheels generally I suggest he contact Paolo above. I have the most splendid set of handbuilt wheels by him that I only got to ride out on a couple of weeks ago and have put 300 miles on since.

ugo.santalucia

Yellow Peril wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I normally go on about factory wheels, but in this case hand built are no different... pass the wear limit and that happens. I am 99% sure the wheels came with plenty of warnings in that respect... people never read them, as most of the warnings are rubbish... but rim wear is real

As usual, I end up quoting my blog

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... t-too-much

This^

I had a rear Aksium collapse on me last year. i'd ridden 1000's miles on it and it and I initially thought my 95kg had finished it off. Actually the rim was just [email protected] and had eventually become paper thin and split.

If the OP is worried about wheels generally I suggest he contact Paolo above. I have the most splendid set of handbuilt wheels by him that I only got to ride out on a couple of weeks ago and have put 300 miles on since.

Glad you stretched your tubs in the sun of the isle of Man finally... tackled any cobbles yet?

Yellow Peril

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Yellow Peril wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I normally go on about factory wheels, but in this case hand built are no different... pass the wear limit and that happens. I am 99% sure the wheels came with plenty of warnings in that respect... people never read them, as most of the warnings are rubbish... but rim wear is real

As usual, I end up quoting my blog

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... t-too-much

This^

I had a rear Aksium collapse on me last year. i'd ridden 1000's miles on it and it and I initially thought my 95kg had finished it off. Actually the rim was just [email protected] and had eventually become paper thin and split.

If the OP is worried about wheels generally I suggest he contact Paolo above. I have the most splendid set of handbuilt wheels by him that I only got to ride out on a couple of weeks ago and have put 300 miles on since.

Glad you stretched your tubs in the sun of the isle of Man finally... tackled any cobbles yet?

I'm so protective of them I'm still riding around the puddles! seriously though we have lots of very poor and grainy tarmac and these wheels just roll so perfectly over it. Cobbles next year!

carrock

OK just worn out then. here is a better pic with the wheel off

jezzpalmer

thecycleclinic wrote:

Look at the remaining rim it will be a bit concave. Retiring rims when the wall thickess is less than 0.9mm is always a good idea.

The Shimano C24 rim is only 0.7 to start with.

ugo.santalucia

carrock wrote:

OK just worn out then. here is a better pic with the wheel off

Yes, only wear, I can see from here the rest of the rim is very concave. I understand you got a scare , but really you only got yourself to blame for not checking the rims, it's not Fulcrum's fault.
It is textbook, all the rims I have seen collapsing for wear, do so in exactly the same fashion. Next time get rims with more obvious wear indicators. Dt Swiss 465 is a rim with wear indicators dotted all around it.

cycleclinic

Dt Swiss RR465 are excellent rims as well. I se these alot and they bilt p very well indeed. The rims surface is not too soft so it will last a few miles as well. but like rims check for wear! For one local club rider it has happened to him twice. You would think after the first time he would have learnt. Maybe he has now.

carrock

thanks for advice.

I have inspected the front rim ( which normally bears the brunt of the braking effort ) and that is looking worn.



Given that I-ride ( fulcrum distributor ) aren't showing these rims available as standalone items I may end up buying another set of wheels. censored .

Thanks for advice everybody

Mindermast

Is there an idea how to find out the wear on flat tubular rims such as Campa Barcelona '92?
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=campag ... 24&bih=681

I don't know the inside diameter, so measuring the outside won't help.

denniskwok

Some advice on making your rims last longer, is to change any stock Shimano pads to Swisstop. Also, check the pads periodically for lodged in grit and metal shards.

carrock

I have changed to koolstop salmons a few weeks ago, which seem softer. not soon enough though....

Monty Dog

A salutary lesson for anyone buying 'used' wheels. My experience is that there are usually obvious signs to imminent rim failure - what feels like pulsing of the brakes, similar to a buckled wheel but the rim is still running true. For the OP, check with i-ride again as all Fulcrum rims are usually available as spares - but don't expect them to be cheap (like all factory wheels)

ugo.santalucia

Yes, the front rim is not safe to ride either. Rebuilding the wheels is a difficult task, as those rims are hardly in stock and very expensive, but you never know, worth asking anyway for a quote. Alternative rims at that spoke count are very very limited.

I suggest you go the hand built route next time, a 2 x rim replacement on alloy rims would have been a 140 pounds bill including labour, while now you are probably facing 3 times that

ugo.santalucia

Mindermast wrote:

Is there an idea how to find out the wear on flat tubular rims such as Campa Barcelona '92?
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=campag ... 24&bih=681

I don't know the inside diameter, so measuring the outside won't help.

Tubular rims don't explode, as the tyre does not pressure on the side wall, so you are safer there

carrock

Monty Dog wrote:

A salutary lesson for anyone buying 'used' wheels. My experience is that there are usually obvious signs to imminent rim failure - what feels like pulsing of the brakes, similar to a buckled wheel but the rim is still running true. For the OP, check with i-ride again as all Fulcrum rims are usually available as spares - but don't expect them to be cheap (like all factory wheels)

I think rims are £150 each plus £50 labour per wheel. So £400. I can buy a new wheelset for less than £700....,

ugo.santalucia

carrock wrote:

Monty Dog wrote:

A salutary lesson for anyone buying 'used' wheels. My experience is that there are usually obvious signs to imminent rim failure - what feels like pulsing of the brakes, similar to a buckled wheel but the rim is still running true. For the OP, check with i-ride again as all Fulcrum rims are usually available as spares - but don't expect them to be cheap (like all factory wheels)

I think rims are £150 each plus £50 labour per wheel. So £400. I can buy a new wheelset for less than £700....,

50 per wheel is a bit dear, but yes, you get the picture... you can buy a top notch set of hand built wheels for less than 400 or you can make the same mistake, spend 700 and be in the same position in 5-10 K miles... the choice is in your hands