Shimano wheel repair - any recommendations?

chewymk4

I have two Shimano rear wheels in need of some urgent repair and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to who to use?

Don't trust my LBS after their attempts to true the wheels have resulted in snapped spokes (Dura Ace 7800) and loose spokes just rattling around (RS80) - ie worse then when i took them in!

Really need someone who knows what they are doing to take a look at them and get the tensions right, etc

All suggestions gratefully received!

Thanks

ugo.santalucia

I have found in the past that the alloy nipples used by shimano tend to seize on the spoke thread making them virtually impossible to true... so I don't feel like putting too much blame on your LBS as chances are they did what it was possible to do given the circumstances.
Try another LBS, just in case the former got it wrong

chewymk4

A few of the nipples had seized on the RS80 wheel
Surely the spokes can be cut out and both the nipple and spoke replaced?
Or am i missing something?

The Dura Ace wheels were fine

Cheers

ugo.santalucia

chewymk4 wrote:

A few of the nipples had seized on the RS80 wheel
Surely the spokes can be cut out and both the nipple and spoke replaced?
Or am i missing something?

The Dura Ace wheels were fine

Cheers

Of course... but spare spokes for RS 80 are scarce and very expensive... they use Shimano proprietary bladed straight pull spokes. The Nipples also are proprietary... chunkier to fit the laminate rim. They are not the kind of spares shops keep on a day to day basis

drlodge

ugo.santalucia wrote:

chewymk4 wrote:

A few of the nipples had seized on the RS80 wheel
Surely the spokes can be cut out and both the nipple and spoke replaced?
Or am i missing something?

The Dura Ace wheels were fine

Cheers

Of course... but spare spokes for RS 80 are scarce and very expensive... they use Shimano proprietary bladed straight pull spokes. The Nipples also are proprietary... chunkier to fit the laminate rim. They are not the kind of spares shops keep on a day to day basis

And therein lies the issue with factory built wheels...

chewymk4

They are not the kind of spares shops keep on a day to day basis

I fully appreciate that but would have been happy to wait for them to order the parts instead of giving me the wheel back in a worse state than when it went in

More upset with the Dura Ace wheel not being tensioned evenly.

Just looking for some one reputable who knows what they are doing with Shimano wheels
Unfortunately new baby has curbed my spending spree on expensive bike bits so need to make them last

ugo.santalucia

chewymk4 wrote:

Just looking for some one reputable who knows what they are doing with Shimano wheels
Unfortunately new baby has curbed my spending spree on expensive bike bits so need to make them last

AGREE... look for one who knows what he's doing...
Not a good start then... each RS 80 spoke has a RRP of 3.50, I am assuming this includes the nipple, but maybe not. The wheelset has 36 spokes... can become expensive!

patrickf

Wow! At £3.50 a spoke we're up to £252 to replace all spokes in a 36/36 wheel. And that's before we add labour and also assuming the spokes come with nipples.

Include labour and we're already into new hand built territory.

chewymk4

can become expensive!

Hopefully still cheaper than forking out £200ish for a new rear wheel!

As far as i can tell there are only 2 or 3 spokes which are not free although i've not messed around with them too much in case i cause any more damage!

Will be replacing the RS80's with some hand-builts when funds allow to save going through this hassle again!
Time to sacrifice the bling factor for something sensible - i must be getting old!

ugo.santalucia

patrickf wrote:

Wow! At £3.50 a spoke we're up to £252 to replace all spokes in a 36/36 wheel. And that's before we add labour and also assuming the spokes come with nipples.

Include labour and we're already into new hand built territory.

I said 36 spokes in a set of two wheels, so it's half that... the RS 80 are 20/16

mamba80

Shimano are probably the worst of the factory wheel makers and according to Madison, it will get worse still as they are no longer supporting the older 10sp wheels, in warranty or not.

chewymk4

Thanks for all the "objective" comments folks but can anyone actually recommend someone who has a good reputation for working on Shimano wheels????? :?

drlodge

chewymk4 wrote:

Thanks for all the "objective" comments folks but can anyone actually recommend someone who has a good reputation for working on Shimano wheels????? :?

I don't know your area, Brian Rourke cycles are good but probably still a fair drive for you.

chewymk4

Thanks drlodge

Happy to courier them out so anywhere will do - just want to make sure i send them to someone with experiance of these wheels

ugo.santalucia

chewymk4 wrote:

Thanks drlodge

Happy to courier them out so anywhere will do - just want to make sure i send them to someone with experiance of these wheels

Other than the fact that they require the Shimano spoke key (or something equivalent) there is nothing special about those wheels. Anyone with a bit of experience in truing wheels and the right tools can do a good job, provided the spokes are not seized. I would assume any shop has a Madison account to order spare spokes.
The risk of shipping them around is that without seeing them is difficult to assess if there is a problem... you might end up spending 30 quid in couriers to have your wheels back untouched

chewymk4

you might end up spending 30 quid in couriers to have your wheels back untouched

Good point well made!
Will have a drive out to the shop in the next town and see what they say

Just noticed Igloo Cycles in Chesterfield are Shimano repair accredited, advertise wheel building and are only 10 miles from me so will give them a go

Cheers

cycleclinic

From repairing shimano wheels in the past the spokes do come with nipples. Any shop that orders from Madison regulalry will be able to get in good time.

If you cannot find some to supply them I order almost on a weekly basis from madision and if alot of spoke are required the £5 carriage they make for order below £150 is not a big deal.

adamfo

So, a new set of RS80s can be had for £300 at the likes of Ribble. Are these warranted for a year by the Shimano importer ?
If spares are no longer supported presumably they would be obliged to hand out a shiny new RS81 replacement wheel should it collapse on the way to the chippy.

mamba80

Your dealer may or may not BUT Madisons policy in this instance is to refund the dealer what he paid.
I phoned Madison for this information, when i refered them to Shimanos own 2 and 3 yr warranties on their products, i was told " that maybe theirs but our policy is to refund the dealer"

My experience is that you will be offered a refund, based on the amount of time you have had them, which i refused.
On cheaper end goods, no doubt you ll get the upgrade.

Currently, this is going through a section 75 consumer credit act claim against my credit card provider.

I wouldnt touch a shimano wheel with a barge pole.

when/if i get any satisfaction i will post back naming the guilty culprits

patrickf

ugo.santalucia wrote:

patrickf wrote:

Wow! At £3.50 a spoke we're up to £252 to replace all spokes in a 36/36 wheel. And that's before we add labour and also assuming the spokes come with nipples.

Include labour and we're already into new hand built territory.

I said 36 spokes in a set of two wheels, so it's half that... the RS 80 are 20/16

Makes more sense!!

chewymk4

Planet-X have said to send the RS80's back (and sent me a collect+ label so postage is free which is a bonus)
Will update with any response i get

Dura Ace wheel is going to igloo cycles - they seemed confident that they could sort it and they said they hold a good stock of shimano spare spokes which is another bonus

adamfo

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I have found in the past that the alloy nipples used by shimano tend to seize on the spoke thread making them virtually impossible to true... so I don't feel like putting too much blame on your LBS as chances are they did what it was possible to do given the circumstances.
Try another LBS, just in case the former got it wrong

What wheel set in the £350 range would you recommend for training ?
I'm currently using the standard Mavic Aksium that came with the bike.