New Bike - Rear Wheel Buckled After 3 Days (Advice)

Hunter84

chopchopchop wrote:

I've had issues with my rear wheel and had it replaced and upgraded by halford FOC so push them as they have to do it.

I solved my problem by taking my wheel to a wheel builder and paid £30 to get it tensioned correctly. That was the end of my wheel ordeal.

So was your rear wheel just not set up properly? I was supposed to have my bike back yesterday but still not ready. When I get it back I might as well take it to a decent bike shop and have it looked over just in case. I'm off work next week so would be good to be able to go on a few cycles to test new wheel out rather than it giving out on me on my way to work.

Initialised

diy wrote:

@Initialised 80psi ?? you'll be lucky to get it out the shop before it blows.

Few MTB tyres will take that and plenty of wheels have limits of half that. The max PSI on my stans flows is 40PSI and they have been bomb proof.

You did get that the OP is 171kg?

Yeah, sorry, that was a bit high, that's what you get for trusting guess work over actually doinmg the maths:

Let W be the tire width in mm, and let L be single-wheel load, in pounds. The tire pressure P (in psi) to achieve approximately 15% drop is:

P = 600*L / (W*W) + 0.75*W - 25

Comes out as ~57 PSI assuming 200 pounds per wheel.

Adjusting for a 40/60 weight distribution I'll shift my recommendation to 68 PSI rear (Max PSI of the 2.1" K1027s is 65 but these are usually conservative limits so going a bit over may help) and 45 PSI up front.

kajjal

Worth also checking the tyre walls for recommended pressure range. I am about 100kg and my mountain bike has 40psi front and rear which is fine for all off road riding. The recommended range on the tyres is 40-65psi.

Hunter84

Thought I'd put an update in, in case anyone was wondering what happened.

After numerous phone calls to Halfords they finally phoned me on Thursday and I went and picked up my bike. A full 2 weeks after putting it in their shop. The guy I had been dealing with previous was out the back so I had a new guy talk me through what happened to the bike.

He said it wasn't my fault or because of my weight. He said there had been a manufacturing fault with the rear wheel. He said it hadn't been threaded properly (not entirely sure what this meant), said almost all of the spokes had come loose. He said these wheels are built for people cycling off road going up and down bumpy hills and said they can "take a beating". Also said he's double checked this wheel and said it should be fine now.

Then the manager who I had previously been dealing with came out and asked if I was happy with the bike. I said yes. He then said that I should be more careful. I told him the only way I could be more careful would be not to ride it as I was ridiculously careful with it. He then said my weight would probably buckle the wheel again but hoped I wouldn't. I didn't want to drop the other guy in it with his manager as what he said was very contradictory to what the manager said.

So far I've cycled about 5 miles or so and everything went well. Legs and bum not as sore as before and didn't feel as out of breath as before. I'm going to phone a bike shop and see how much they will charge to check it over just to make sure. If it's not too much, I'll get them to do it.

Before cycling I read people on forums say cycling gets addictive and from my short return to cycling I can see that already. Cycled home from my mate's house tonight and on getting home decided to go do a couple more miles as it was about midnight and the roads were dead. Loving it so far, just hoping and praying it was a manufacturing fault and that the new wheel holds up better than the last one.

diy

Good effort. A gentle pluck of the spokes as if a string instrument will tell you if any are coming loose.

desweller

diy wrote:

Good effort. A gentle pluck of the spokes as if a string instrument will tell you if any are coming loose.

Just to expand a little on what DIY has said; what you're listening for are any spokes that have a significantly lower pitch than the others; that will tell you if it's loosening before it goes completely slack.

Good luck with your cycling.

ugo.santalucia

Hunter84 wrote:

So far I've cycled about 5 miles or so and everything went well. Legs and bum not as sore as before and didn't feel as out of breath as before. I'm going to phone a bike shop and see how much they will charge to check it over just to make sure. If it's not too much, I'll get them to do it.

What the mechanic says makes sense... chances are the spokes were set at too low tension, hence came loose. There is a chance he might actually know what he is doing, so I wouldn't rush to the LBS just yet, as they might undo the good work and even charge you for that.
The manager, as every manager, talks bollox...

Hunter84

I'm not going to bother getting it checked out yet. The guy that was saying it was a manufacturing fault etc... said he personally done this wheel so there is a chance he's done it properly. I went for a cycle today and it went ok. After every cycle I've felt the spokes to make sure they aren't slacking and so far they feel fine. I'm going to cycle to and from work tomorrow. I'm going to keep feeling the spokes after cycling and if they start to loosen then I'll have to go to an LBS. Hopefully it will be ok though.

cougie

Good news then.

I'd just make sure to always keep an eye out for potholes, and if you HAVE to hit one - rise out of the saddle to distribute the weight better. Even at normal weight potholes are bad news for wheels.

Fingers crossed everything is good for you !

Hunter84

I cycled the 4 miles to work today. Went well but whenever I peddle I can hear a faint clicking noise, sounds like it's coming from the front but not sure. It stops if I stop peddling and just coast along. It's that faint that I can't hear it when I'm cycling beside cars but can when I'm on the cycle paths or a quiet stretch of road. Don't know if it's a potential problem or I'm just getting paranoid. Checked the spokes after I got to work and front wheel is fine and every spoke on back wheel is fine except one. It's not come off but it's slightly loose, I can twist it with my fingers but it's not actually come off yet. Is there a way I can tighten it? Will 1 spoke coming loose lead to more coming loose?

desweller

I would be tightening that up sharpish. You'll need a spoke wrench of the right size.

Hunter84

I bought a cycle repair kit, its got puncture repair kit, air pump and a multi tool in it. I don't have it with me but just checked the reviews on Amazon and a guy said the multi tool has a spoke wrench in it so hopefully I can tighten when I get home.

Hunter84

I had bought a £12 bike repair kit that contained: Puncture repair kit, small pump, some tools that I don't know what they are and a metal multi tool that has screw drivers, spanners and allen keys etc... on it. It also had a spoke wrench. I managed to tighten the loose spoke. If I keep tightening the spokes as I go will that stop the wheel from buckling?

Hunter84

My bad luck continued, I'm beginning to think this bike is cursed!! Last night while watching the Man Utd game I heard a loud pop and then loud hissing noises. The rear tyre then went completely flat. After inspecting the inner tube I quickly found a small puncture. I repaired it and inflated the tyre again. The rear wheel was leaning against a radiator that was on so my only guess could be that the heat has caused the air inside to expand and popped a hole in the tube. Cycled to work in crazy wind this morning and the tyre was ok. Spokes were fine as well.

mugensi

I, personally would go back to Halfords and look for a refund. The person knew the bike didnt suit you and tried to sell you a dearer/stronger bike but when that wouldnt work as it was outside of your price range he went ahead and sold you a bike that wasnt fit for purpose whereas he should have advised you to up your budget for a more suitable bike.

You mentioned he tightened the spokes as much as he could, is there a chance he overtightened some of them?

Hunter84

MugenSi wrote:

I, personally would go back to Halfords and look for a refund. The person knew the bike didnt suit you and tried to sell you a dearer/stronger bike but when that wouldnt work as it was outside of your price range he went ahead and sold you a bike that wasnt fit for purpose whereas he should have advised you to up your budget for a more suitable bike.

You mentioned he tightened the spokes as much as he could, is there a chance he overtightened some of them?

I probably should have but I'm just going to stick it out. The first guy that was the manager may have over tightened them but this time I think they were done ok by another mechanic. I check them after every cycle and so far one seems to be loose each time so I tighten it with my spoke wrench. I'm going to be losing weight as I cycle through the months so things should get easier eventually.

orderodonata

Kudos for sticking with it

Hunter84

Last week after every ride my spokes were still coming loose, I was tightening after every ride and then on Wednesday a spoke nipple must have broke off. I decided to take the bike to a LBS in Corstorphine called Hart's Cyclery. Gave it on Thursday and picked up on Friday. He retensioned the rear wheel, fixed the broken spoke and realigned my disc brakes (they were rubbing on wheel even after I adjusted them twice). He charged me £25 and I've not had a single problem with the spokes, wheels or brakes again!! I still check spokes after every ride but so far all seems well.

desweller

Nice. Sounds like progress!

kajjal

It can be worth getting a decent bike shop to sort things out so you can then maintain them more easily afterwards.

ugo.santalucia

Hunter84 wrote:

to a LBS in Corstorphine...

Corstorphine... now that's something that might make me faster... oral or injection?