How to spot damage to carbon rims

term1te
term1te Posts: 1,462
edited May 2011 in Workshop
I was riding in a cyclotour (sportive) at the weekend and got sandwiched on some cobbles ending up with probably a pedal in my front wheel. I didn’t come off, but one of the spokes on my lovely new 50mm carbon wheels is kinked and needs replacing. The wheel went about 8mm out of true, even with the brakes fully open, 90 km of brake rub didn’t help my time. I’m happy replacing the spoke, but is there anything I should be looking for to check for damage to the rim? It looks OK, but these are the first carbon wheels I’ve had, so I’d appreciate any tips. Thanks

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Examine the wheel very carefully, particulary at the spoke hole as it was likely to have got over-stressed, in particular small cracks. 8mm out of true for a carbon wheel is a lot and getting even spoke tension is more critical - i'd slacken off all the spokes and retension evenly rather than just tighten the one replacement
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • term1te
    term1te Posts: 1,462
    Wise words. Thanks

    I've made a close inspection and can't see any cracks, so I think I got a way with it.