Wheel rim fault?

ForumNewbie
ForumNewbie Posts: 1,664
edited November 2011 in Workshop
I have now noticed yet another problem with the new bike. On the rim on one side of the back wheel where the metal is joined together, the join is not flush, i.e. when I put my finger over where the rim is joined I can feel it is uneven. I think this explains the constant clicking I heard when testing the bike as I lightly applied the back brake when slowing down - this uneven join touching the brake pad on every wheel turn.

The join on the rim on the other side of the back wheel and the two on the front wheel are totally flush, and I checked the wheels on my other less expensive bikes and can't even see where the rims join together.

The wheels on the new bike are Fulcrum Racing 5s, which I thought were pretty good, so I'm really pi**ed off, and am of a mind to hand the bike back now in view of this on top of the greased seatpost problem as I mentioned in an earlier thread.

Will this rim join touching the brake pad be causing the clicking as I think? Will this uneven join weaken the rim? Will the shop be able to do anything to fix it?

I would appreciate any views or advice.

Comments

  • centimani
    centimani Posts: 467
    Just trying to remember...the joint on my 5s is visible, but not uneven so not causing problems.
    I think you'd be quite justified in taking it back to the shop, on the grounds if its not sorted it's going to shred bake blocks.

    There may be a quick fix, it may be 'normal' to have a little uneveness on occasional wheels, they may be able to sort it quite quickly....perhaps.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I have had this on wheels before - you can feel the join. It must be pretty significant though if its hitting the brake blocks when you're not actually braking.

    Or do you run your brakes incredibly close ?
  • ForumNewbie
    ForumNewbie Posts: 1,664
    cougie wrote:
    I have had this on wheels before - you can feel the join. It must be pretty significant though if its hitting the brake blocks when you're not actually braking.
    Sorry if what I said wasn't clear, but I was braking - what I meant was that I was just applying the brake lightly to slow down going down a hill. It was only when I was test riding the bike along the road, not doing any speed, just testing brakes and gears.
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    All rims used to be like that before they started welding and machining them.
    It will wear flat and stop clicking in a few months.

    The wheel rim is compressed by the spoke tension, so the join won't separate or form a weak point.
  • ForumNewbie
    ForumNewbie Posts: 1,664
    andrew_s wrote:
    All rims used to be like that before they started welding and machining them.
    I didn't know that but I would have thought that Fucrum 5's, being generally known to be good quality wheels, would be made the modern way and therefore not have that problem?
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    It's still common and always takes me by surprise when I put on some new wheels. It'll go round about the same time you learn to ignore it :lol: .

    Essentially it's because the rim is one piece of shaped metal that is bent round on itself, as a result there is a join (either pinned or welded together). Some companies make more effort to smooth this join than others (mostly on welded joins).

    Personally I wouldn't worry about it as it will wear away in the first 50 miles or so (it's a fraction of a mm of metal overlap). I also wouldn't take it as a sign that the Fulcrums are poor quality, there's no real advantage to removing the burr.
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    And for a little extra info - http://www.sun-ringle.com/wheel-science/
  • ForumNewbie
    ForumNewbie Posts: 1,664
    racingcondor wrote:
    It's still common and always takes me by surprise when I put on some new wheels. It'll go round about the same time you learn to ignore it :lol: .

    Essentially it's because the rim is one piece of shaped metal that is bent round on itself, as a result there is a join (either pinned or welded together). Some companies make more effort to smooth this join than others (mostly on welded joins).

    Personally I wouldn't worry about it as it will wear away in the first 50 miles or so (it's a fraction of a mm of metal overlap). I also wouldn't take it as a sign that the Fulcrums are poor quality, there's no real advantage to removing the burr.
    I took the bike back to the shop today and they suggested they sand it down for me which I agreed to. I hope they don't make a mess of it by leaving a sanded mark that looks obvious. Maybe I should have just left it, if it will wear away naturally after a few rides. I wish the guys in the shop had convinced me of that.
  • rubbernekker
    rubbernekker Posts: 112
    I took the bike back to the shop today and they suggested they sand it down for me which I agreed to. I hope they don't make a mess of it by leaving a sanded mark that looks obvious. Maybe I should have just left it, if it will wear away naturally after a few rides. I wish the guys in the shop had convinced me of that.

    Seriously- having gone in and caused a fuss, did you expect them to say- 'it'll be fine, nothing to worry about, don't worry your pretty little head about it' . You'd have been back on here in no time and some armchair expert will have told you that you're being fobbed off- which you'd have listened to.

    Stop flapping, and make a decision- trust the bike shop, find another one or learn to do it all yourself. All of the info you have learned in this thread could have been learned without the associated histrionics from a 10 minute google search.
  • rubbernekker
    rubbernekker Posts: 112
    much?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh0ray9JnS0
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Couple of wet and gritty downhill rides would've soon sorted it. Or a bit of attention with a sanding block, as per the LBS solution.

    They are bike wheel rims, not components for the Hubble space telescope!
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    Sanding it wont do any harm, since the sanding will be on the rim itself any visible marks from it will wear off soon enough so aren't anything to worry about.

    Hope it works out for you. Sounds like you have a local shop that is eager to please though so I'd go back to them for servicing etc when you need it. A good LBS is a very valuable thing indeed.

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