what do my rims have against me!?!

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
to make this short, i just taco'd my FOURTH rim of the season...my third rear, second on the full suspension. i have NO CLUE how this keeps happening. the two most "mysterious" are the second and this last one.

the second, on my "road" bike i was hammering up a hill and "PING"! spoke snaps, rear rim tacos.

this one, same sort of scenario: i was riding PP back to the sussex lot going up a little rooty section and "PING"! another busted spoke and a severly taco's rear rim. i worked on it for 20 minutes with my limited knowledge of rims and got it to the point where it was the rubbing wasn't completely stopping the tire from rotating too badly.

the only thing i can attribute this to is the amount of torque i was putting on the bike. i was riding single speed (did the whole ride single speed to get a feel for what i'm in for) and was putting a TON of pressure on the bike going up that little rooty section i was in. is it out of the realm of possibility that i'm just putting too much pressure on the rims and they aren't strong enough?

any thoughts?
 

heythorp

New Member
I am going to bite on your taco.

There could be a few things going on here.

You are a big powerfull guy. You used to do power lifting. Your legs generate an extreme amount of power compared to someone who weighs 145lbs and is a pure biker.

Add the additional weight trying to conteract your forces and you are going to brake stuff. I am surprised that you have not broken a crank or bottom bracket.

Other issues are you get what you pay for and or you need to buy the right tool for the job.

Knowing you are a heavier rider with tremendous power you need to buy beefier components. Wheels/cranks/bottom brackets. Yes they will be heavier but that is better then getting stranded.

The third issue here is making sure the wheels are built properly and are inspected before each ride. When spokes are over tightend they will pop. @ 4 wheels in on season I would invest in a spoke tension gauge and check them before each ride until you know they are not moving around on you and then you could just check them every couple of rides. Learning how to true a wheel is not difficult at all. Just takes some time. But its one thing to make it straight and another to not over/under tighten them.
 
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bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
ok, so what am i looking at for parts? i already know the rims are likely going to be the big ticket item...as far as weight is concerned, well, the engine (being me) is already heavy so there's not going to be any real difference in the weight of the bike to me. it's a price i have to pay i suppose.

i don't think there's any magic to working on wheels, it more of a time issue. if i had the time to build my own wheels, well, i'd probably have time to finish my scrambler too! to be completely honest, i've really never checked the spokes before i ride...sort of the same way i USED TO never check the air in my shocks. guess that's another thing that's going to have to change.
 

Jason

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
bonefishjake said:
ok, so what am i looking at for parts? i already know the rims are likely going to be the big ticket item...as far as weight is concerned, well, the engine (being me) is already heavy so there's not going to be any real difference in the weight of the bike to me. it's a price i have to pay i suppose.

i don't think there's any magic to working on wheels, it more of a time issue. if i had the time to build my own wheels, well, i'd probably have time to finish my scrambler too! to be completely honest, i've really never checked the spokes before i ride...sort of the same way i USED TO never check the air in my shocks. guess that's another thing that's going to have to change.


http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/12...lsets/Mavic-Crossmax-XL-Tubeless-Wheelset.htm

These are what I have and they are very tough. Yes pricey but they are strong, tubeless and will last you a long time. I have found many deals on ebay for under $500 for a set.
 

heythorp

New Member
You may want to start looking into more of freeride/downhill items. xl while tuff I think is more of a cross country item. please correct if i am wrong
 

Jason

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
heythorp said:
You may want to start looking into more of freeride/downhill items. xl while tuff I think is more of a cross country item. please correct if i am wrong

The SLs (white/grey ones) are their weight weinie versions. They have an even tougher version but I see no real need for them.
 
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heythorp

New Member
Jason said:
The SLs (white ones) are their weight weinie versions. They have an even tougher version but I see no real need for them.

I have a set of enuros that I like.

Remeber he is really putting some torque to the pedals that we cant even imagine. How much did you used to lift again?
 

Jason

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
heythorp said:
I have a set of enuros that I like.

Remeber he is really putting some torque to the pedals that we cant even imagine. How much did you used to lift again?

But what gears is he pushing? Even me pushing mainly my higher gears and I'm extremely rough on my bike and barely have any noticeable bends in over 3 years on the same wheels.

If he's really worried then he can look at the DeeMax (yellow rims) that are supposed to be able to survive a nuclear blast!
 

Jason

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Also note that the mavic wheels use the straight spokes that are extra large. When I did my original research on these wheels, the story was this design was far stronger then traditional wheel designs.
 
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bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
heythorp said:
I have a set of enuros that I like.

Remeber he is really putting some torque to the pedals that we cant even imagine. How much did you used to lift again?

um, well...

bench: 455
dead lift: 575
squat: 505
power clean: 275

if i ever competed, which, prior to shoulder a strain and the realization that the only people that actually make (any) money powerlifting spend tens of thousands a year on steroids, i would have easily won the drug free class with a combination of 1,535 lbs (combination of bench, dead and squat).

any time i was at the gym, my workout centered around moving at least 10,000 lbs of weight whether i was benching, squatting or whatever.

when the spoke (and associated rim) let loose today, i was single speed boy and running 32-19 (or 17...i can't make out the stamp on the cog) which, if my single speed is ever built, will be what i'm running. i don't know how the council is going to react to the $500 rims. the council being my wife.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
call john at cycle works. he is a top notch wheel builder, and he should be able to build a custom set that will meet your needs and expectations for less than $500.

There is also a guy in florida - i will try to get his info for you - that supposedly builds incredible wheel sets for very reasonable prices. plus he only charges for the cost of replacement parts should the wheel get damaged, etc. obvious downside is he is in florida. i was actually going to have him build out a set of wheels for my lefty jekyll, that was until it met an untilmely demise, but that's a whole other story.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
jay LOVES the guys at mtbr!

i forgot about the guy at cycle works...i know i read on their site awhile ago that he builds wheels so i'll have to check in with him. at this point, i would probably shy away from a wheel builder in FLA only b/c if something does go wrong, it would need to be shipped from FLA to NJ then fixed by someone (unless i get wicked good wheel building skillz in the near future). if it's local i can run to the shop and get what i need and (hopefully) be riding the next day.

thanks for the link steve. i'll check it out...
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
if i have a bike to ride, yes. as a last resort, the 970 may come out of "road retirement" and get some trail work. that should be interesting...going from full suspension bike to a NO SUSPENSION bike.

dude, the am was tough as hell for me. earlier in the year i was out of bed and on the bike by 6:15. now my eyes don't even open until 7:00.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
what do you think of this?

i got a quote (wicked fast, i might add) from one of the shops, red barn, listed in the thread that steve provided (in the interest of NOT have my brake cables cut, i'll refrain from saying where the thread is from....:D).

"DT's EX5.1 rims laced up to a very nice set of sealed bearing type hubs like the Hope XC and laced with DT Comp (14/15/14 butted) spokes and brass nipples should serve you very well. The DT EX5.1d rims laced to Hope XC hubs with butted spokes and brass nipples would run $375 shipped."

that sounds REAL reasonable to me. what do you think? i'm going to call john at cycle works to get a quote too.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
after reading the thread a little more, seems like most clydes are looking at the Pro 2 vs. the XC so i'm going to get a quote on those as well. materials alone shouldn't be for the $75 which i still think is reasonable.
 
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