Rear wheel woes...

C

Cowled_Wolfe

Guest
Well, this sure has been a pretty bad month for rear wheels...

Last week:
I was riding home from work when "thwink!", six spokes died all at once on the ring-side of my GEBE setup. So I bought new spokes for the whole side, and ordered a new 12g GEBE wheel...

After installing the new spokes, I knew they wouldn't last long because I needed some pretty uneven tension to straiten the rim (my rim went WAY out of whack with the six-spoke-at-once-breakage).

Today:
I rode to work on the new GEBE wheel now that it's here. I did use my old axle, for quick-release goodness... It was a wise decision, too, because on my way home from work I heard a "pthhhhsssss" as my rear tire went flat.

After walking the last 1/4 mile home, I determined that my tire wasn't punctured -- the rear tube simply had enough and died. No problem -- I installed my No More Flats replacement...

Five Minutes Later:
On a whim, I decided to use my on-the-road repair kit to inflate my tube. In the process, I managed to destroy my tire pump. The tube was cheap plastic, which ended up splitting strait up the side.

Oh well, the pump was a cheapy. So I ended up inflating the tire with our good ol' air compressor... Oops! One more casualty tonight! My tire had a giant bulge where the sidewall turned out to be worn through.

...

So that's about it. My bike's rear sure has been a pain in MY rear... But I must admit, as I replace broken bits with stronger bits, my bike just gets stronger and stronger.

Anyone else had similar experiences when they first went motorized?

Cheers,
Wolfe.

(Oh, and I broke my mirror's arm too while removing the rear wheel... But at least I can fix that!)

EDIT:Sorry, I should have clarified... I'm just looking for stories of things breaking in general when motors were added (and sharing my own of course). I'd sort of like to see what components tend to fail during the motorization process.
 
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Reading threads like this makes me more comfortable with my decision to spend the dough to have The Wheelmaster lace up a wheel with 9 or 10g spokes.
 
Wolfe the search function is working for me ;) . Try searching broken spokes. :D

I have not broken a self laced n' tyed Wheelsmith 14g spoke yet. I have a GEBE R/S 35, weigh 235# and don't think my HT MTB is a dirt bike to be jumping up and down curbs. Just about all the roads I ride are in decent shape and those that are not are ridden with care...like looking ahead at the road surface instead of gawking at female pedestrians.

NOTE: This should have been posted in the Rackmount Forum and added to an existing thread.
 
I was riding home once, and I noticed the front tire being really weird to steer, but I ignored. then 2 miles from my house, i noticed the wheel and tube flopping along next to the rim and the rim grinding on the asphalt!!! all the air went out without me noticing and that rim and tire was totally trashed! it was a nice all black wheel with whitewall tire.

and when i fixed that, the rear tire tube blew, and blew its replacement, and then i found messed up spokes and had to replace THAT.
 
When I first motorized my bike, the rear wheel was in good shape, but after two weeks it broke two spokes on the drive side. I replaced those and it instantly broke six more, also on the drive side. At that point I "rebuilt" the left (drive) side with the heaviest stainless steel spokes available at my local bike shop, and have had no problems since.
 
some of the kits come with the rear sprocket only having 5 bolts to hold. i had spokes breaking a lot and went to a 9 hole and haven't had one break since. maybe just coincidence but i don't think so
 
busted spokes

When you guy's feel the need I'll build you a wheel that comes with a lifetime gaurantee, #10 gauge spokes are holding up without any troubles, pm me if your interested ......;)
 
On my bike the chain tensioner slipped and ended up breaking two spokes. It still worked fine, but it was not very strait.

BSA
 
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