Wheel repairs Cape Town

[TopFuel]

Hi hubbers. My Bontrager Race Disc Tubeless rear wheel has gone and broken two spokes. Any recommendations on places to take it to. The wheel is still true, all that needs to be done is replace the spokes (I think). The spokes themselves are not snapped, but rather the spoke head/nipple has popped out of the rim.

 

Last place I took it to, they "fixed" it, went out for one ride and popped the same two spokes.

 

Any suggestions welcomed.

[Hairy]

where are you located?

[Let's Ride]

Should have returned to the place that fixed them.

[TopFuel]

I'm in the Southern Suburbs. I don't want to take it back to the place that fixed them, they clearly don't do a very good job.

[Johan Bornman]

I doiubt it was the same two that broke off. Those nipples are aluminium (alloy, as the Yanks and fellow ignoramuses say) and they have a limited life span. Their mode of faiure is 1) fatigue 2) corrosion. All of those nipples receive the equal cyclical fatiguing treatment from riding and all are, I'd like to think, exposed to the same element. Therefore, two old nipples broke and the new ones are still in that wheel. There is nothing that a bike shop can do to install them so badly thay they'll suddendly have thousands of kilometers of fatigue in them and break at the first sign of a ride again. Nothing. Your bike shop did do a good job but could have done better by suggesting the wheel is redone with brass nipples. However,brass weighs about three times what aluminium weighs and is thus too heavy for the average weight weenie. Stop blaming the mechanic if you dont understand the mode of failure. Blush, crawl into a corner and think about your sins.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Johan Bornman

[TopFuel]

Okay, since when did this become a name and shame session? Whilst I appreciate your insight, there is simply no reason to be snarky and rude. You do not know the entire story and you can only speculate as to what happened. The guy I took it to to get fixed is in the Northern Suburbs, and when I received the wheel back from him, I was still doubtful as to whether it was properly fixed or not. I do believe it was the same two spokes, as they didn't feel correct to me when I felt them. Deciding to ride anyway, they then broke.

 

Now, all I wanted out of this thread was some suggestions of a good bike shop/mechanic that is perhaps a bit closer to where I stay and (even better) specialises or has a keen interest in wheels. I just want to have it fixed so that I can ride again.

[Johan Bornman]

Okay, since when did this become a name and shame session? Whilst I appreciate your insight, there is simply no reason to be snarky and rude. You do not know the entire story and you can only speculate as to what happened. The guy I took it to to get fixed is in the Northern Suburbs, and when I received the wheel back from him, I was still doubtful as to whether it was properly fixed or not. I do believe it was the same two spokes, as they didn't feel correct to me when I felt them. Deciding to ride anyway, they then broke.

 

Now, all I wanted out of this thread was some suggestions of a good bike shop/mechanic that is perhaps a bit closer to where I stay and (even better) specialises or has a keen interest in wheels. I just want to have it fixed so that I can ride again.

Relax Max.

 

I don't see any naming or shaming. Look again.

 

You accused the bike shop, I told you how your theory cannot be true.Unless you marked the spokes, I doubt you can tell which two they were by merely feeling the tension.

 

Here's a suggestion.

 

1) Accept that aluminium nipples have a very limited life.

2) Accept that fatigue is uniform across all spokes and nipples in the same wheel.

3) Accept that replacing two nipples out of 32 is a silly idea, whether it was yours or the bike shop's.

4) Have the wheel redone with brass nipples tensioned very high.

 

Go for a ride with your new wheel and wave nipple problems good bye.

[T-Bob]

try Adri / the professor. He'll be under 'services'. Good mechanic and builds wheels like they are going out of fashion. PM me if you can't find his deets.

[Caerus]

Relax Max.

 

I don't see any naming or shaming. Look again.

 

You accused the bike shop, I told you how your theory cannot be true.Unless you marked the spokes, I doubt you can tell which two they were by merely feeling the tension.

 

Here's a suggestion.

 

1) Accept that aluminium nipples have a very limited life.

2) Accept that fatigue is uniform across all spokes and nipples in the same wheel.

3) Accept that replacing two nipples out of 32 is a silly idea, whether it was yours or the bike shop's.

4) Have the wheel redone with brass nipples tensioned very high.

 

Go for a ride with your new wheel and wave nipple problems good bye.

Whats a limited lifespan? cause both my bikes have ali spokes, the first being 3 years old and the nipples are as good as the day they were built, the second being 4 months ago and they too are fine and I've done good mileage on both.

[Johan Bornman]

Whats a limited lifespan? cause both my bikes have ali spokes, the first being 3 years old and the nipples are as good as the day they were built, the second being 4 months ago and they too are fine and I've done good mileage on both.

It is the opposite of an unlimited lifespan, which I suppose is like saying how long a piece of string is. The mushroom head of the alu nipple flexes with each wheel cycle like a swimming squid. Eventually, a circular fatigue circle formes around the spoke hole and the head breaks off in a nice circle, like in the photo. In the photo you can't see the head, it is inside the rim. Brass nipples on the other hand, are stiffer and dont flex enough to go into brass' fatigue range in a very, very long time. Aluminium nipples also fail invisibly, like yours have undoubtedly done. They corrode and since alu oxide is many times larger than an alu molecule, they freeze onto the spoke through expansion. Try and turn them and You'll see, they're impossible to move. A few factors determine how quickliy they will fail 1) Distrance travelled (iin other words, number of stess/unstress cycles of each nipple. 2) Load ( in other words, how much it strains during each cycle) and 3) How far the spoke protrodes through the hole on the inside. If the spoke sticks all the way through, the nipple lasts longer since this causes less flex. Amercian Classic holds a patent to that effect. 4) Moisture and salt in the air and road water. Edited July 6, 2012 by Johan Bornman

[TopFuel]

Cool. I certainly don't have much knowledge in the wheels department. I apologise for the previous outburst. Never cool to do something like that on the internet. Thanks for the suggestions and the information about brass vs. aluminium. I'll give the Prof a call and do some more research into the brass nipple thing. Thanks very much.

[Lucky Luke.]

http://www.epicbikeshop.co.za/

[Hairy]

Yo Kevin

 

In your area I would say Lance at Epicbikes is your man to go to.

 

Very high technical knowledge and a deft/skilled hand with wheels.

 

He is also a person who takes immense pride in his work.

 

Should Lance not rebuild the wheel, may I suggest you ask him to use a different colour nipple on the spokes being replaced. That way you can keep track of where and when various failures occure.

[TopFuel]

Thanks very much. Maybe the way to go, all opinions considered, is to get the whole wheel rebuilt. Bought the bike second hand last year, and it has given its fair share of maintenance problems. Thanks for all the suggestions though.

[Yyyy]

Reviving an old topic.

 

Anyone know a good place to repair an alloy MTB wheel in Cape Town region.

 

I hit something hard and caused a dent. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thomo]

Bicycle Maintenance Company (BMC) in Salt River.?