Need bike advice, keep bending wheels, please help?

[Simonpurdon]

Hey guys,

 

I'm riding a Cannondale Scalpel 3 (alloy frame) 29er lefty that I have had since last year August, so not even a year old. In that time I have bent (beyond any truing) four wheels. Three of the wheels were WTB ST i19 wheels and the most recent was an Alex Rims EVO 2.0. It has always been the front wheel that has been bending. I am around 80kg (176 lbs) but have been as light as 75kg (165 lbs) when I bent the first one.

 

I know the wheels have been built properly, three different mechanics have built them so it can't be their error. It is also not while I am hitting any big jumps or anything, I know I dont have enough travel for that, one of them was a big crash where I wouldn't be surprised that it buckled but the most recent was going through a switchback, quite slowly too.

 

I check spoke tension and pressure before I read EVERY time, because of the recurring issue. I also know the shocks are set correctly for my weight.

 

Does anyone have any idea why I might be bending these wheels? Am I too heavy for the lefty shock?

 

I am seriously considering selling my bike and replacing it with something like the Lapierre Spicy 327 or the PYGA OneTwenty 650B. (Around the R35000 mark (approx $3100)).

 

Any advice or suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!

[GoLefty!!]

The rims are just too weak. Period. Invest the money in a set of Corse Rims at Williams Bike shop in Somerset West. Problem solved

[Simonpurdon]

The guy i bought the latest rims from assured me that these ones would hold up to anything I could deliver, within reason obviously. No rim is made to withstand almighty crashes.

[GoLefty!!]

I weigh about the same as you and have ridden Lefty's since 2001. I've never bent a front wheel even when I used Stan's first No Tubes rims that were super light weight and pretty flexible. Never.

To bend wheels with the kind of frequency you are implies something is different.

You ride 29er, I ride 26er.

29 wheels are notoriously weaker than 26. Thats why they're more comfortable. They flex more. If you're exceeding the abilty of the rim to remain rigid then its too weak for your riding style or your wheel builder is crap.

 

I can vouch for William. He has build several wheels for me and none have broken. I can vouch for a few people:

Lance Stephenson of Epic BIke Shop

Shane Jane vna Vuuren previously of Bowman's Cycles

William Keith at William's bike shop and

Melvin Claasen at Bridge cycles.

 

I trust no one outside of these 4 to work on my wheels, especially if they're handbuilt units and not factory.

 

Your wheels are too weak. You need stronger rims. The Lefty has nothing to do with the wheel's strength

[Skylark]

Selling your bike to solve a wheel problem makes no sense!

Get some decent rims, maybe just get a Stan's Flow Ex rim on the front, bomb proof and not overly heavy.

But 4 rims in under a year is crazy, especially seeing you are not very heavy, is there anything in the terrain you ride or how you ride that could possibly be causing it?

[RockCoach]

Yip. Bigger wheels will be weaker than smaller. WTB make some of the best, strong and reasonably light wheels bit not the i19 light weight race rims. Rather get the i23's. Huge difference...

[braailegend]

The guy i bought the latest rims from assured me that these ones would hold up to anything I could deliver, within reason obviously. No rim is made to withstand almighty crashes.

 

You can buy rims that will withstand almost anything! I weigh 103kg, and hit big drops with scetchy landings with little to know suspension. Remeber, rims are reletively light, so the extra few grams will make you ride with alot more confidence...

 

And get WIDE rims, the width also make a big difference, all mine are 30mm+

 

My favourite are Spank rims

[braailegend]

And i have to agree with skylark, selling you're bike to deal with a rim issue is a bit silly. Just get tougher wheels, the light weight stuff are made for dirt roadies. If you use your bike properly youll need some sweet rims

[fanievb]

one word

 

MAVIC

[TimC]

Yip. Bigger wheels will be weaker than smaller. WTB make some of the best, strong and reasonably light wheels bit not the i19 light weight race rims. Rather get the i23's. Huge difference...

 

I agree with this.

[Dustbin Dog]

Look at what terrain you are riding and how you ride that particular terrain. I do not susspect the wheels. I think your riding style is just to harsh.

[Simonpurdon]

Thanks for all the advice. Will speak to the guys at the local shop, Flandria, and organise some stronger wider rims. I will look at Stan's i23's or something similar.

[Simonpurdon]

*not Stan's i23's, WTB i23's. Anyone has any other wheel suggestions please let me know!

[PeterF]

Look at what terrain you are riding and how you ride that particular terrain. I do not susspect the wheels. I think your riding style is just to harsh.

 

Have to agree with this. My youngster rides a Flash 29er with a 28 spoke ZTR Crest rim on the front. He races XCO with it, i.e drop offs, gap jumps, rock gardens e.t.c with no damage to the front wheel or the ZTR crest back wheel.

[TimC]

*not Stan's i23's, WTB i23's. Anyone has any other wheel suggestions please let me know!

 

I'm sure there are plenty of good strong wheels out there. My story. I bent two rims before doing some research on strong, not too heavy but also affordable rims. I ended up with the WTB Frequency i23's. They have been so good to me that I doubt I will ever try anything else. After my research it was either the WTB i23 or the Spank oozy. Both fell into my criteria of strong, relatively light and affordable.

[Eugene]

I cannot agree that it is the fault of the wheels. Not even the cheapest wheels should be bending to such an extent. I am willing to bet there is some or other fault with the fork that is causing undue strain on one side of the wheel.

 

I have never seen a lefty close up, so I cannot say what might cause it, but here is an example of a similar problem a friend had. The bike shop also threw the "cheap, weak wheel" story to him.

 

His rear wheel was also going out of true over and over again ( road bike). After spending a fair amount on re-truing, new spokes and wheel build etc, it was discovered that the one side chainstay was slightly longer than the left side chain stay. His frame was replaced under warranty.

 

I realise that the above example is not the same as your problem, but it just highlights what can go wrong.