Originally Posted by
tardman91
I need some advice on a rear wheel for my bike. The original crappy one broke a while back. Some of the spokes were over tightened and cracked the rim (not by the shop I go to now). My LBS recommended I get a Mavic CXP22, 36 spoke rear as a good strong, reasonably priced wheel. It rode great for a while, but then I broke a spoke. Then it happened again, and again, and again yesterday ( and maybe one other time, I lost count). The manager of the shop said if it happened again they would warranty it out, so I left it at the shop yesterday morning before our club ride, which I was on my way to when I broke the spoke. The mechanic and manager weren't there, so i left it with a note. I haven't heard back from them yet. I was going to see if they would let me apply the cost of the wheel towards a stronger one since they are going to warranty it out anyway, or if they thought it was just a bad wheel or something else.
That's what cheap machine built wheels do.
The number of stress cycles survived (about 750 a mile) depends on average stress (parts of the elbows were never taken past their elastic limit and therefore retain high stress) and magnitude of the stress cycle (as a big guy you make the rims bend more as they go around with greater length and tension changes in the spokes).
You can also break non-drive side spokes when the wheel doesn't have enough tension because they bend (high stress cycle magnitude as they bend back and forth like paper clips).
So I came here for suggestions. Is there a reasonably priced off the shelf wheel for 700x23 tires that is pretty bulletproof?
No since it's usually not a materials problem and the manufacturers aren't going to cut into their profit margins on low (or even not so low) cost wheels with expensive hand labor or stress relieving machines
I'm not really interested in shelling out for a custom built rear wheel at this point because my weight shouldn't be a problem for most standard wheels, plus I'm still losing.
$50-$100 in labor (depends on where you live and you need to find a competent wheel builder which I would not count on) + $36 in spokes and nipples will cost less than a new rear wheel that's likely to fail in the same way.
What would you guys do in my situation?
Buy a copy of
The Bicycle Wheel, Minoura truing stand, Park portable dish tool, Park spoke wrench in the appropriate size, and Park TM-1 tension meter.
Get a set of DT 2.0/1.8 Competition spokes in the appropriate lengths (aim for the nipple slot) and DT 12mm brass nipples.
DT 2.0/1.8 spokes in even and odd lengths for $.69
Rebuild the rear wheel.
Pay special attention to the section on stress relieving (I prefer bending spokes around each other with a brass drift) and also note the part about spoke line correction.
Enjoy until you bend the rim on an obstacle or wear out the braking surfaces. Upon doing so tape an identical replacement rim next to the old one, transfer spokes and nipples one at a time, and tension + true the wheel.