Bicycle Mechanics - Huffy rim; "Made" broken check this out

Check this out, Guys. This is a pic of a Huffy Mountain bike rim.

This bike was donated to me so I could fix it up and then give it to a local low-income-area school.

At first, I thought the rim was broken. On closer inspection (yes, with the tire off), I noticed that the rim was actually MADE this way. The seams of the rim don't even come close to matching up.

Great Zounds, what poor workmanship. I have seen some bad quality in my day, but this is really bad.

Of course, this is a newer "Made in China" Huffy mountain bike. I am guessing it is from about year 2000.

Here you go, bike shop owners; my free gift to you. Print this pic and show it to buyers that ask what the difference is between a quality bike and an X-Mart Huffy.

Has anybody else seen this or seen similar examples of poor workmanship?

It's hard to produce a quality item and have pride in your work when you only make 35-cents an hour in China. No small wonder why the bike was "donated" to you as I'm sure you wouldn't actually pay for a P.O.S. like that! So did you fix the rim?

I'm just curious how you can tell this was a manufacturing defect, and not damage taken during shipment, assembly, its time on the display floor, its time chained up with all the other unsold bikes out behind the K-Mart over the winter, or after it was sold.

You'd think that whoever originally bought it would notice the defect the first time they used the brake.

RichC

Rich,

From the picture, there can be partly a damage during shipment or during handling at [name your store]. Also, the two sides of the rim might have been poorly assembled. However, the fact the height of the braking surface isn't the same on both sides clearly shows a manufacturing defect. It looks like the piece of aluminum (is it?) wasn't rolled properly near the end.

Has the original user noticed it? The braking might not be that bad, as I think the sides were machined. The user might have wondered why the wheel brakes like thunk, thunk, thunk... Besides, if it is the front wheel, many folks use their rear brake alone. The main problem I see with the rim is that tires might burst prematurely. Then, of course, how long the rim will last...


BTW, the bike can probably be salvaged, if the rest of it is in good shape. The group to which Mike donates it might have other bikes in poor shape, wheels from rusted frames, etc.

Regards,

Is that at the weld?

It looks to my like that is where the weld should be but it never was welded.

What can you say? It's a Huffy.



:beer:

Originally posted by mgagnonlv
Rich,

However, the fact the height of the braking surface isn't the same on both sides clearly shows a manufacturing defect.
Regards,

The height is the same.
It appears this way because the right part of the rim is closer to the camera. The rim is damaged, probably combined with manufacturing defect.

I know what you are thinking, Fellows, but the rim is not damaged. The rim was offset when the ends were welded(?) together.

As for taking pride in a 35 cent per hour job, everything is relative. I have met people who earn less than 35 cents per hour and still take pride in their work. In many respects, Chinese workers are the same as USA workers or German workers or Mexican workers; There are excellent workers and slackers. I think it is just poor management, supervision, and quality control.

What kind of QA would let something like this slip by?

I was thinking that was the tip, steel rims are welded at the join. The quality control problem is not in China but here in the US at Walmart or Target. When that bike is assembled it is up to the assembler to catch obvious flaws like that. I look for stuff like this every time I go into a department store.

Originally posted by Rev.Chuck
I was thinking that was the tip, steel rims are welded at the join. The quality control problem is not in China but here in the US at Walmart or Target. When that bike is assembled it is up to the assembler to catch obvious flaws like that. I look for stuff like this every time I go into a department store.

Ya, this rim is aluminum, by the way. I'm not sure how it is seamed.

Good point, Rev. This wheel made it past every possible inspector including the in-store assembler.

mike, looking at the direction of rotation of arrow I would have thought that if fitted that way it would have ripped the brake blocks to shreds or rip them out completely?

Unless of course, the wheel was fitted on the wrong way as well! But I guess that is par for the course at WalMart? We don't have that store in the UK that I know of.

Originally posted by mike
[ In many respects, Chinese workers are the same as USA workers or German workers or Mexican workers; There are excellent workers and slackers. I think it is just poor management, supervision, and quality control.

What kind of QA would let something like this slip by? [/B] I hope they never find the poor bugger ,he/ she are likely to be executed & their body parts sold to defray expenses :(

You guy have it all wrong. That is the rim with the built in bake pad cleaner!!

Originally posted by Avalanche325
You guy have it all wrong. That is the rim with the built in bake pad cleaner!!

Hehe. Exactly! It's just like having slotted rotors for your car :).

Yeah.......cleans your pads just like a one-tooth saw blade! No glazing on these pads but pad life is only about 500 feet (if you're lucky).

Or maybe it's for the Huffy brand mechanically actuated cycloputer. There's a little flap-switch attached to the fork that catches the protrusion to indicate a revolution. :D

Originally posted by mike

What kind of QA would let something like this slip by?

Huffy has QA?

Totally agreed. This is great evidence to show to those people that like to argue that a $100 Huffy is just as good as a $1500 bike.

Originally posted by danr
Huffy has QA?

Totally agreed. This is great evidence to show to those people that like to argue that a $100 Huffy is just as good as a $1500 bike.

I would like to hope that there are worthy bicycle choices somewhere in-between $100 and $1,500, but it seems bicycle companies are finding it difficult to get a groove in that range.

Originally posted by mike
I would like to hope that there are worthy bicycle choices somewhere in-between $100 and $1,500, but it seems bicycle companies are finding it difficult to get a groove in that range.

Hmmm... even for road bikes, I'm starting to see some really nice offerings in the $500 to $1000 price range. I'm really impressed by the Specialized Allez Sport, Giant OCR1 and OCR2, Lemond Tourmalet, Fuji Finest and Newest and Trek 1200. I'm also starting to find some excellent cross bikes around the $1000 price point. And there are numerous hardtail MTBs in the $800 to $1000 pricerange which are excellent values. Plus, that's the sweet pricepoint for top-end comfort and hybrid bikes.