Bicycle Mechanics - I set my rear wheel on fire

I got a rear wheel for free. I think its from the 80's but it seems in pretty good condition. I didnt much care for the plastic thing that prevents the chain from going over the highest gear, so I wanted to remove it. Its late, like 830pm so I couldnt go to the shop to get the 2 pronged tool, so I just figured I would burn the darn thing off. Needless to say it made a heck of a mess, a giant plastic goo that contains chuck of dirt, small twigs (i threw dirt on it to put it out) is now bonded to the spokes, the hub,and the cogs.
This whole burning took a long time, it just kept burning and burning, maybe for like 7-8 minutes. And it got really hot too. I heard the spokes ping* a couple times, maybe just shifting themselves about. Also after it was all done the bearings felt pretty crappy too. More-so then they were previously. So is it possible I damaged any of the metal parts, maybe I melted something in the freewheel?

I'm going to answer as though this isn't a joke. At least that way I'm providing a straight-man service.

If the spokes were pinging, that means things were changing shape. That means they got pretty hot. That means that you don't know where the grease has gone inside the freewheel, which would explain the ****ty feeling of the bearings. There's a good chance the grease burned, even, depending on what kind of grease it is.

I'm afraid that's what we call a "*****".

http://joshuanewmandesign.com/xfer/*****.jpg

I got a rear wheel for free. I think its from the 80's but it seems in pretty good condition. I didnt much care for the plastic thing that prevents the chain from going over the highest gear, so I wanted to remove it. Its late, like 830pm so I couldnt go to the shop to get the 2 pronged tool, so I just figured I would burn the darn thing off. Needless to say it made a heck of a mess, a giant plastic goo that contains chuck of dirt, small twigs (i threw dirt on it to put it out) is now bonded to the spokes, the hub,and the cogs.
This whole burning took a long time, it just kept burning and burning, maybe for like 7-8 minutes. And it got really hot too. I heard the spokes ping* a couple times, maybe just shifting themselves about. Also after it was all done the bearings felt pretty crappy too. More-so then they were previously. So is it possible I damaged any of the metal parts, maybe I melted something in the freewheel?

:lol: Oh man, that's great!

Replace the spokes, take the hub apart and clean and grease it, and get the dirt and melted plastic and twigs off it, and it should be fine.

I'm afraid that's what we call a "*****".
+1

In a pinch, I use a utility knife and pliers. Fire is cool, but not as a bicycle tool.

Burning plastic by itself can't get nearly hot enough to damage any metal parts, but the grease in the hub/freewheel is probably dead. Open it and clean it out.

And you thought that this would be a good idea how?

You really need to learn about patience before you do anything else mechanical......

I think the term "Charlie Foxtrot" would apply to this situation.

would have just attacked the spoke guard with a screwdriver
would have been easy to break up.

Lol, this has got to be a joke post.

Lol, this has got to be a joke post.

I dunno. There is nothing so foolish that someone, somewhere hasn't done it.

Also, burning plastic can certainly get hot enough to ruin the properties of metal parts even if it doesn't melt them. Buy a new wheel.

For future reference, the correct way to do this is to light the dork disk on fire and then ride the bike to maintain air flow over the parts and prevent overheating.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/jsharr/burnbike.jpg

Lol, this has got to be a joke post.

We can only hope....

In a pinch, I use a utility knife and pliers. Fire is cool, but not as a bicycle tool.

I think I may steal that as a sig!

I too suspect the OP of joking, but you never know!

Wtf?

C'mon guy, you know fire is not the correct way to remove a pie plate. What you are supposed to do is dunk the whole wheel in a vat of liquid nitrogen and then hit it with a baseball bat.

Please keep a camera nearby next time you work on your bike. (But not too close).

i used to break those plastic things off with my bear hands when i was a kid. well, i still am. but a long time ago. i did it to every cheap bike i got. yeah i'd bet if it was pinging then it's pretty out of true. and possibly lost some strength

i used to break those plastic things off with my bear hands when i was a kid. ...

You had bear hands when you were a kid? Did you have a pet bear? Or did you borrow some hapless bear's hands? Or are you a bear?

The dork disc on my old Windsor is steel, not plastic. I'm pretty sure the liquid nitogen trick wouldn't work. I guess I'd need a pretty hot flame to burn it off. Would acetylene work? I guess I'd need to keep the wheel turrning while I burn it with the torch.

Next time, try a chainsaw. :lol:

You had bear hands when you were a kid? Did you have a pet bear? Or did you borrow some hapless bear's hands? Or are you a bear?

http://gruntlings.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/bearhands.jpg

I guess this adds yet another answer to why it's called a "dork disc" !@#!!!

I have nothing to add. But since this thread will soon make it to legendary status, I just want to get my name in here.

jim

sorry. bare hands. i have trouble remembering things with little structure like language and stuff. that's why i'm a mechanical engineer, where everything is solid and explainable.

I guess this adds yet another answer to why it's called a "dork disc" !@#!!!




Thats right. You gotta be a dork to wanna to take it off. :D


But seriously, where does this "dork disc" hatred come from??... I mean its not just here on this thread either, but everywhere on the forums. Its almost like the spanish inquisition to stamp out and burn at the stake every spoke protector that was ever made. For the life of me I cant understand that (really).

In almost every thread, in all the forums, where someone wants to show off their new bike, some self knowlegable, but misguided soul (without fail) will come out and say "Yeah nice bike, but you might want to get rid of that dork disc."........WTF for??.......Case in point is the OP, who was willing to burn down his whole house and everybody in it just to rid the earth of the demon spoke protector on his bike.

"For Cristsakes......Leave the damn thing alone!!".........its not bothering anyone, and its designed to help you in the first place.......to keep your damn chain from ripping out your spokes!! :crash::crash::crash:

Oh, it dont stop there either. This same "spanish inquisition", or more correctly "OCP inquisition" is also responsible for the witch hunt against kick stands and bike reflectors.


:D:D

Dork disks, accusations of OCP... Now all we have to do is work chain lube into this and we have the trifecta. Maybe with a little layer of Shimano v. Campy.

jim

p.s., I remove all dork disks by cranking it up to 400watts. They shatter into a million pieces.

Let's see here, the Moto still has it because the damn thing still looks new and I don't want to take it off, the folder's just crumbled over time and removed itself, the one on the bike I use for pulling the BoB trailer came cracked so I finished the job and removed it with a utility knife, the trike doesn't need one since the chain is nowhere near the wheels and the Footbike doesn't even have a chain.

And I think the old beater has half of one.

But the pros don't have them! :p

But seriously, where does this "dork disc" hatred come from??...its not bothering anyone, and its designed to help you in the first place...to keep your damn chain from ripping out your spokes!!

I figure the reason it's looked down on is that it is only needed by people who don't take good care of their bikes. After all, if one has their rear derailleur adjusted properly, it won't be able to throw the chain off towards the spokes. Therefore "dork discs" are synonymous with newbies or people who can't do bike maintenance.

Proud to be a dork! The Schwinn ones were coveted by all my buddies growing up! The chrome, the chrome!
I never liked the plastic ones, they get yellow after a while...

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n112/hellhammered/1AiraidK.jpg

I figure the reason it's looked down on is that it is only needed by people who don't take good care of their bikes. After all, if one has their rear derailleur adjusted properly, it won't be able to throw the chain off towards the spokes. Therefore "dork discs" are synonymous with newbies or people who can't do bike maintenance.

..... or folks that have sticks fly up and get caught in the chain or have them go out of adjustment due to a crash or folks that change wheels a fair amount or a host of other factors.

I think I take pretty darned good care of my bikes. But I don't check the limit screws unless I'm working on the derraileur. Yet I've had the chain fly off the inside a few times on my mountain bikes. Most of them there was a dork disc to catch it and it was no big deal to put it back on. Another time on a nice vintage road bike I had there was no disc and it ate all the inside spokes when it happened on a climb. Total wheel collapse in the blink of an eye.

I'm proud to fly my dork discs in defiance of what any self appointed pundits claim. It's super cheap insurance against long walks back to the truck or home, getting hurt and the cost of new spokes.

I had a tire that was tough to get off. I used 10 lbs. of C4. The tire is off now, but are the bearings OK?
So far I found most of the parts.

Thats right. You gotta be a dork to wanna to take it off. :D


But seriously, where does this "dork disc" hatred come from??... I mean its not just here on this thread either, but everywhere on the forums. Its almost like the spanish inquisition to stamp out and burn at the stake every spoke protector that was ever made. For the life of me I cant understand that (really).

In almost every thread, in all the forums, where someone wants to show off their new bike, some self knowlegable, but misguided soul (without fail) will come out and say "Yeah nice bike, but you might want to get rid of that dork disc."........WTF for??.......Case in point is the OP, who was willing to burn down his whole house and everybody in it just to rid the earth of the demon spoke protector on his bike.

"For Cristsakes......Leave the damn thing alone!!".........its not bothering anyone, and its designed to help you in the first place.......to keep your damn chain from ripping out your spokes!! :crash::crash::crash:

Oh, it dont stop there either. This same "spanish inquisition", or more correctly "OCP inquisition" is also responsible for the witch hunt against kick stands and bike reflectors.

Finally, some common sense about the forlorn dork disc. My new OCR-C has a dork disk, a nice small one, and its staying. Those zero light wheels are worth protecting. If it wasn't for the dork disc my son would have totaled the Mavic 117 on my MTB when he had a wreck. The total damage was, one destroyed dork disc.

I had a tire that was tough to get off. I used 10 lbs. of C4. The tire is off now, but are the bearings OK?
So far I found most of the parts.
That was extremely foolish. 1-1/2 pounds would have done the job and the parts would have been easier to find. The bearings probably need to be replaced anyway. :rolleyes:

reflectors are one thing, but kickstands are pretty useless.

I've never had my chain go off into my spokes, although I've seen plenty of bikes where that has happened. I guess it comes from paying attention to my rear dérailleur and not letting it get bent. And there is nothing worse than a bike where the chain is stuck on the dork disk.

Well, the kickstands on my bikes hold them up when they're not being ridden, that hardly seems useless to me.

Not everyone worries obsessively about the weight of their bike, I'd rather put that energy into enjoying the ride.

Well, the kickstands on my bikes hold them up when they're not being ridden, that hardly seems useless to me.

Not everyone worries obsessively about the weight of their bike, I'd rather put that energy into enjoying the ride.

+1 absolutely! :thumb: I think it's pretty obvious if you see my bikes...

Finally, some common sense about the forlorn dork disc. My new OCR-C has a dork disk, a nice small one, and its staying. Those zero light wheels are worth protecting. If it wasn't for the dork disc my son would have totaled the Mavic 117 on my MTB when he had a wreck. The total damage was, one destroyed dork disc.




Actually my post was meant as a bit 'tongue-in-cheek' but with a point. Sure most of us know how to adjust derailleur limiter screws to keep from over shifting off the largest cog, but what about the people who dont??...Should they suffer from the over zealous antics of whats supposed to be concieved as "cool" when it overrides a proven safety device the manufacturers think is necessary??

What about some dear old lady down the street, who upon the advice of some jerk, lets him remove her 'dork disc' because its not cool. Two weeks later this same sweet lady wants to ride her bike around the neighborhood but her derailluer is out of adjustment. She unknowingly overshifts into a lower gear and "rrriiipp" her spokes are ripped out and it causes her to crash. She's hurt and possibly could die.

Man I shudder to think, all because some moron learned on BikeForums that its not cool to have a spoke protector on a bike, and is therefore going to preach such idiosy to less mechanically inclined individuals who dont know any better. They are the ones that suffer such wisdom.

You have to see a bigger picture.

~thanks 'roccobike', I feel much better now. :D

I've altered my sig line to express my love of dork discs...... :D

:lol: Oh man, that's great!

Replace the spokes, take the hub apart and clean and grease it, and get the dirt and melted plastic and twigs off it, and it should be fine.

I'm thinking the same way

I've altered my sig line to express my love of dork discs...... :D




:D


Yeah, for real. I'm even thinking about installing a big one on my Tommasini and riding to the LBS next saturday to mingle with the fast guys. :lol:

:lol: Oh man, that's great!

Replace the spokes, take the hub apart and clean and grease it, and get the dirt and melted plastic and twigs off it, and it should be fine.

Except you have now turned a free wheel in to a $50 wheel?

I think it's kind of an ideological thing with the pie plates and the kickstands - not to have anything not strictly necessary attached.

less is moar?
minimalism?
pare it down?

Personally I would feel silly with a kickstand on my road bike. I mean, all that effort turning it into a fast machine and then stick something on it to help it stand still?

....Personally I would feel silly with a kickstand on my road bike. I mean, all that effort turning it into a fast machine and then stick something on it to help it stand still?

On a basic level I totally agree. However there's lots of bikes out there that look better standing still that just beg for kickstands..... :innocent:


.... where's the "evilgrin" smilie.... :D

.....deep breath..............deep breath.

I mean, all that effort turning it into a fast machine and then stick something on it to help it stand still?If you're riding 24/7, you have a point.

Save the innocent dork disks! They never did anyone any harm!

We should start an advocacy group. What should it be called? Hmmm...

Society for the Prevention of Violence to Dork Disk
Society for the Preservation of Dork Disks
Dork Disk Preservation Society

Save Our Dork Disks from Oblivious Fire Fiends .... SODDOFF

That's it! Brilliant!

I like to listen to music while I wrench. I try to match the tune to the task, as I think it makes the time pass faster. I would have had this blasting as I torched my spoke protector.

YouTube - The Trammps Disco Inferno

I think I remembered why I read bikeforums.


(The information, of course.)

If you don't like my spoke protector, reflectors or kickstand ignore them.

If you don't like my spoke protector, reflectors or kickstand ignore them.

I hate them so much, I'm gonna torch them right off :lol: