Commuting - 700 wheels

Hi, I commute 15 1/2 miles r.t. I've just replaced my fourth spoke on wheels that are only a year old... and the bike shop said the next step is to "rebuild the wheel". For some reason they refuse to sell me a wheel, even though I asked. And when the work on the bike I'm then without it for 2 days!

I'm curious though, if I were to watch for a good price on new wheels, what do you all recommend for wheels? I want durable road bike wheels, with a decent tire (mine are a year old and getting thin). I have no idea what I'm looking at when I look at the online shops like performance and nashbar. My current psi is supposed to be 105, but I fill to 100 or slightly over.

It can't hurt to have a backup set of wheels, right?

Diane

Hi,
what do you have for a bike, and what are the wheels that are on it now, and how much do you weigh? Second, what is the budget for the new wheels? Third, you might consider taking them to a different bike shop. Those guys sound like putzes. A bike shop ought
to be able to tune a wheel so it doesn't break spokes. This set of wheels is nice. http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile_combo.cfm?SKU=19253&estore_ID=&subcategory_ID=5321&CFID=8106381&CFTOKEN=12594030

I have a Trek 7500 frame, with drop handlebars and shimano 105 derailleur.

The wheel is called Equation Comp 62 RD14, it looks nice enough. They told me it would cost about $80 to replace it. I hate going anywhere else cause I bought the bike there, and so far they don't charge me. They said they would rebuild for free, as I shouldn't be having this kind of problem.

I weigh 150. I'm not an onerous weight am I? :(

No,
I weigh almost a hundred pounds more, beat on my bikes mercilessly, and have broken one spoke in the last ten years.
I am not an expert. But either the wheel is utter crap; or you're catching huge air, or the bike shop can't fix a wheel. Maybe one of the other guys will have a better idea; but I am leaning towards the last one.

No,
I weigh almost a hundred pounds more, beat on my bikes mercilessly, and have broken one spoke in the last ten years.
I am not an expert. But either the wheel is utter crap; or you're catching huge air, or the bike shop can't fix a wheel. Maybe one of the other guys will have a better idea; but I am leaning towards the last one.


Wow. one spoke in 10 years. I was resigning myself to standing around at the bike shop.... so you are right, I should take it somewhere else. Seems dumb to pay a fortune for new wheels if someone else could actually fix it. Someone told me the "once you lose one spoke you will be forever trying to true the wheel. give up."

Diane

Ok before anyone goes blaming the bike shop... wheels often come from the factory built improperly. The standard procedure is to then either warranty the wheel or rebuild it. Once it is rebuilt by hand it is usually 10x better than the best wheel the factory would produce. What one person told you is wrong... an experienced wheelbuilder can easily replace a spoke and have the wheel as good as new.

The "Equation" wheels are pretty low end and I am guessing are machine built in China perhaps... not the greatest quality. If you want, press the LBS for a warranty wheel vs. a rebuild, but don't just automatically dismiss them when they are offering to rectify the situation for free.

150 pounds is nothing even for ultralight wheels! If you want a long life durable wheel set you should get something like Mavic Open Pro, Torelli Master Series, or the Ambrosio Excellence with 32 spokes per rim; these type of rims are virtually bomb proof. The Torelli and Ambrosio less expensive and just as good as the Mavic, and the Pros in Europe prefer to train on these then the Mavics. To save some weight use DT Competition 15/16/15 spokes in the rear and DT Revolution (14/17/14) or Competition 14/15/14 (if you don't want to spend the money on the Revolutions) in the front. And to save more weight use alloy nipples.

I weigh 163 and use 36 spoked Torelli rims with DT Competition 15/16/15 on the rear and Revolution on the front. They now have over 35,000 miles and never broke a spoke and I've been on some very rough roads; heck I rarely even have to true the wheels even just a tad.

Sounds like your bike shop is being responsible. They have offered to rebuild the wheel at no charge. A one year old wheel should not be popping any spokes if it was properly built in the first place. Most wheels are machine-made these days and can have too low or uneven spoke tension. Ideally, the bike shop should have gone over the wheel more throughly when you first got it, but at this point, too many spokes may have already been overstressed. I would let them rebuild it. If not riding for a few days is a hardship, talk to them about a loaner wheel - they may have one you can use.

Having a second set of wheels is OK if you have the $, but not all that necessary if you don't race, like to switch gearing frequently etc. The Mavis Open Pro/Ultegra wheel cited by another poster is probably a good deal on a quality wheel, but it would be machine built too and could have the same problems. Some people get them because they cost less than the separate components and just have a wheelbuilder retension them.

Wheels are made out of three parts... the hubs, spokes and rims. All of these parts wear out over time and only hubs can be rebuilt and many of those aren't worth the trouble.

Harris cycle (were Sheldon Brown works) sells good commuter wheels using Sun rims (CR-18 I think) and Shimano hubs (sora?). You can get a set shipped to you for well under 200 bucks if you're in the USA (I think you are).

Having the bike shop rebuild your wheels for free is a great deal, but of course it means you don't get to ride your bike while it's getting done. If you have the cash, get a new set of wheels AND get yours fixed. There's the question of changing the cassette (the gears on the rear wheel), or getting two for each set (more $$ and there's the problem of chain wear and mixing new and older parts)

If you're the person who rides a lot on wet roads, spare wheels are never a bad investment. Water and road grime kill both the rims and hubs. Over time, that *spare* wheel set becomes the *only* wheelset.

Good luck

I'd also look at Mavic Speed City wheelset. I've never used them, but heard they're about the most durable production wheelset in existence. Unfortuantely, they ain't cheap; a complete wheelset will cost around $400 (if you're patient, you can probably find them on-sale, either locally, or on-line for around $300-350.

Sheldon Brown is a good source, but I'd also look at local custom wheel builders. Here in Seattle, Perfect Wheels makes a nice hand built wheelset for around $250. Madison is a great bike city, so I'm sure you can find a good builder locally.

isnt the speed city disc only?

edi : just looked it up...its not. sorry bout that.

Well I do have to confess that they aren't out to sell me anything or I would have bought a new wheel a long time ago. It's just over 1 year, but the spokes started popping right about at one year. I'll let them rebuild if I break another one. I just wasn't sure what that meant and if that would take care of the problem. My bike, even though just a year old, does take kind of a beating, I get caught in the rain occasionally, and that can't be good.

It sounds like I don't need a new wheel, just yet anyway. But if I do have to replace it, I doubt I should put the Equation back on.

Diane

Thanks everyone so much for the help!

Diane,

Just FYI, rain, snow, or other any other wet weather conditions shouldn't harm your wheels by itself, but rough roads will. Water will cause some parts to wear more quickly because of rust, and brake pads wear out faster. The wheel itself shouldn't be effected too much though.