CNC2204

2400 miles in 10 months ive spun my fork bearings and i'm on my 3rd rear wheel.


One wheel was a loaner, my mechanics not too happy.


Is this normal wear & tear ?

Homebrew01

What are fork bearings ?

Homebrew01

If you mean headset, the bearings that are for steering, and attach the fork to the frame, they have nothing to do with your wheels.

Or you mean wheel bearings, that allow the wheel to spin ?

Either way, they normally last years & years.

CNC2204

Yes, headset but i think its the top bearing thats bad IDK. It was so bad that when i put on the front brake i couldn't turn the forks at all.

Homebrew01

What does your 3rd rear wheel have to do with it ?

jyl

Really confusing. Headset and rear wheel are completely unrelated.

CliffordK

Since that photo refers to: hargrovescycles.co.uk/media/catalog ... I assume it is not your bike.

My old Colnago is rapidly approaching a half century old, of which I've had it for 33 years. I just noticed that the lower crown race appears to be washboarding, and probably will eventually need replaced (but still works for now).

As far as the rear wheel, what went wrong with them? Bent rims? If so, perhaps abuse. Wrecks? Weight?

With the bearing, did you do any changes to the stem yourself? Could you have overtightened it?

Is the bike kept inside out of the weather when not in use?

My Specialized Tricross came with an odd fine tuning sleeve inside of the stem.

I'm not sure if I lost a piece, or was missing a piece (secondhand bike), but when I lowered the stem, it threw everything crooked. As soon as I noticed it, I stopped riding the bike, diagnosed the problem, and replaced the stem with a standard stem without that sleeve.

Anyway, everything has to be square, snug, but not over tight, and fit together right.

cny-bikeman

Headset bearings do not spin - they barely turn at all, so they cannot "spin out." It appears from your later posting that "locked up," would have been a more informative term, but there's no way for us to tell how that happened, as there are too many variables and too little information - could be poor install/adjustment/maintenance or (less likely) defective. As for the wheels, 3 wheels in that short of time is likely abusive riding. In any case we can tell you much less than a good, in-person mechanic can. I would assume if you can afford that bike you can also afford to get good advice.

CNC2204

So i got the bike last September. When fitted i had the stem flipped "up" because i couldn't make the stretch to the forward riding position.

2 months ago i could make the stretch and flipped it to the lower position.

I could have over tightened or not properly seated the bearing, im not sure but everything seemed fine.

As for the wheels the stock Campy/Fulcrum rear wheel kept breaking spokes.

It's shot so my LBS bought me a set of Mavic Ksyirium Equipes [under warranty] but after a couple weeks with those there was some piece of metal inside the rim itself rattling around.

So they sent that rim back to Mavic to have a new rim laced on, meanwhile gave me a Mavic Askium loaner wheel which i cracked the rim on that after 100 miles last week.

Im a big guy and ride aggressively but dont do anything im not spose to.

I guess im just to big for bicycles.

Some of the major bike manufactures should design & build to Clydesdales because regular size don't cut it specially if you're dropping 5K on bike.

dr1445

it looks like you are past the "if it is not broke don't fix it" stage. check out the park tool how to and take it down or bring it in to your lbs tech.

CNC2204

It's in the shop now as it has been almost every Monday all summer.

Last i heard im looking at 100 bucks.

I should have bought i nice car or truck or Custom Shop Les Paul last fall instead of dropping 5K on a bike that ends up in the shop every week.

PITA .....

Homebrew01

Maybe you have low spoke count wheels that are not appropriate for you. 36 spoke wheels, with sturdy rims should work.

You could post in the Clydesdale forum, and see what wheels and tires other riders your size are using.

CNC2204

Thanks for the replies i do appreciate it.

I love the bike [really] its everything you want.






I made a joke with guys at the shop they should go up the SPECIALIZED chain of Command to the Engineers in charge of product testing and tell them they have the "Terminator in STL" that seems to have no problem destroying stock parts if they want to test something.

One things for sure at my LBS, they know "I'll be back" ...

andr0id

Define "Big Guy." Is that 200 lbs or 400lbs?

What is riding aggressively? If you think a road bike can go over curbs, 2x4s and through potholes, you are wrong.

Either you are abusing the bike or you bought a bike that is too light for you.

Wilfred Laurier

+1

My weight varies between 230 - 250 lbs, and I like to ride fast, and I don't always stick to paved roads. I am currently riding 32mm tires on my aluminum touring frame, but I used to do the same type of BS on my lightweight steel road bike with 25mm tires, and I got years out of rear rims before they were too dented to use the brakes anymore. That frame, originally purchased in 1992,has little cracks forming under the seatstays at the seat cluster, so I retired it, but the parts are still in service on my touring frame - in fact I have the same front wheel that came on the road bike in 1992. 100 miles is not a normal life span for a wheel. I suspect you either got a defective wheel, or you ride with the finesse of a bag of dirt.

CNC2204

Power vs weight in race bikes has made them lighter & lighter.

If you're big and powerful and [not] 170lbs, these carbon bikes just tear up.

I need 2X or "heavy duty" in everything since Jr. High, bikes are no exceptions.

One of the reasons i got out of racing motorcycles was the cost of parts/maintenance.

I'm one pothole, one bump, one 45 mph downhill from the emergency room.

Not to mention the fecking cars trying to kill me everyday, but that a different show.

obed7

I am confused by this statement. What do brakes have to do with the ability to turn the forks? Are you talking about while riding or stopped?

Wilfred Laurier

From the info you gave in the OP, it doesn't sound like the lightweight carbon is to blame - it is the moderate weight components.

As asked above, how heavy are you? No judgement will be made, just need to put your equipment failures in perspective. The folks in the Clydesdales forum have proven that lightweight bikes with smart component choices can be reliable under big riders.

CNC2204

270 with a 38 inch waist.

They could beef up my bike with 10 extra pounds of reinforced gear and i would still be first on race day.

I blow other road bikes off the road with a 30 pound hybrid.

I don't have these problems with my mountain or hybrid bikes.

Homebrew01

Easy to talk about racing .... different to actually do it

Anyway, you probably just need sturdier wheels at your weight. The rest of the bike is probably fine. See post # 12

FastJake

In a cat 5 crit, I'm sure you could

jyl

You are too heavy to ride the wheels you are buying. You know you need "heavy duty" so why are you buying light, low spoke count wheels?

Sound like you don't "ride light" which make it worse.

Get custom wheels designed for heavy guys. Medium section aluminum with 36 spokes. Even with that, you will continue to have wheel problems unless you learn to ride light.

Sounds like you overtightened your headset when you changed the stem? Sounds odd but the bike is too new for any other explanation.

CNC2204

The voice of reason has spoken ...

jyl

Something like a Mavic Open Pro 36H would be a good rim to use.

Homebrew01

Open Pros have been know to crack around the eyelets.
Not sure how widespread, but it's the only rim I have had a problem with.