Tandem Tom

Just a few weeks into our cross country tour from Delaware to Oregon and I had a rear wheel problem. I was experiencing a pulsing with the rear brakes. When I stopped in a shop, in Confluence ,PA along the GAP, Brad the owner, allowed me to use his truing stand. I was thinking I just need to true it up. After a few minutes I was struggling with it and started looking closely at the rim. It was then I found a split along the braking surface which was causing the rim to flare out at that point and this caused the pulsing. It was a Velocity AeroHeat rim with only 1500 miles on it. The shop had a decent rear rear replacement and we were able to be on our way. I did cut out the hub and mail it home.
Really glad we found it when we did because we have been in W. Virginia and some of the hills are pretty good size. Would not have like to have a major wheel failure on one of these down hills!

Bike Hermit

A good reminder to check even seemingly innocuous noises or symptoms. And lucky you were in a spot where you could find a replacement.

Carbonfiberboy 

That's rare in only 1500 miles. The braking surface normally doesn't get that thin in under 3000 miles, even with a lot of rain riding. Was that rim used in the rain or other gritty environments a lot? The other cause is overinflation of a large tire, fairly common on touring bikes with heavy rear panniers.

berner

I figured out that we don't have to moving extraordinarily fast for a crash to have dire consequences. I clean my bike frequently and while doing that check forks and the whole bike in general for things that may be in the process of coming undone. Glad you caught that problem in time.

indyfabz

I forget your plan. Will you picking up ACA's Trans Am route? If so, I am wondering if I might see you. I am planning to leave Missoula on June 20th heading east on the Trans Am for 2 1/2 days before leaving it on the east side of Big Hole Pass. I will be back on the Trans Am two days later at Twin Bridges (great, free bike camp in town) and then possibly Ennis before heading back west via my own route through Butte, etc.

Tandem Tom

We are heading to St.Louis and riding the Lewis & Clark Route.

Vintage_Cyclist

My friend and I once took a tour from NYC to Montreal. Somewhere north of Albany his front wheel suddenly collapsed. Luckily we had passed a bike shop about five miles back. So he rode back with my bike to get a new wheel, while I disassembled his trashed wheel. After his return, spokes, nipples and hub went into his panniers and off we went, leaving the bent-up rim behind.

fietsbob

happens every once in a while out here .. there is a 120 day window of touring cyclists, hundreds of them .. spare wheels are off the peg

so a damaged Custom wheel would be as you did shipped the hub home

hope you took off the freewheel or cassette first. before cutting out the spokes .

B. Carfree

I had a couple of Velocity Aerohead rims fail similarly after very low mileage. The top of the triangle that connects each side simply disconnected so that the tire pressure pushed one of the braking surfaces out in a bulge. They replaced them both free and said they had had a bad batch that was having this problem. Of course they didn't know it was a bad batch until they were all out on the road failing.

Now that your trip has had its obligatory mechanical snafu, you are hopefully good to go. Enjoy.

indyfabz

If you take the "long" option (through Twin Bridges, etc.) I might see you.