Originally Posted by
BHOFM
I have a gentleman down the street, fixed income, no kids to help him out, can't
get a car, rides bikes from the thrift shop, $10 to $30 range.
He rides very slowly, to and from the store, doctor and park but has had three
bikes develop the same problem. He is not heavy, 180 maybe.
The rear wheel gets badly warped and the crank bearings come loose.
I have fixed the crank bearing on two of the bikes several times. I do
my own repairs and have never had a problem with mine and I do 60+
miles rides on a regular basses. I have done the rear wheels several times
and he came by today with the wheel on the Schwinn Varsity completey
bent against the frame. He said it happened while he was just riding down
the street, started rubbing and then stopped altogether. None of the spokes
are broken, but the wheel has a flat spot now, about a foot long.
What am I missing here?
If I thought it was just the bikes, I would go to Wally Wally and get him a
new bike. But there is some thing else here??
One thing I notice about older folks who aren't "knowledgeable" riders in a sense - let's say early 50s and up - is that most will ride the bike 100% in the saddle.
Literally, when they approach a pothole, edge of a curb, etc...it is literally - PLOP! - and continue on. All the weight was driven directly into the wheel.
This will take out undertensioned steel rims in no time at all....same for alloy wheels but a tad longer.
Sometimes the best solution for determining what is really going on - sorry to say this - is to observe how they ride. If it sounds like spying - welp that's what it is.
Once had to drop a customer who kept scaling up his wheel builds attempting to build the "ultimate" and "elusive" "light but strong" wheel. Got tired of seeing a wheel come back every week or so.
Then one day, I saw how the customer performed left and right turns - suffice to say they weren't turns by any figment of the imagination. Flat out refused to build any more wheels for that customer after that.
=8-)