![]() |
Weird wheel issue.
Basically feels like I am going over a bump. This happens on smooth road. Any ideas?
|
Tire not seated properly?
|
Or you have too large a tube and it's folded over on itself. In which case the tire won't be inflated properly in that area.
Possibly a blister between the tire tread and casing. But I haven't ever had that on a bike tire. I have on a car tire.... long long ago when tire technology wasn't as good and when I couldn't afford new tires and bought used tires. |
Hang or hold the bike with either wheel off the floor. Put a finger just above the top of the tire, spin the wheel, and look for a high or low spot. Investigate if you find one. Repeat with the other wheel.
|
Over-tensioned spokes can be a possible cause for a rim to "ovalize" or develop a "hop"...
More information/background required to make an educated guess. There are many "possible" causes. |
I'll agree with FBinNY . It seems like you have a flat spot on one of your wheels. You can use the tail of a zip tie or a straight edge across the fork or seat stays to check significant deviation from average, or just watch the sidewall of the rim vs a fixed reference point, like your brake pads if you use rim brakes. If the sidewall doesn't deviate more than 1/8" it's likely the tubes and tires.
From experience, a feeling like a bump every rotation indicates a low spot, you feel the bump as the trailing edge of the dip rotates against the pavement. |
I experienced recently a defective (poor quality) new tyre which was initially round and symmetric, but bump it somewhere along the way and it just goes 'out of center', developing a spot where it even visually looks narrower. Tube was fine, it didn't have anything with it. I had to remount the tyre to make it round again, but for how long would it stand round before something similar occurs agains? So I just switched it to a better quality tyre. It was a cheap Bontrager 25x700C with wire. It's wire diameter was a bit too wide and I suspect this is what made something such possible.
|
Either a poorly seated tire or a damaged rim can do this. Watch the wheel as it rotates. If the tire seems to hop in one place, but the rim itself does not (watching the rotation as it passes through the brake pads can be a useful indicator), then the tire is not fully seated or too deeply seated at the hop. The fix is to deflate the tire and re-seat it. Sometimes, a hop can be caused by tire casing failure; in this case the tire width changes at the hop, as casing fibers pull apart and allow the tube to expand more. If you find this, you will need a new tire.
OTOH, if you see the rim itself hop as it passes by the brake pads, the rim is not radially trued, or it is damaged. Damage is more likely in my experience, as radial truing problems are seldom abrupt enough to create a perceptible hop while riding. If you find this, take the wheel to a bike shop to see if it can be fixed, and be prepared to buy a new wheel or pay to have the existing wheel rebuilt. |
Originally Posted by crazyravr
(Post 22829019)
Basically feels like I am going over a bump. This happens on smooth road. Any ideas?
|
Thank you guys. I will investigate and report back. I will start with with the simple, tire check, tube check and then see if the wheel somehow got damaged. Never had such an issue before. Could be after my recent flat tire / tube replacement. Maybe I did not get the tire on properly.
|
Originally Posted by crazyravr
(Post 22829404)
.
Could be after my recent flat tire / tube replacement. Maybe I did not get the tire on properly. You would have gotten more on point answers all around if you'd mentioned the tire change to start with. Spin the wheel slowly, eyeballing the tire's molded reference line just above the rim. |
Originally Posted by KLiNCK
(Post 22829129)
Over-tensioned spokes can be a possible cause for a rim to "ovalize" or develop a "hop"...
More information/background required to make an educated guess. There are many "possible" causes. |
Originally Posted by davidad
(Post 22829599)
I doubt that that is the case. If the spokes are too tight for the rim it will taco.
Jokes aside, I have never, ever seen a rim taco from over tensioned spokes. Lots of cracks around spoke holes, some pulled through the rim, but not one single taco. I'm not saying it's impossible, just implausible |
Not counting those folded in a crash, the new wheel taco is best understood by imagining a ball cradled at th Ed top of an M. It stays put because it has to go uphill in either direction before it can fall off.
Likewise, a built wheel is stable because moving the rim to either side would increase the tension of spokes on the opposite side. Once past the point of no return it will taco, because that condition has the lowest total spoke tension. However a highly dished wheel is like that ball balanced on an M with a low side. So, comparatively less force is needed to push the rim past the right flange and cause a taco. Not high tension, but uneven tension can leave an area not well braced, and prone to taco. IME, I've seen this happen when builders get carried away stress relieving newly built wheels, but never without some help to start the process. |
Originally Posted by Schweinhund
(Post 22829722)
Well dang, if it tacos can we eat it?
Jokes aside, I have never, ever seen a rim taco from over tensioned spokes. Lots of cracks around spoke holes, some pulled through the rim, but not one single taco. I'm not saying it's impossible, just implausible |
Originally Posted by davidad
(Post 22829945)
Read Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle Wheel.
|
Originally Posted by davidad
(Post 22829945)
Read Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle Wheel.
Once that happens the unbalanced load may (depending on spoke gauge and rim rigidity) pull the rim over far enough to taco. It's like the ball on the M - which must go uphill before it can go down. |
Originally Posted by crazyravr
(Post 22829019)
Basically feels like I am going over a bump. This happens on smooth road. Any ideas?
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6fe46c372.jpeg In extreme cases, the tire can split. You can see in this picture that the cords aren’t sitting close to each other and in a regular pattern like they should. You can see the snake belly “S” at the top of the picture. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a941144aa.jpeg These cords are completely broken and have worked their way out of the tire casing. This was not a blow out and, in fact, the tire held air quite nicely. It rode like crap but it held air. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f1ac77092.jpeg |
Thank you all that helped. The tire was not seated properly. This was a first for me and I have swapped tires and replaced flats 100s of times. Live and learn.
|
Originally Posted by davidad
(Post 22829599)
I doubt that that is the case. If the spokes are too tight for the rim it will taco.
Originally Posted by Schweinhund
(Post 22829722)
I have never, ever seen a rim taco from over tensioned spokes. Lots of cracks around spoke holes, some pulled through the rim, but not one single taco. I'm not saying it's impossible, just implausible
'squreaaak...... squreeakk....... squreeeeeaaakkkk... SQUREEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKK....' then... 'SPROING!!!!' and the wheel suddenly jumped from being somewhat straight to a complete taco. It is not super common but it happens. I suspect my colleague was tightening all the spokes on one side and not touching the other side, which led to a huge L/R imbalance in tension. It is also possible that, if one were tightening L and R spokes in one area of the rim, it would pull the rim into a 'flat spot'. However, a rim flat spot would have to be quite extreme to be able to feel it - the tire naturally wants to be round so it will usually make up for any minor to medium rim problems. When the tire is not seated properly or the casing is damaged, it is no longer round, and that can almost always be felt when riding. Notsomuch the rim. |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:56 PM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.