rhm

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here's one of my rear wheel:

Kinda scary, huh? And here's another crack, a little less drastic:

This is the left side of the bike; oddly the right sidewall is still solid. But clearly the rim is toast. I have stopped riding the bike until the rim can be replaced.


But this is a 16" (305 mm) aluminum rim, 28 spokes, which is an item that is not easy to find.

I have emailed Dr. Yan to see if he can supply one, but I am not particularly optimistic; he is in the business of importing bicycles, not bicycle components. Anyway, this is not a warranty matter: this rim has some 5000 miles on it, which means, of course, the hub has 5000 miles on it as well.

So, I'm wondering, what would you do?
-- throw the whole thing in a dumpster and get a new bicycle?
-- retire the bicycle until you find a correct rim?
-- find some bizarre way to lace a rim with a different drilling to this hub?
-- try to fit a 349 mm rim?
-- get a whole new wheel, 36 hole hub and rim?
-- and if you'd get a whole new wheel, would it still be a Sturmey-Archer hub, or would you go with something else-- SRAM? Shimano? NuVinci? Rohloff? Fixie?

timo888 

The rear spacing (116mm for the Mini) determines your hub choices. The SRAM, Shimano, NuVinci, and Rohloff are not available in this narrow width.

Regards
T

Bacciagalupe

Rims crack, that's just how it goes. Even a high-quality bike can need a replacement like this, e.g. if you break a spoke and don't notice it for awhile, you'd have to get the wheel rebuilt.

So, assuming you want to keep the bike:

1) Go to your LBS with the bike.
2) Have them order a replacement rim. Yes, they can almost certainly get one through QBP.
3) They will set up the new rim with new spokes to the hub.
4) Pay the bill, ride the bike until something else breaks.

Otherwise, if you do not want to keep the bike, sell it "as is" on Craigslist or eBay or something.

mconlonx

16" rims available here: https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/velocity.asp

Velocity "Aeroheat" in either 349 or 305. Peter White is also purported to build wheels as well...

rhm

Oh, yeah, good point. Thanks!

Actually, I've had more than one LBS go through all their catalogs, and the results were not promising. A couple years ago there was an Alex BMX rim with this drilling, and I got two of them and rebuilt the wheels on my wife's RSW-16; but they are very heavy and very wide, not suitable for the Mini and anyway, they are hard to find now.

There are online bike shops that sell pretty much everything in the QBP catalog, such as Niagara Cycle Works or Bikepartsusa, and they don't have the rim I need.

So far the only option I've found, to buy this rim, is to buy a whole bicycle -- either a cheap Chinese folder or a cheap Chinese children's bike.

Thanks, that's definitely the kind of help I'm looking for, but no: the 305 is available in 32 holes only.

somnatash

Ahrg, no do not rubbish your mini, solution is near: Velocity has those, not cheap but super nice Aeroheat 305 rims with 28 Drilling. I think they have them in stock - if not, they should take a back order and you might have to wait. Your LBS should be able to order from them - if that not turns out, pm me.
https://www.velocityusa.com

Are you in the US? I tried but they do not send to Germany but you might even be able to order directly from here:
https://www.everybicycletire.com

Or why not try a 349" rim, can you measure if that fits?

rhm

I have emailed velocityusa. What's the expresseion, ich druecke die Daumen, or something?

A 349 mm rim will fit, but the wheel will have to go farther back in the drops... and then the wheels won't match... and I'll have to use thinner tires... and ... bottom line, it's not my first choice.

invisiblehand

I built my Mini's wheels with ERTO 305 Alex DM 24 rims. 28 hole. I am trying to remember where I ordered them from ...

invisiblehand

Oh ... I should add that these are double wall rims. One of the few in ERTO 305.

mconlonx

D'oh!

Hmm. I'd give them a call or email them anyway to see if it's something they can special order or just don't have on their website or something...

rekall

isn't 110mm close enough to 116? if so, bmx hubs might work fine.

itsajustme

The OP is looking to replace a wheel with an 8-speed internally geared hub which has a wider range than a 10 speed....I don't think a bmx hub is going to cut it.

jur

Not that this comment is of any help, but this is the reason I stopped using rear brakes (except in emergencies). The rear picks up a lot of road grit which gets on the brake pads with resultant rapid wearing of the rims. The front stays much cleaner and you get far more braking mileage out of them. The front gives the majority of braking power anyway, so the rear mostly wears away without giving much real stopping power.

I think a good option is to look for a child bike with the right rim. Rubbish dumps?

rhm

Quite right. I reflexively hit both brakes every time I hit the brakes, and since 1/3 of my riding is in heavy New York City traffic, that's a lot of braking. That's what killed the brakes on my Strida, as some of you may recall.

I've been looking for children's bikes with the right rims for... well, at least a couple years! I know they exist, and no doubt people are dumping them all the time, but so far I haven't got lucky.

bykerouac

Hey rhm, what exactly are you looking for? I come across some dumped kid's bike occasionally, I might be able to salvage one for you.

rhm

Thanks!

The rim I'm looking for must fit three requirements:
--size 16" (ERTO 305), to fit 16 x 1.5 tire (not to fit 16 x 1 3/8 tire; that's ERTO 349)
--28 spoke holes (32 and 36 are available)
--aluminum alloy (chromed steel is easy to find; in fact I have a couple of those)

bykerouac

Cool, I'll be on the look out!

rekall

if you're riding daily and braking a lot, wouldn't a coaster brake make more sense? or disc brakes?

invisiblehand

I don't think that he wants to replace the hub.

makeinu

I'd like to see the SA-8 w/ a coaster brake. Coaster brakes work better with smaller wheels anyway, just like the SA8.

EvilV

Or even a steel wheel. I doubt that would have happened in a million miles on a steel wheel.

bykerouac

Steel rims don't brake well when wet though.

EvilV

Very true. and they weigh more, obviously. I don't get hung up about bike weight within reason. I need to lose about 15 pounds weight myself. A pound or two on the bike is nothing by comparison.
Some people will spend a fortune to lose the weight of the small change I carry in my pocket.

rhm

EvilV hits the nail on the head again.

Having heard nothing from Yan, and having got an unambiguous 'no' from every other lead I've followed (including a very nice email from Matt Dennis, Velocity USA's sales manager; he informs me they no longer make 305's), I rebuilt the wheel yesterday evening with a steel rim. The old rim weighed 7 oz, the new one weighs 21. Yes, that's just the rim, not the spokes, hub, rubber, nor the lead weight package. It was very difficult to get it true, too; for some reason the manufacturer did not set very high quality standards for 16" steel rims. Adjusting the brakes was no fun either. Oh, and stopping power in this morning's rain? Righto, time to change the subject.

I apologize for whining. At least I'm riding my Mini again, right?

rekall

i'm actually looking forward to riding on rims instead of my 5-spoke bmx plastic jawns... those are NO fun in the rain, let me tell you.