I'm wearing out bike parts but I'm saving gas...

TBerk

Discovered my rear rim broke two spokes and now (of course) has a
noticeable wobble. Over three years of using the bike as a truck to
haul myself and often mid to large boxes of stuff like groceries, as
well as commuting to work sites etc; its beginning to take it's toll.

I've always repacked the three main bearings at _least_ once a year
and I generally take some time on the weekends to check for loose
fasteners and wash off accumulations.

There hasn't been too many other problems other than some fine tuning.

In the last half year I swapped in a new front rim (old one lost to a
crash), looks like the rear rim might be a good candidate for a swap
too- that way I can experiment on lacing spokes and not take the bike
out of service while I build it up.

From one point of view it feels like crossing the threshold between
doing your own automobile tune ups and fixing your flats (instead of
calling AAA) to becoming that guy who rebuilds engines.



TBerk

Christian Williamson

TBerk wrote:
> Discovered my rear rim broke two spokes and now (of course) has a
> noticeable wobble. Over three years of using the bike as a truck to
> haul myself and often mid to large boxes of stuff like groceries, as
> well as commuting to work sites etc; its beginning to take it's toll.
>
> I've always repacked the three main bearings at _least_ once a year
> and I generally take some time on the weekends to check for loose
> fasteners and wash off accumulations.
>
> There hasn't been too many other problems other than some fine tuning.
>
> In the last half year I swapped in a new front rim (old one lost to a
> crash), looks like the rear rim might be a good candidate for a swap
> too- that way I can experiment on lacing spokes and not take the bike
> out of service while I build it up.
>
> From one point of view it feels like crossing the threshold between
> doing your own automobile tune ups and fixing your flats (instead of
> calling AAA) to becoming that guy who rebuilds engines.
>
>
>
> TBerk
>

Way to go, TBerk! You're an inspiration to all of us who will almost get
on the bicycle to ride in to work this morning.

Ted Mittelstaedt

"TBerk" <bayareaberk@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:34b51e28-0dc6-49bf-a41b-971942604b58@y38g2000hsy.googlegroups.com...
>
> Discovered my rear rim broke two spokes and now (of course) has a
> noticeable wobble. Over three years of using the bike as a truck to
> haul myself and often mid to large boxes of stuff like groceries, as
> well as commuting to work sites etc; its beginning to take it's toll.
>
> I've always repacked the three main bearings at _least_ once a year
> and I generally take some time on the weekends to check for loose
> fasteners and wash off accumulations.
>
> There hasn't been too many other problems other than some fine tuning.
>
> In the last half year I swapped in a new front rim (old one lost to a
> crash), looks like the rear rim might be a good candidate for a swap
> too- that way I can experiment on lacing spokes and not take the bike
> out of service while I build it up.
>
> From one point of view it feels like crossing the threshold between
> doing your own automobile tune ups and fixing your flats (instead of
> calling AAA) to becoming that guy who rebuilds engines.
>

Well, if your going to beat yourself over the head...

If you were using an old steel frame bike with steel rims and big hulking
thick spokes as your "truck" to haul groceries, you wouldn't be
breaking spokes.

Your basically doing the following to your lightweight bike that wasn't
made to haul anything more than your ass:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/automobiles/lumber.asp

Ted

daveornee

Keep up the good work. At today's fuel prices, I hope that more will join us.
If you get a rim with the same ERD (Effective Rim Diameter) you can swap over the spokes and retension/retrue in a short time. You likely already know that and the idea of building a "new" wheel is a good one so you can have a spare ready to go when the need arises.
I have had a spare set of wheels with tires (ready to swap over) for as long as I can remember. It allows you to go when you need/want to and deal with the flat tire/broken spoke/etc. later. I like to use rims with same width so I don't need to adjust the brakes.
I like to see all the bicycle riders in Chicago that are getting to work quickly and without adding to the polution. Most federal, state, county, and city parking garages now have secure bicycle parking.

Tom Kunich

"TBerk" <bayareaberk@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:34b51e28-0dc6-49bf-a41b-971942604b58@y38g2000hsy.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> From one point of view it feels like crossing the threshold between
> doing your own automobile tune ups and fixing your flats (instead of
> calling AAA) to becoming that guy who rebuilds engines.

Good for you. Though wheels are usually best bought unless you have a lot of
time to learn how to spoke and tension them.

RoCoach@gmail.com

Since I started riding again, I'm saving on gas, but eating MUCH more
food.