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Water in my rims

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01 / Original postWater in my rimscyclingturtle · 8 Jan 2005 02 / This pagePosts 1–10Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #10Zog The Undeniable · 10 Jan 2005

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Original section
Cycling Equipment
Published
8 January 2005
Last activity
10 January 2005
Original author
cyclingturtle
Posts
10
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Public discussion
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353
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Topics
BianchiRim wearTitanium framesTyre pressure

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  1. Original post
    cyclingturtle
    Archived post
    #1

    Hello everybody,

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !
    Any similar experience, advice ?

    Jacques

    Report
  2. Mark Hickey
    Archived post
    #2
    cyclingturtle said:

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !

    That's really the only realistic way to get the water out. That
    shouldn't really pose a problem, since you shouldn't be getting that
    much water IN the rims unless you're riding through VERY deep standing
    water (which is always a bad idea, especially when riding high-zoot
    wheels).

    I suppose you could drill one small "drain hole" above the braking
    surface to get rid of most of the water a bit easier - but in the end,
    it shouldn't really be a huge problem unless you're riding through
    rivers regularly.

    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $695 ti frame

    Report
  3. Wayne Pein
    Archived post
    #3
    Mark Hickey said:
    cyclingturtle said:

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !

    That's really the only realistic way to get the water out. That
    shouldn't really pose a problem, since you shouldn't be getting that
    much water IN the rims unless you're riding through VERY deep standing
    water (which is always a bad idea, especially when riding high-zoot
    wheels).

    I think the water gets in the rims by slinging down the spokes and into
    the tiny space between spoke and rim.

    Wayne

    Report
  4. Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain Reaction Bicycles
    Archived post
    #4
    Quoted message said:

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !
    Any similar experience, advice ?

    Yep. So much so that Bontrager began drilling small holes in many of their
    rims so the water could escape. I'm not sure I understand the mechanism
    whereby water can get into a rim so easily yet not get out, but experience
    tells me it *does* happen, and the small holes definitely help to remove it.
    If you want to see examples, go to a Trek dealer and look at a Bontrager
    RaceLite wheelset (found on many of the $1800-$3000 road bikes). They might
    be on others as well, but I just physically verified their existence on the
    RaceLites.

    --Mike Jacoubowsky
    Chain Reaction Bicycles
    www.ChainReaction.com
    IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

    "cyclingturtle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Hello everybody,

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !
    Any similar experience, advice ?

    Jacques

    Report
  5. Tom Sherman
    Archived post
    #5
    Mark Hickey said:

    "cyclingturtle" <[email hidden]> wrote:
    ... The real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount

    Quoted message said:

    the tire !

    That's really the only realistic way to get the water out. That
    shouldn't really pose a problem, since you shouldn't be getting that
    much water IN the rims unless you're riding through VERY deep standing
    water (which is always a bad idea, especially when riding high-zoot
    wheels)....

    Yes, you never know what is at the bottom of the puddle (such as a
    sharp-edge, pinch-flatting, rim-bending pothole).

    One could seal the wheel in a large polymer bag with reusable desiccant
    to dry it out, or heat it at a moderate temperature for several hours
    (after partially deflating the tire).

    --
    Tom Sherman - Near Rock Island

    Report
  6. Email address hidden
    Archived post
    #6

    On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 23:47:40 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky/Chain
    Reaction Bicycles" <[email hidden]> wrote:

    [snip]

    Quoted message said:

    Yep. So much so that Bontrager began drilling small holes in many of their
    rims so the water could escape. I'm not sure I understand the mechanism
    whereby water can get into a rim so easily yet not get out, but experience
    tells me it *does* happen, and the small holes definitely help to remove it.
    If you want to see examples, go to a Trek dealer and look at a Bontrager
    RaceLite wheelset (found on many of the $1800-$3000 road bikes). They might
    be on others as well, but I just physically verified their existence on the
    RaceLites.

    --Mike Jacoubowsky
    Chain Reaction Bicycles
    www.ChainReaction.com
    IMBA, BikesBelong, NBDA member

    Dear Mike,

    If a wheel is submerged in water, water pressure will force
    water into the rim through any holes, such as the valve
    hole.

    If a wet wheel, spoke, or valve is spinning, the film of
    water is thrown to the outside--right down the spoke or
    valve and into the hole.

    But once the water is inside, there's almost no wheel
    position in which gravity will force water back out. The
    clearance is so small that surface tension encourages most
    of the water to drain down to the bottom of the rim as drops
    too big to slither out between the valve and the rim or the
    spoke and the rim.

    Designs that encourage water to get into the rim might
    benefit from small but well-placed holes to let it back out.

    Carl Fogel

    Report
  7. NeauDL
    Archived post
    #7

    You can get water out of deep rims (My experience is with Rolf.) by deflating
    the tires and putting the bike in the car, assuming it gets warm in the car.
    It's never very much water.

    LDLide

    Report
  8. Zog The Undeniable
    Archived post
    #8
    cyclingturtle said:

    Hello everybody,

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns. It makes
    a gurgling noise, and also to some extent wastes my precious power. The
    real trouble is I can't really get this water out unless I fully dismount
    the tire !
    Any similar experience, advice ?

    Ride down a long, steep hill at about 10mph with the brakes on. That
    will steam it out!

    Report
  9. David Damerell
    Archived post
    #9

    begin quoting Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]>:

    Quoted message said:
    cyclingturtle said:

    I have a nice Bianchi road bike with fancy (well, now they are more
    standard than fancy) rims. These rims have an aero-shaped profile which
    extends around the spokes and the valve for about 2-3 cm. When I ride for
    a while in wet conditions, I end up with water in this hollow "aero"
    cavity, and this water cascades in the rim when the wheel turns.


    Ride down a long, steep hill at about 10mph with the brakes on. That
    will steam it out!

    This is why tandems use concave rims; so that in wet conditions - when one
    wants to brake more downhill - they will fill up with water and provide a
    valuable heat sink to absorb braking energy safely.

    Lrf, V nz ylvat.
    --
    David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!

    Report
  10. Zog The Undeniable
    Archived post
    #10
    David Damerell said:

    This is why tandems use concave rims; so that in wet conditions - when one
    wants to brake more downhill - they will fill up with water and provide a
    valuable heat sink to absorb braking energy safely.

    Latent heat being absorbed by the water boiling would get rid of the
    heat even quicker. I hope Jobst has checked his rims are dry before the
    tyre blowoff test. It would be tedious to make it to the bottom with no
    bang, only to find that snow had got into the box section at the top.

    Report

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