Loose Spokes

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250 miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble
and though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there. so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim
had a little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a
turn. upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one
area were loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it
back until the end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has
there bikes in getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Hopefully the delay means that someone's taking a very good look at it and
not just tightening a few spokes and sending you on your way. The wheel may
require complete re-tensioning, not just tightening of those 7 loose spokes.

Hate it when we have to keep someone's bike for a bit of time when the
weather's nice. Which, of course, is when it's most likely to happen.

Did you explain to the person at the shop that your bike was almost new?
Could be that, if they knew that, they'd put it towards the front of the
line. Generally, warranty and re-works (basically anything that shouldn't
have happened) will be given priority status at some shops.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

What you should be cursing is the poor build of the wheel initially. If
this is a sample of the work of your shop, maybe you should look for a
shop with a clue. I presume you did not hit anything serious, like a
very deep pothole. If you did, then, well, that happens.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Another point here is that it is a good thing to have a spare rear
wheel, just for situations like this. Spare bikes are even nicer, but
pricier.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Gee-whiz. What a bummer. This is "at most" a 30 minute truing job for
an armature wheel builder like me. A shop mechanic with experience
could probably do this in half the time. 5 days to true this wheel?
I'd go somewhere else or better yet, you could probably teach yourself
how to do it in quicker time it takes this shop to return your wheel,
which by the way will come with no guarantee other than the customary,
"oh-well if it goes out of true again just bring it back in" jive.

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

1)-Surprised that the place you bought it isn't going to make it right
more quickly(you DID take it back tho them, right?)
2)-Many wheels on new bikes are not looked at by the guy that builds
it. Most of the time the builder is the lowest on the food chain and
many don't know how to truerounddishtension a wheel anyway.
3)-Unfortunately, now that the wheel has been ridden when
undertensoned, it may not ever be right again. make the bike shop
stand behind their product!!

Quoted post said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Kind of a chicken or egg thing as to which can first.
If you bent the rim, spokes will go loose in the area.
If you were JRA (Just Riding Along) and spokes in one section suddenly became slack the rim will go out of true.
I see more wheels in the first category than the second.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

1)-Surprised that the place you bought it isn't going to make it right
more quickly(you DID take it back tho them, right?)

After having a fought that war with the LBS more than once with new
bikes I want to make a positive comment here. We recently bought a
Comotion tandem and after 600+ miles the 36 spoke front wheel and 40
spoke rear are still very very true. Nice....do it right the first
time.

Kenny said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Gee-whiz. What a bummer. This is "at most" a 30 minute truing job for
an armature wheel builder like me. A shop mechanic with experience
could probably do this in half the time. 5 days to true this wheel?
I'd go somewhere else or better yet, you could probably teach yourself
how to do it in quicker time it takes this shop to return your wheel,
which by the way will come with no guarantee other than the customary,
"oh-well if it goes out of true again just bring it back in" jive.

armature: 1 : an organ or structure (as teeth or thorns) for offense or
defense
2 a : a piece of soft iron or steel that connects the
poles of a magnet or of adjacent magnets b : a usually rotating part of
an electric machine (as a generator or motor) which consists essentially
of coils of wire around a metal core and in which electric current is
induced or in which the input current interacts with a magnetic field to
produce torque c : the movable part of an electromagnetic device (as a
loudspeaker) d : a framework used by a sculptor to support a figure
being modeled in a plastic material

Which was your meaning, Kenny?

--
Ted Bennett

yeah it's being looked at by my LBS. the bike was bought out of the area
about 2 hrs drive so i'm just going to the local shop. the shop is very good
here but didn't carry they bike i was lookng for. they are going to look at
the whole wheel spokes, hub and rim. just wish i could get basck out riding
sooner looking at buying a second bike this summer and a mountain bike as
well. thnks for you suggestions i'll keep them in mid for future repairs.

Jerry

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250 miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble
and though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there. so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim
had a little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in
a turn. upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one
area were loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it
back until the end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has
there bikes in getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Hopefully the delay means that someone's taking a very good look at it and
not just tightening a few spokes and sending you on your way. The wheel
may require complete re-tensioning, not just tightening of those 7 loose
spokes.

Hate it when we have to keep someone's bike for a bit of time when the
weather's nice. Which, of course, is when it's most likely to happen.

Did you explain to the person at the shop that your bike was almost new?
Could be that, if they knew that, they'd put it towards the front of the
line. Generally, warranty and re-works (basically anything that shouldn't
have happened) will be given priority status at some shops.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

The bike was bought in another town about 2 hrs drive from where i live. the
only thing that might have caused it to bend is a very small block of wood
that i ran over in a turn. but i didn't nitice anything at that
time.although it may have been a contributing factor. thanks for the reply
and suggestions.

Jerry

"David L. Johnson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250 miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble
and though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there. so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim
had a little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in
a turn. upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one
area were loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it
back until the end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has
there bikes in getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

What you should be cursing is the poor build of the wheel initially. If
this is a sample of the work of your shop, maybe you should look for a
shop with a clue. I presume you did not hit anything serious, like a very
deep pothole. If you did, then, well, that happens.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

Well I was already looking at getting spare wheels and another bike this
summer. thank you for your advice it shows me I was in the right train of
thought in that area.

Jerry

"David L. Johnson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250 miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble
and though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there. so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim
had a little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in
a turn. upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one
area were loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it
back until the end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has
there bikes in getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Another point here is that it is a good thing to have a spare rear wheel,
just for situations like this. Spare bikes are even nicer, but pricier.

--

David L. Johnson

Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...
You soon find out the pig likes it!

I'm looking into doing all of my own bike repairs as well as repairs on my
wifes bikes. it can't be as hard as working on a car as long as you have the
tools needed for the job. i'm going to make my own repair shop out of my
gurage. thanks for your help with this.

Jerry

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a
turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area
were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until
the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Gee-whiz. What a bummer. This is "at most" a 30 minute truing job for
an armature wheel builder like me. A shop mechanic with experience
could probably do this in half the time. 5 days to true this wheel?
I'd go somewhere else or better yet, you could probably teach yourself
how to do it in quicker time it takes this shop to return your wheel,
which by the way will come with no guarantee other than the customary,
"oh-well if it goes out of true again just bring it back in" jive.

No the distance is to far to go through the trouble i'm having my LBS look
at it and see what needs to be done. just in the first few minutes i was in
there they found that the hub was also to tight. so their going to adjust it
also. thanks for the suggestions.

Jerry

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a
turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area
were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until
the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

1)-Surprised that the place you bought it isn't going to make it right
more quickly(you DID take it back tho them, right?)
2)-Many wheels on new bikes are not looked at by the guy that builds
it. Most of the time the builder is the lowest on the food chain and
many don't know how to truerounddishtension a wheel anyway.
3)-Unfortunately, now that the wheel has been ridden when
undertensoned, it may not ever be right again. make the bike shop
stand behind their product!!

I can't be sure but it might be the first category as you stated this is the
most common. thanks

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about
250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble
and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still
there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had
a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a
turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area
were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back
until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes
in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Kind of a chicken or egg thing as to which can first.
If you bent the rim, spokes will go loose in the area.
If you were JRA (Just Riding Along) and spokes in one section suddenly
became slack the rim will go out of true.
I see more wheels in the first category than the second.

--
daveornee

Ted Bennett said:

Kenny said:

Quoted message said:

I've only had my bike for a little over 2 months now and have put about 250
miles on it. I was out on a ride last week and felt a little wobble and
though it was the road, but when I came to a smooth area it was still there.
so I stopped and took a look at what might be the problem. the rim had a
little bend to it. thought I might have bent it on a rough road in a turn.
upon further inspection I found that 7 of my spokes mostly in one area were
loose. the rim is in being trued right now but I won't get it back until the
end of the week. damn the good weather everyone else has there bikes in
getting tune-ups so I have to wait oh well.

Quoted message said:

Gee-whiz. What a bummer. This is "at most" a 30 minute truing job for
an armature wheel builder like me. A shop mechanic with experience
could probably do this in half the time. 5 days to true this wheel?
I'd go somewhere else or better yet, you could probably teach yourself
how to do it in quicker time it takes this shop to return your wheel,
which by the way will come with no guarantee other than the customary,
"oh-well if it goes out of true again just bring it back in" jive.

armature: 1 : an organ or structure (as teeth or thorns) for offense or
defense
2 a : a piece of soft iron or steel that connects the
poles of a magnet or of adjacent magnets b : a usually rotating part of
an electric machine (as a generator or motor) which consists essentially
of coils of wire around a metal core and in which electric current is
induced or in which the input current interacts with a magnetic field to
produce torque c : the movable part of an electromagnetic device (as a
loudspeaker) d : a framework used by a sculptor to support a figure
being modeled in a plastic material

Which was your meaning, Kenny?

--
Ted Bennett

Goes to show one shouldn't rely too much on the spell checker
software. I meant "amateur, one who engages in a pursuit, study,
science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession." Quoted
from Websters.