Rear wheel troubles, Reason?

[jordon198]

I have a Trek 1000 with the Alex AT 450 wheels, and in the last 100 miles I have broken a rear spoke, and today as I was riding the rear wheel started to rub against the bike frame. It doesn't look like the wheel is out of round, but it must be. ( I guess )
If you rotate the wheel it goes about half a rotation then veers over to the right and starts to rub.

Is this unusual, and could the two be related? When I started to ride, I weighed 243, now down to 208, could it be I'm too fat for the wheels? I haven't hit any major bumps, just normal riding.

 

[Duckwah]

i've had the same sort of problem with Alex rims

Mine were ok for a while but a couple of months ago i got them retrued and then every ride after that i was fixing 4-6 REALLY loose spokes on the rear.

do yourself a favour and ditch the heavy, **** alex rims and buy a decent set of wheels, i'd recommend any of the campag wheels (they can be made shimano compatible easily)

I replaced my old wheels with campag protons and they are heaps lighter ad nicer to ride on

 

[boudreaux]

Originally posted by Duckwah
i've had the same sort of problem with Alex rims

Mine were ok for a while but a couple of months ago i got them retrued and then every ride after that i was fixing 4-6 REALLY loose spokes on the rear.

do yourself a favour and ditch the heavy, **** alex rims and buy a decent set of wheels, i'd recommend any of the campag wheels (they can be made shimano compatible easily)

I replaced my old wheels with campag protons and they are heaps lighter ad nicer to ride on

A poorly built wheel is just ****,even if assembled with the best components by a hack. Spokes will break and it will not say in true.

 

[daveornee]

Alex AT 450 wheels, and in the last 100 miles I have broken a rear spoke, and today as I was riding the rear wheel started to rub against the bike frame. It doesn't look like the wheel is out of round, but it must be. ( I guess )
If you rotate the wheel it goes about half a rotation then veers over to the right and starts to rub.

Is this unusual, and could the two be related? When I started to ride, I weighed 243, now down to 208, could it be I'm too fat for the wheels? I haven't hit any major bumps, just normal riding. [/QUOTE]

Is the spoke still missing?
Even if it was replaced, and if the replacement wan't done correctly, you will have the wobble you describe.
I sugest you bring back to the shop where you had the work done and/where you bought the bicycle and ask what their remedy is,,, and what it will cost to have it done right.
There may be a more appropriate rim/wheel for you, but the issue is more likely a quality of build issue.
Spoke alignment, proper & even tensioning, and stress relieving all make a difference.
I suggest you visit Sheldon Brown's site and read his fine article on wheel building to get a better understanding of a quality build.
The URL:
http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
How many miles total do you have on the wheel in question?

 

[jordon198]

Thanks for the good information. The wheel has 700 miles on it, and after I took it to the shop today they found one of the spokes broken at the hub. The last one broke at the rim, and I guess I didn't really look at it enough to see the one broken at the hub.

I guess I'm reaping the benifits of buying the cheapest bike. When I get faster ( and lighter ) a 2300, or 5200 will be in the cards.