Rusty Sockets and Rim Failure



I was out on a ride this weekend and broke a spoke. I took the rear
wheel to my LBS for repair and discovered that the rim sockets are all
rusty, similar to the link enclosed. The spoke did not fail, but rather
the nipple broke.

>From the outside, the wheels look good. Ambrosio Excellence rims with

32h Chorus Hubs. The eyelets are not rusty and I have not seen any
cracking of the rims.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96622004@N00/88527762

Opinions as to whether I should rebuild the wheels with the existing
rims and new nipples or trash the rims are appreciated.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> I was out on a ride this weekend and broke a spoke. I took the rear
> wheel to my LBS for repair and discovered that the rim sockets are all
> rusty, similar to the link enclosed. The spoke did not fail, but rather
> the nipple broke.
>
> >From the outside, the wheels look good. Ambrosio Excellence rims with

> 32h Chorus Hubs. The eyelets are not rusty and I have not seen any
> cracking of the rims.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/96622004@N00/88527762
>
> Opinions as to whether I should rebuild the wheels with the existing
> rims and new nipples or trash the rims are appreciated.


I had a set of Ambrosio Excellence rims do this. My wheel started
making tinkling noises - quite good music really. I looked under the
tape and saw the eyelets are all rusted out. The wheels are around 8
years old and have been bomb proof, built 32h 3x with DT Champion
spokes. I've put them onto a bike I don't use often, mainly because the
braking surface is worn to concave and they don't brake so well any
more. I don't believe they are going to fail catastrophically.

If you had a nipple fail, this isn't likely to be due to the rusted
eyelet, IMO. I'd suggest replacing the nipple and keep on using them.
Rebuild with new rims when they have a real usage problem.

Does anyone know if Ambrosio have changed to good quality eyelets? The
rims have a high reputation and cost plenty, so this issue surprises
me. I would not use them again unless the problem was fixed.

Donga
 
[email protected] wrote:
> I was out on a ride this weekend and broke a spoke. I took the rear
> wheel to my LBS for repair and discovered that the rim sockets are all
> rusty, similar to the link enclosed. The spoke did not fail, but rather
> the nipple broke.
>
>>From the outside, the wheels look good. Ambrosio Excellence rims with

> 32h Chorus Hubs. The eyelets are not rusty and I have not seen any
> cracking of the rims.
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/96622004@N00/88527762
>
> Opinions as to whether I should rebuild the wheels with the existing
> rims and new nipples or trash the rims are appreciated.
>

i'd recommend just replacing that one broken nipple and leaving the rest
alone. rusted eyelets will cause rim failure at some point, so when
that happens, go for full rebuild. until then, extract max life from
the existing structure.
 
Thanks for the insight Jim and Donga. I replaced the nipple and trued
the rim up. I will ride it as long as I feel it is safe.


jim beam wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > I was out on a ride this weekend and broke a spoke. I took the rear
> > wheel to my LBS for repair and discovered that the rim sockets are all
> > rusty, similar to the link enclosed. The spoke did not fail, but rather
> > the nipple broke.
> >
> >>From the outside, the wheels look good. Ambrosio Excellence rims with

> > 32h Chorus Hubs. The eyelets are not rusty and I have not seen any
> > cracking of the rims.
> >
> > http://www.flickr.com/photos/96622004@N00/88527762
> >
> > Opinions as to whether I should rebuild the wheels with the existing
> > rims and new nipples or trash the rims are appreciated.
> >

> i'd recommend just replacing that one broken nipple and leaving the rest
> alone. rusted eyelets will cause rim failure at some point, so when
> that happens, go for full rebuild. until then, extract max life from
> the existing structure.