Wheel issues????



shed376

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Aug 14, 2013
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New to the forums and I'm proud to be a Clydesdale! I'm 6'4" and 275lbs. I got back into riding after years off to get more exercise, and so far it's been great to be back in the saddle! Wish I was there more! Last year, bought a Giant TCX and its been a great bike. This summer I developed a ping/popping noise while riding and generally while under strain like climbing or hard acceleration. Narrowed noise to the rear wheel. While on a hilly 200 mile weekend ride the noise was infuriating! And embarrassing. After first day the bike shop on the route trued the rear wheel which helped a lot. When I returned home it went to my LBS and they took it apart, put loc tite on the spoke threads, re tensioned and re trued the wheel. All was well until approx mile 400 of RAGBRAI. It's been getting worse since and I'm so irritated I don't want to ride it! I know it has something to do with my size. So what can I do, short of losing 50lbs? New wheels? If so what brand/type/model? I'm looking for any solution here. Of course price is always an issue, but if I can't enjoy my expensive hobby then what's the point?!?! Thanks in advance for any and all help!
 
have you tried the poll " if your bumb weighs 30 lbs and your stomach weighs 45 lbs"?

at 275 lbs your bum probably weighs 15 lbs and your stomach probably weighs around 19 lbs.

maybe the poll will help you with your dilemma
 
Do you have the giant P-SL1 wheels?

I would check the spoke tension again. You can easily do this in quiet surroundings by plucking each spoke. Each spoke should have a tone very close to their neighbors. On the rear wheel the drive side spokes are higher tension, higher tone, than the non drive side. A loose spoke should be evident by having a lower tone.

Any loose spokes could be caused by the nipple unscrewing, cracks in the rim or the spoke failing (usually at the head). If it is just a loose nipple, retension and relocktite.

Another alternative is to try to get warranty coverage on the wheel.

Most would say that 24 spokes on the rear (if P-SL1) is not enough for a clyde. I weigh 225 and have had good luck on a few 20 spoke rear wheels - so it can be done; but for a bulletproof fix, it is best to go to a higher spoke count wheel in the rear.
 
maydog said:
Most would say that 24 spokes on the rear (if P-SL1) is not enough for a clyde. I weigh 225 and have had good luck on a few 20 spoke rear wheels - so it can be done; but for a bulletproof fix, it is best to go to a higher spoke count wheel in the rear.
+1. At 275, you'd be much better off with at least 28F/32R spoked wheels, and you can get such wheels built pretty damn cheap. As a bonus, you could then sell your current wheels--once they're trued and the tension is evened out--do offset some of the dosh spent on new wheels.
 

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