Do slightly bent spokes matter?

you're lucky they're only slightly out of true! a friend bought some wheels from supergo earlier
this year, and they were apalling. ~4mm out of true and ~5mm out of round after the first ride. i
started to retrue the rear and also found that some of the short spokes onthe dished side were
inserted into the long side & vice versa - a real mess.

anyhow, since being rebuilt, they have been fine. one the one hand, sg's prices can be spectacular.
on the other, that price advantage quickly erodes if you need to take them to a shop to have all
their flaws corrected.

regarding your bent spokes, i'd just straighten them and not worry too much.

jb

Radioactive Man said:

I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes
of the front wheel are bent slightly.

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

RM

In article <[email hidden]>, Radioactive Man

Quoted message said:

I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes
of the front wheel are bent slightly.

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

It depends on the condition of the wheel and whether you are averse to spending money to ship them
back. The bent spokes are not a significant problem. What you need to determine is whether the rim
is bent and some spokes are soft. Check spoke tension on every spoke.

I would be inclined to have them replaced if they require much truing or if I can find soft spots in
the wheel.

--Paul

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

Quoted message said:

I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes
of the front wheel are bent slightly.

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

Most machine-built (as opposed to hand-built) wheels come both under & unevenly tensioned.
Additionally, they're probably never stress relieved. It only takes an hour or so to correct these
flaws, and the wheels should give good service. Check out the FAQ &/or Sheldon Brown's site for tips
on how to do this, it's not difficult, and the only tool needed is a spoke wrench.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Radioactive Man
I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes of
the front wheel are bent slightly.

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

RM

All spokes should be straight, proprerly and evenly tensioned, and stress relieved. Straight path for spokes is the same as the path a thread follows when streched between hub hole and nipple.
It sounds like the is under tensioned as well as being out of true.
I suggest you get the wheel into the hands of a competent wheel builder. If the spoke lengths are correct, the problem can be solved without replacing anything.
Time, cost and your attitude will determine if it makes sense to send the wheel back to SG.

upand-<< I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two
spokes of the front wheel are bent slightly. >><BR><BR> << The two spokes are bent at the section
between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this wheel is slightly out of true.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<BR><BR>

Take some of the $ you saved on these, take them to a GOOD wheelbuilder and have them true, round,
dish, tension and STRESS RELIEVE. They can also take a small plier abd straighten the spokes, which
is no big deal. What is a big deal is how poor these cheapo wheels are built.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

(Radioactive Man) may have said:

I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes
of the front wheel are bent slightly.

Call Supergo and see what they have to say, If there was no obvious damage to the carton, it should
be their problem. If there was shipping damage, it's between the carrier and the shipper as to
whether the problem was improper handling or improper packing.

Quoted message said:

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

If this was an in-service issue in the field, I'd say true it and continue. For an in-service
incident discovered at home, I'd add "straighten" to that, along with inspecting the rim closely for
distorted nipple holes. Since the spokes were bent as received, it should fall to the vendor or
carrier to fix it.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy. Words processed in a facility that
contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

What is a big deal is how poor these cheapo wheels are built.

Are these not good wheels? I just got them to have a second second set of wheels for racing. I also
got a 12-21 cassette for crit races. The stock wheels on my Cannondale are Mavic CXP21 rims with
Cannondale Expert hubs.

RM

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Radioactive Man

B said:

What is a big deal is how poor these cheapo wheels are built.

Are these not good wheels? I just got them to have a second second set of wheels for racing. I also
got a 12-21 cassette for crit races. The stock wheels on my Cannondale are Mavic CXP21 rims with
Cannondale Expert hubs.

RM [/B]

I agree with Peter. The wheels were not built properly.
The wheel components are high quality.
The build quality is very poor; unless there was significant shipping damage.
Get them into the hands of a competent wheel builder. If you are going to race them, ask your competition who they trust with their wheels.

[email hidden] (Radioactive Man) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What is a big deal is how poor these cheapo wheels are built.

Are these not good wheels? I just got them to have a second second set of wheels for racing. I
also got a 12-21 cassette for crit races. The stock wheels on my Cannondale are Mavic CXP21 rims
with Cannondale Expert hubs.

RM

"Good parts don't build good wheels- good wheelbuilders build good wheels!"

A good wheelbuilder can take average parts and put together wheels that will last tens of
thousands of miles. A poor wheelbuilder can take excellent parts and put together wheels that
won't last 100 miles.

Jeff

Radioactive Man said:

I got a new set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels from SuperGo the other day and I found that two spokes
of the front wheel are bent slightly.

The two spokes are bent at the section between the 2nd and 3rd cross (cross 3 pattern). Also, this
wheel is slightly out of true.

Should I send them back or just true the wheel and live with the bent spokes?

RM

Actually it is very hard to mount the last group of spokes without bending them. However as soon as
tension is applied they will straighten out. If enough tension is applied. A mediocre wheelbuilder
will at least straighten out the spokes before delivering. A machine won't notice. Unless of course
they are bent so badly that there is a pronounced knee. I have a spoke that got caught on another
bike. It has a very bad knee where we unbent it. After truing the wheel everything seems OK. It will
probably be the first spoke that brakes on my wheel, but then again maybe not.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Quoted message said:

Most machine-built (as opposed to hand-built) wheels come both under & unevenly tensioned.
Additionally, they're probably never stress relieved. It only takes an hour or so to correct these
flaws, and the wheels should give good service. Check out the FAQ &/or Sheldon Brown's site for
tips on how to do this, it's not difficult, and the only tool needed is a spoke wrench.

"Stress-relieved"? Is that where you hold the wheel at four points with your hands and elbows and
try to gently turn it into a potato chip?

...

If not, I would like to stress that I have never done that to customers' wheels at any of the fine
bicycle establishments for which I have worked.

Quoted message said:

Actually it is very hard to mount the last group of spokes without bending them.

that may be common, but it's bad practice and not true!

for a rear, lace both sides of "pulling" spokes with their heads out. /then/ start threading the
head-in "pushing" spokes from the inside of each flange - one side then the other. even the final
set can be easily threaded between the spokes already in the wheel and through the flange holes
without any obstruction. then the spokes can then be laced under their crossing partner with no
permanent bending whatsoever.

jb

Adam Rush said:

"Stress-relieved"? Is that where you hold the wheel at four points with your hands and elbows and
try to gently turn it into a potato chip?

No, that is not stress relieving. That is a procedure for allowing twisted spokes to untwist.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR

jim beam said:

Quoted message said:

Actually it is very hard to mount the last group of spokes without bending them.

that may be common, but it's bad practice and not true!

for a rear, lace both sides of "pulling" spokes with their heads out. /then/ start threading the
head-in "pushing" spokes from the inside of each flange - one side then the other. even the final
set can be easily threaded between the spokes already in the wheel and through the flange holes
without any obstruction. then the spokes can then be laced under their crossing partner with no
permanent bending whatsoever.

It's that last bit I'm talking about. When you lace the last spokes under the last cross. It has to
be bent in order to go under and clear the rim. How permanent this will be depends on where your
thumb is placed in yopur palm I supppose. However if you don't tighten the spokes enough this bend
will easily be seen for a while.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

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

Quoted message said:

jim beam said:

Quoted message said:

Actually it is very hard to mount the last group of spokes without bending them.

that may be common, but it's bad practice and not true!

for a rear, lace both sides of "pulling" spokes with their heads out. /then/ start threading the
head-in "pushing" spokes from the inside of each flange - one side then the other. even the
final set can be easily threaded between the spokes already in the wheel and through the flange
holes without any obstruction. then the spokes can then be laced under their crossing partner
with no permanent bending whatsoever.

It's that last bit I'm talking about. When you lace the last spokes under the last cross. It has
to be bent in order to go under and clear the rim. How permanent this will be depends on where
your thumb is placed in yopur palm I supppose. However if you don't tighten the spokes enough this
bend will easily be seen for a while.

There are other lacing techniques that allow you to lace all the spokes without bends. Try
these steps
- insert all the spokes into the hub
- start at the valve hole, lace the four spokes adjacent = one from each side of each flange.
think left inner, right inner, left outer, right outer (or whatever order of four you choose)
where "left inner" means left flange, spoke from inner side of flange
- repeat the group of four

What you are doing is lacing up sequential holes in the rim, with the pattern of four being the
mental image that you check to make sure all the spokes go under or over as desired.

-Bruce

Quoted message said:

It's that last bit I'm talking about. When you lace the last spokes under the last cross. It has
to be bent in order to go under and clear the rim.

need to be more gentle! if you aren't too aggressive, there should be sufficient elastic flexibility
in the spoke to avoid any permanent bending. it works for me at any rate.

jb

Thanks for all the advice guys.

RM

Bruce said:

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

Quoted message said:

jim beam said:

> Actually it is very hard to mount the last group of spokes without bending them.

that may be common, but it's bad practice and not true!

for a rear, lace both sides of "pulling" spokes with their heads out. /then/ start threading the
head-in "pushing" spokes from the inside of each flange - one side then the other. even the
final set can be easily threaded between the spokes already in the wheel and through the flange
holes without any obstruction. then the spokes can then be laced under their crossing partner
with no permanent bending whatsoever.

It's that last bit I'm talking about. When you lace the last spokes under the last cross. It has
to be bent in order to go under and clear the rim. How permanent this will be depends on where
your thumb is placed in yopur palm I supppose. However if you don't tighten the spokes enough
this bend will easily be seen for a while.

There are other lacing techniques that allow you to lace all the spokes without bends. Try
these steps
- insert all the spokes into the hub
- start at the valve hole, lace the four spokes adjacent = one from each side of each flange.
think left inner, right inner, left outer, right outer (or whatever order of four you choose)
where "left inner" means left flange, spoke from inner side of flange - repeat the group of
four

What you are doing is lacing up sequential holes in the rim, with the pattern of four being the
mental image that you check to make sure all the spokes go under or over as desired.

-Bruce

I'll try that.
--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.