Yesterday my yearling Dahon developed a bad and deteriorating wobble. I traced it to the back wheel, which was badly misshapen. Further investigation shows it has several broken spokes. AFAICS the rim and hub are OK.
My LBS took a brief look, and was not inclined to take it on as a job, citing a history of trouble sourcing spokes for that size of wheel. I phoned up the (folder-specialist) shop that sold me the bike in September, and was told that spokes were considered consumables like cables or brake pads that wouldn't be covered by warranty, even if I hadn't gone a couple of weeks over the year.
Given that the bike has not suffered knocks or accidents, is it reasonable for the wheel to go so quickly? Should I take that as an indicator that it was shipped to me in an inadequately prepared condition? I make no claims to mechanical expertise myself, and tend to take anything more challenging than a puncture to the LBS.
Yesterday my yearling Dahon developed a bad and deteriorating wobble. I traced it to the back wheel, which was badly misshapen. Further investigation shows it has several broken spokes. AFAICS the rim and hub are OK.
My LBS took a brief look, and was not inclined to take it on as a job, citing a history of trouble sourcing spokes for that size of wheel.
If they can't be bothered to cut and thread a few spokes for you then they're not much of a bike shop.
Quoted message said:
I phoned up the (folder-specialist) shop that sold me the bike in September, and was told that spokes were considered consumables like cables or brake pads that wouldn't be covered by warranty, even if I hadn't gone a couple of weeks over the year.
Given that the bike has not suffered knocks or accidents, is it reasonable for the wheel to go so quickly? Should I take that as an indicator that it was shipped to me in an inadequately prepared condition?
It does sound as if the spokes were slack when the bike was shipped, but it could be argued that checking spoke tension is part of basic maintenance. Are you heavy or have you been carrying heavy loads, has the chain chewed the spokes?
Given that the bike has not suffered knocks or accidents, is it reasonable for the wheel to go so quickly? Should I take that as an indicator that it was shipped to me in an inadequately prepared condition? I make no claims to mechanical expertise myself, and tend to take anything more challenging than a puncture to the LBS.
You can get the spokes from St John Street Cycles in their on-line catalogue.
What you are seeing is a typical problem of a machine built wheels. Those that handle mass produced bikes with machine built wheels think that is what is expected of wheels. Those that build them properly by hand know that a wheel should not go out of true and spokes shouldn't break. The best you can do is get yourself the spokes, nipples and and a spoke key from SJS, buy or borrow Jobst Brandt's Book the Bicycle Wheel (or download Sheldon's instructions) and replace them yourself. That way you will learn how to build and true a wheel properly and it avoids taking it to a bike shop that clearly wouldn't have a clue on how to build it anyway. It'll take you less than an hour to do the first time.
September, and was told that spokes were considered consumables like cables or brake pads that wouldn't be covered by warranty,
Which is bovine excrement, in my opinion. Spokes are not a consumable on a properly built wheel.
Try contacting the manufacturer to see what their take is. When I had spoke troubles the shop was unsure whether it would be covered under warranty but they went to the effort of calling the manufacturer, who agreed to covering the cost of a rebuild. Must be worth a 'phone call.
Try contacting the manufacturer to see what their take is. When I had spoke troubles the shop was unsure whether it would be covered under warranty but they went to the effort of calling the manufacturer, who agreed to covering the cost of a rebuild. Must be worth a 'phone call.
But would you want your wheel rebuilt by a shop that thinks it normal for a wheel to go out of true?
-- Tony
"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory." - Leonardo da Vinci
But would you want your wheel rebuilt by a shop that thinks it normal for a wheel to go out of true?
Followup today: the Other LBS will be happy to do it for me. They're a bit less local than the first one, but perfectly manageable. And it'll save further hassle.
Followup today: the Other LBS will be happy to do it for me. They're a bit less local than the first one, but perfectly manageable. And it'll save further hassle.
Epilogue: other LBS has fixed it, and explained to me why the wheel itself is and was substandard (too few spokes, too straight).
