Wheels for Heavy Rider

amazon.comamazon.comOpen ↗
/0960723668/002-9606841-2280030?v=glance Best book ever
written about wheels The Bicycle Wheel By Jobst Brandt
Pretty much the bible to cyclists

Quoted message said:

I ride a 22" Miele with 26 by 2point something or three
tires. Are there special wheels I can get or have my shop
order? Apart from

cracks

Quoted message said:

about losing weight, which you're more than welcome to
make, 8) are there any serious suggestions? I don't know
how to fix spokes

myself,

Quoted message said:

is there a guide somewhere on line or a good in print book
on bike maintenance I can get to guide me through this?

Try: sheldonbrown.comwheelbuild.htmlOpen ↗

"Tim Marshall" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

HI, this is my first post on rec.bicycles.*. I
couldn't find

anything

Quoted message said:

on this in the faq at
draco.acs.uci.eduindex.htmlOpen ↗.

I'm running through a stretch of bad luck with breaking
spokes on my rear wheel riding on roads in my area, St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I have been riding this year
since the end of February

through

Quoted message said:

snow,etc as I just didn't feel like waiting till the
snow cleared

and my

Quoted message said:

local bike shop thinks I've created a lot of hardship
for myself

because

Quoted message said:

our roads are heavily salted which implies rust (within 2
weeks of riding, my front derailleur cable rusted through
and snapped).

That said, I am a pretty heavy guy, though considerably
lighter,

believe

Quoted message said:

it or not than when I first started riding a year and a
half ago, so

I

Quoted message said:

think it's my collection of protoplasm that's a bigger
contributer

to

Quoted message said:

the broken spokes.

I ride a 22" Miele with 26 by 2point something or three
tires. Are there special wheels I can get or have my shop
order? Apart from

cracks

Quoted message said:

about losing weight, which you're more than welcome to
make, 8) are there any serious suggestions? I don't know
how to fix spokes

myself,

Quoted message said:

is there a guide somewhere on line or a good in print book
on bike maintenance I can get to guide me through this?

Thanks very much in advance for any help! 8)
--
Tim - ucs.mun.ca~tmarshalOpen ↗ ^o< /#) "Burp-
beep, burp-beep, burp-beep?" - Quaker Jake /^^ "Want
some?" - Ditto

"Tim Marshall" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

HI, this is my first post on rec.bicycles.*. I couldn't
find anything on this in the faq at
draco.acs.uci.eduindex.htmlOpen ↗.

I'm running through a stretch of bad luck with breaking
spokes on my rear wheel riding on roads in my area, St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Quoted message said:

our roads are heavily salted which implies rust (within 2
weeks of riding, my front derailleur cable rusted through
and snapped).

Most better quality cables are stainless & won't rust --
they're only a few bucks.

Quoted message said:

That said, I am a pretty heavy guy, though considerably
lighter, believe it or not than when I first started
riding a year and a half ago, so I think it's my
collection of protoplasm that's a bigger contributer to
the broken spokes.

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty. Your weight only makes less tension on
the spoke as it passes the ground. Heavy riders will
therefore sometimes suffer from loosening spokes. A well-
built wheel with decent quality spokes won't have spoke
breakage from weight.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Tim Marshall
HI, this is my first post on rec.bicycles.*. I couldn't find anything
on this in the faq at draco.acs.uci.eduindex.htmlOpen ↗.

I'm running through a stretch of bad luck with breaking
spokes on my rear wheel riding on roads in my area, St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada. I have been riding this year
since the end of February through snow,etc as I just didn't
feel like waiting till the snow cleared and my local bike
shop thinks I've created a lot of hardship for myself
because our roads are heavily salted which implies rust
(within 2 weeks of riding, my front derailleur cable rusted
through and snapped).

That said, I am a pretty heavy guy, though considerably
lighter, believe it or not than when I first started riding
a year and a half ago, so I think it's my collection of
protoplasm that's a bigger contributer to the broken spokes.

I ride a 22" Miele with 26 by 2point something or three
tires. Are there special wheels I can get or have my shop
order? Apart from cracks about losing weight, which you're
more than welcome to make, 8) are there any serious
suggestions? I don't know how to fix spokes myself, is there
a guide somewhere on line or a good in print book on bike
maintenance I can get to guide me through this?

Thanks very much in advance for any help! 8)
--
Tim - ucs.mun.ca~tmarshalOpen ↗ ^o< /#) "Burp-
beep, burp-beep, burp-beep?" - Quaker Jake /^^ "Want
some?" - Ditto

The guides that other posters have already given are fine. If you really want to get into "wheelsmithing" get the Jobst Brandt book.
However, you might just want to start with a hand built wheel, built by someone who is already experienced with the art of following all the science on Jobst Brandt's book.
What components are in your existing rear wheel?
What rim?
What spokes, cross pattern, how many?
What hub?
If you look through Sheldon Brown's site you will find a new pair of wheels built on Deore hubs, with Sun Rhyno Lite rims, 36 spokes in the rear... for $139.95 US. Something like those should give you thousands of trouble free miles (or even more km).
Spoke alignment, tension balancing, and stress releiving are the keys after choosing the proper components for your application.
Enjoy riding in that beautiful part of the world.

Chris Dorn said:

The Bicycle Wheel By Jobst Brandt Pretty much the bible to
cyclists

*cough* .. oh, lord.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

David Reuteler said:

Chris Dorn said:

The Bicycle Wheel By Jobst Brandt Pretty much the bible
to cyclists

*cough* .. oh, lord.

I agree, Jobst's book is excellent, but it is not the
Bible of cycling- only of wheels. And Jobst, bright fellow
that he is, is not God. Or at least not any more so than
anyone else.

Tim Marshall said:

HI, this is my first post on rec.bicycles.*. I couldn't
find anything on this in the faq at
draco.acs.uci.eduindex.htmlOpen ↗.

I'm running through a stretch of bad luck with breaking
spokes on my rear wheel

It's not bad luck, it's a wheel that wasn't built right or
isn't suited to you. If you weigh 500 lbs, it'll be hard to
find a wheel that will hold up, but if you weigh 300 lbs or
less it shouldn't be difficult at all. The key things are
(1) enough spokes, (2) enough spoke tension and (3) stress-
relieving the spokes.

Enough spokes for a 26" wheel are 36 for almost everyone and
32 for most. Enough tension is in part determined by the rim
you are using, but should be at least 100 kgf. The third is
quite important, and the book by Jobst Brandt mentioned by
others contains the recipe for this procedure; it may be in
the FAQ as well.

Most original equipment wheels are undertensioned and have
not been stress relieved. A competent bike shop ought to be
able to correct both problems. Rust and corrosion from salt
are not the cause of the problem, contrary to your bike
shop's claims, as the spokes are stainless steel and not
affected by salt. I ride year-round in Minnesota, which has
a liberal policy of salting roads (we start in July to be
ready for the first snowfall) and I have never had a spoke
fail from corrosion. In fact I can't remember the last spoke
breaking after I learned how to stress relieve years ago.
I'll bet I haven't had a broken spoke in at least 5 years,
and those were on an 18" wheel on a folding bike (Birdy with
Sachs 3x7 hub). Other than that, it's probably been almost
10 years since my last broken spoke. I weigh 215 lbs
currently and 205-210 through most of the riding season (195
in the days when I raced... sigh. I really should get
disciplined and get back to that weight. I felt good in
those days).

Quoted message said:

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty.

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole coming
downhill with the brake applied. Spoke breakage is not
entirely preventable, but a well-built pair of tandem wheels
will go a long way for a strong, heavy rider. Rinsing the
salt off the wheels in icy climates after every ride will
help forestall corrosion, but corrosion is virtually
inevitable where the roads are salted. Plan on replacement.

Now I know he isn't God ...........Krispy Kreme is!!! Chris
Seriously though reading Jobst Brandt's book will give you a
very comprehensive knowledge about wheelbuilding and the
function of each component in a wheel. I consider my wheel
to be one of the most important pieces of my bike and treat
them as such.

"LioNiNoiL_a t_NetscapE_D 0 T_NeT" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:Al5dc.5628$Vo.4737@fed1read03...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty.

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole
coming downhill with the brake applied.

Braking will increase the tension on rearward spokes by
about 5%. When a spoke is fatigued enough to be close to
failure, it will often fail at this point, but that just
indicates the spoke was ready to let go anyway.

Quoted message said:

Spoke breakage is not entirely preventable, but

It is, mostly. If the spokes have been stress relieved, they
won't fatigue, since the dynamic loads are relatively low.

Quoted message said:

a well-built pair of tandem wheels will go a long way for
a strong, heavy rider.

If the rider wieghs as much as a tandem team, true,
otherwise they're overkill. Wheel strength is affected by
spoke tension. If the rims are too light it may be
impossible to get enough tension before the spoke bed fails
or the rim distorts.

Quoted message said:

Rinsing the salt off the wheels in icy climates after
every ride will help forestall corrosion, but corrosion is
virtually inevitable where the roads are salted. Plan on
replacement.

Modern spokes are stainless and won't corrode, even with
salted roads. Brass nipples don't corrode heavily, nor do
aluminum rims. There will be some corrosion, but not enough
to cause structural failure.

[email hidden] (Qui si parla Campagnolo ) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

David-<< The Bicycle Wheel

Quoted message said:

By Jobst Brandt Pretty much the bible to cyclists

Quoted message said:

><BR><BR>

Interesting choice of words..'bible' considering his
'tone'.

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

That there would be your Old Testament god.

App

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In article <s8cdc.97220$w54.580828@attbi_s01>, Peter Cole

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Rinsing the salt off the wheels in icy climates after
every ride will help forestall corrosion, but corrosion
is virtually inevitable where the roads are salted. Plan
on replacement.

Modern spokes are stainless and won't corrode, even with
salted roads. Brass nipples don't corrode heavily, nor do
aluminum rims. There will be some corrosion, but not enough
to cause structural failure.

_ I'd rinse. Stainless steel can corrode in the presence of
salt water. This is a very important issue in the
rockclimbing world in relation to stainless steel bolts
places in seaside cliffs. Stress Crack Corrosion.

corrosion-doctors.orgscc.htmOpen ↗

safeclimbing.orgdeepbluesea.htmOpen ↗

_ Maybe this doesn't apply to bicycles, but it seems like
all the elements are there. Residual stress, salt water and
disimilar metal contact.

_ Booker C. Bense

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LioNiNoiL_a t_NetscapE_D 0 T_NeT said:

Quoted message said:

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty.

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole
coming downhill with the brake applied.

What's the pothole got to do with it?

Peter Cole said:

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty. Your weight only makes less tension on
the spoke as it passes the ground.

... and an insignificant but non-zero increase in tension in
the other spokes.

Furthermore, according to "The Bicycle Wheel", under hard
braking tension in the rear half of the wheel increases by
about 5%, and a similar increase in tension can occur during
acceleration.

This is just nit-pickery that doesn't affect your main
point, of course; this 5% increase in tension is not what
breaks spokes, I just enjoy quibbling.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a
member of Congress. But I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain

Tim asked:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole
coming downhill with the brake applied.

What's the pothole got to do with it?

Mashing a pothole at speed dynamically loads the spokes
greatly above any static load on them.

LioNiNoiL_a t_NetscapE_D 0 T_NeT said:

Tim asked:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole
coming downhill with the brake applied.

Quoted message said:

What's the pothole got to do with it?

Mashing a pothole at speed dynamically loads the spokes
greatly above any static load on them.

How does that happen? Which spokes see an increase in
tension? Where is the load affected zone of the rim? What
is the effect of the load affected zone on spoke length
and tension? Do you actually understand how a wheel
supports a load?

Tim Marshall said:

HI, this is my first post on rec.bicycles.*. I couldn't
find anything on this in the FAQ at
draco.acs.uci.eduindex.htmlOpen ↗.

You didn't look hard enough:

8c Tech Wheels 8c.1 Stress Relieving Spokes 8c.2 Anodized
vs. Non-anodized Rims 8c.3 Reusing Spokes 8c.4 Ideal Tire
Sizes 8c.5 Tied and Soldered Wheels 8c.6 Machined rims

Quoted message said:

I'm running through a stretch of bad luck with breaking
spokes on my rear wheel riding on roads in my area, St.
John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

Quoted message said:

our roads are heavily salted which implies rust (within 2
weeks of riding, my front derailleur cable rusted through
and snapped).

I think you exaggerate. Two weeks won't do and if the cable
was properly greased it should give good service for more
than a year with 10,000 miles of riding.

Quoted message said:

That said, I am a pretty heavy guy, though considerably
lighter, believe it or not than when I first started
riding a year and a half ago, so I think it's my
collection of protoplasm that's a bigger contributer to
the broken spokes.

If weight is an issue then you can do something about it.
Climbing hills either becomes such a chore with excess
weight that you quit or alter your diet. Do it!

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Mr Cryptic said:

Quoted message said:

Breaking spokes is pretty much a symptom of a wheel that
wasn't built right. The maximum load on a spoke is when
the bike is empty.

Quoted message said:

The maximum load on a spoke is when you hit a pothole
coming downhill with the brake applied. Spoke breakage is
not entirely preventable, but a well-built pair of tandem
wheels will go a long way for a strong, heavy rider.
Rinsing the salt off the wheels in icy climates after
every ride will help forestall corrosion, but corrosion is
virtually inevitable where the roads are salted. Plan on
replacement.

Let's not try to turn back the clock into the dark ages of
wheel building. The greatest load on a spoke is when the
wheel is idly standing there with no load on it. When
applying rim brakes that value rises slightly but not
significantly. Shock loads only slacken spokes in the ground
contact zone.

Where have you seen stainless spokes corrode on salted
roads. I spent much time riding on such roads and still have
the wheels, non of which has the slightest corrosion on
their spokes or spoke nipples.

Jobst Brandt [email hidden]

Tim wants to know:

Quoted message said:

Do you actually understand how a wheel supports a load?

Do you actually understand the concepts of inertia,
momentum, and force?