London Fixed-gear and Single-speed SJS Cycles

bigfella · 3rd July 2009

Commuted on my SS for the first time after building it yesterday. It was fine until I got about 3/4 home (25 miles or so) and the rear wheel started juddering when I rode.

When I stopped to check the wheel was running true still but noticed one side all of the spokes had become loose, some so loose you could tie your shoes with them.

Why has this happened? Should the wheel builder have used some Loctite on the spoke nuts?

maxcrowe · 3rd July 2009

i'm actually finding this impossible to picture in my head. wtf! they came that loose straight away after being normally true and tight?

hippy · 3rd July 2009

One side of a (non-fixed) rear wheel will usually have different tension.
The drive side of a geared wheel has to allow room for the cassette/gears and is moved over in the opposite direction. Because of this the drive side spokes have to be tighter.
This doesn't happen on a fixed wheel since the rim is centred and spoke tension is evern both sides.

That's why you have tricky rims like this to even up the tension on offset rims.

Sounds like your spokes weren't tight enough to begin with.

bigfella · 3rd July 2009

Yeah thats what I'm thinking, too loose to start with.

Wheel builder must have been a tosser!

rik · 3rd July 2009

who it was?

DaveH · 3rd July 2009

Sometimes inexperienced wheel builders don't stress the wheel after building it. This can cause the spokes to loosen.

Also if the builder didn't lube the spoke threads - this stops the spokes from twisting when building.

bigfella · 3rd July 2009

It was someone on eBay, just building wheels. The wheels themselves are fine, just loose spokes after the first proper ride is disappointing.

Olly398 · 3rd July 2009

Er, the wheels themselves are not fine, then. The wheels themselves are fubar.

Balki · 3rd July 2009

Start thread, tighten spokes, leave negative feedback.

bigfella · 3rd July 2009

Yeah I think you are right. Whata cunt.

DFP · 3rd July 2009

How big are you exactly, bigfella?

I have a friend to whom this has happened before (on a geared 32spoke wheel), but hes a bit of a giant.

Of course a well built wheel is the important thing here, but bear in mind if you are massive and riding a basic wheel with perhaps too few spokes - the durabilty will not be optimal.

bigfella · 3rd July 2009

Yeah I'm a big old bastard. 6'4 and 18 stone, but I was careful on the first ride and my MTB never had the same issue.

I made sure I bought 36h wheels too.

pipwish · 3rd July 2009

I had a fixed wheelset built by Condor recently. 1st time out and one of the front spokes came drastically loose. They explained it had been cross threaded and fixed it quickly.

I chose Condor over other folks because I thought they would be the best choice to build my wheels. They even promised me it was Monty building the wheels who apparently has a good rep having been there for years.

conservative_values · 5th July 2009

tighten them up?

ile · 5th July 2009

Let us all know who the builder was so we all keep away just in case. hope you'll fix it quickly :-)

BringMeMyFix · 5th July 2009

The other day, I dropped a piece of pasta off my fork. It doesn't mean I'm a habitually messy eater.

bigfella · 5th July 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by conservative_values

tighten them up?

Well that would be the opposite of loose.

The question is, why did it happen as I know they weren't loose to start with.

I've tightened them all up, plus all of them half a turn for good measure and done 10 miles on it today. Think its fine now....fingers crossed.

3rd July 2009	#1
bigfella	Loose spokes on new wheelset Commuted on my SS for the first time after building it yesterday. It was fine until I got about 3/4 home (25 miles or so) and the rear wheel started juddering when I rode. When I stopped to check the wheel was running true still but noticed one side all of the spokes had become loose, some so loose you could tie your shoes with them. Why has this happened? Should the wheel builder have used some Loctite on the spoke nuts?
	quote reply

3rd July 2009	#3
hippy	One side of a (non-fixed) rear wheel will usually have different tension. The drive side of a geared wheel has to allow room for the cassette/gears and is moved over in the opposite direction. Because of this the drive side spokes have to be tighter. This doesn't happen on a fixed wheel since the rim is centred and spoke tension is evern both sides. That's why you have tricky rims like this to even up the tension on offset rims. Sounds like your spokes weren't tight enough to begin with. Last edited by hippy; 3rd July 2009 at 11:18.
	quote reply

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3rd July 2009	#2
maxcrowe	i'm actually finding this impossible to picture in my head. wtf! they came that loose straight away after being normally true and tight?
	quote reply

3rd July 2009	#6
DaveH	Sometimes inexperienced wheel builders don't stress the wheel after building it. This can cause the spokes to loosen. Also if the builder didn't lube the spoke threads - this stops the spokes from twisting when building.
	quote reply

3rd July 2009	#8
Olly398	Er, the wheels themselves are not fine, then. The wheels themselves are fubar.
	quote reply

3rd July 2009	#9
Balki	Start thread, tighten spokes, leave negative feedback.
	quote reply

3rd July 2009	#13
pipwish	I had a fixed wheelset built by Condor recently. 1st time out and one of the front spokes came drastically loose. They explained it had been cross threaded and fixed it quickly. I chose Condor over other folks because I thought they would be the best choice to build my wheels. They even promised me it was Monty building the wheels who apparently has a good rep having been there for years.
	quote reply

5th July 2009	#14
conservative_values	tighten them up?
	quote reply

5th July 2009	#16
BringMeMyFix	The other day, I dropped a piece of pasta off my fork. It doesn't mean I'm a habitually messy eater.
	quote reply

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