The Wheel Saga - Part 1

So bikeboy has broken a spoke or three on his MTB and decided that enough was enough, time for a new wheel. He took his bike into his LBS and asked them to fit a new wheel. They had suggested a few options but the best one seemed to be a wheelcraft wheel. In the process of getting a quote another staff member suggested a Velocity wheelset they had already built. It worked out that bikeboy would get the front and rear for the same price as the rear only from Wheelcraft so it was decided and the work went ahead. Velocity Aeroheat 32 hole, 14 gauge spokes, 26 inch rims were installed along with new 5 post brake discs.

They seemed fine until bikeboy was riding home and noticed the rear disc rubbing, for anyone that's had disc brakes rub you know how annoying it can be so needless to say the bike went back. After a couple of days of turning up in the morning saying the disc is rubbing and the shop trying a couple of fixes, we'd worked out that it wasn't the disc but the wheel flexing under bikeboy's weight. Bikeboy is a clydesdale folks so his bikes have to be fairly tough, along with replacement components.

From here it was decided that a “stronger” wheel was needed, and the specs are 36 hole, double butted 14 gauge spokes, double walled 26 inch rim. The hubs and discs are decent quality but the main point being the rim wall/spoke combination. Pricing this setup with wheelcraft turns a $200 replacement wheelset into a $400 rear wheel only. Needless to say that was too expensinve even for bikeboy so a cheaper Velocity Cliffhanger option was chosen. Since that was the better option it turns out that this particular item is out of stock with Velocity for 4 weeks! Bikeboy's shop is trying a few options but it looks as though he'll be without his MTB for at least a month!

Stay tuned for the next instlallment.

Watch out for that... median strip?

Welcome to Bike Boy's cycling adventures. Today we're learning the importance of observing the road surface and looking for carefully disguised median strips posing as flat sections of road.

Bike Boy was on his way to a friends place the other night and was cutting across a road when all of a sudden he noticed he was airborn and heading for certain disaster as he had recently purchased road shoes and was "clipped in" to his single speed. It seems that in Bike Boy's haste to cross the road he'd completely missed the fact that this particular road has a small median strip separating lanes so he had smashed into it at a decent speed and manage to flip over. Needless to say Bike Boy crashed hard! There is damage to the front wheel, again, which means a replacement and a pretty battered helmet which will also need to be replaced. A bit of skin of Bike Boy's elbow and a nice bit a gravel rash on his shoulder. What is really hurting him though is his bottom. When Bike Boy crashed he landed on his right cheek and it's still really sore. He has been walking around like an old man for most of the day.

Now he gets to go shopping for a new front wheel and he's wondering if he should spend money on a nice set of Velocity rims. The ultimate hipster single-speed rim!