Arkansas Bicycle Club

[bikeandboat]

A few weeks ago I walked by my bike which was in a work stand in my office (that is where everyone keeps a bike work stand, isn't it?). I gave the back wheel a spin for no real reason, I just gave it a spin. It was then I noticed it seemed to wobble a little. The wobble was not horrible, but it was there. I did not remember a major pot hole incident or anything like that, but something had happened.

A day or so later I took the wheel to the local bike shop so it could be checked and trued. This is not a difficult process for the bike pros with their truing stands and training.

While working on the wheel the tech turned to me and asked if I knew the rim was cracked in two places. The wheel is a Mavic Ksyrium SL, which was expensive in my world. I said, "No, I was not aware of any such problems." He pointed out two cracks in the rim. This was why it was no longer true and could not be brought into true.

What a shocker. I have never really inspected my wheels, as obviously I should and will from now on. It only takes a minute or two of your time to occassionally inspect the wheel rim for cracks and it could prevent bigger problems.

As I have said before, I am not a technician. I write out these tech stories in hopes other people can learn from my mistakes and experiences. Hope it helps anyone out there in the bike world.

John Linck
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Dropped? I have never been dropped. Sometimes the other riders go too fast.