[LJ0913]

Hello all,

I am a 6'2 260 pound rider who is breaking spokes almost every ride. It's getting old, can anyone recommend a set of rims that will hold me? I am looking at the SUN RHYNO LITE XL TCB RIM will this help?

Frustrated rider..
Thanks!
-Larry

 

[GMF]

Hello all,

I am a 6'2 260 pound rider who is breaking spokes almost every ride. It's getting old, can anyone recommend a set of rims that will hold me? I am looking at the SUN RHYNO LITE XL TCB RIM will this help?

Frustrated rider..
Thanks!
-Larry

What kind of wheels (rim/spoke/cross?) are you using right now, and which spokes are breaking?

-Damon

 

[LJ0913]

Syncros

Hey Damon,

Thanks for replying. I am using the Syncros DS28 Disc rim. I am breaking them on both sides of the rims. I replace them, have them re-true and keep getting told by the shop that "this shouldn't break" every time. I am not very tech so I can't tell you my exact setup, but it's a stock GT Avalanche 2.0 if that helps. I am at the point now where I am ready to buy a rear wheel. I don't do any huge jumps, or drops it's mostly breaking from riding 20+mph downhills.

-Larry

What kind of wheels (rim/spoke/cross?) are you using right now, and which spokes are breaking?

-Damon

 

[Brown_Teeth]

Sounds like a cheap hub? Are the spokes breaking at the nipples/rim? If not its probably poorly rounded spokes holes on the hubs causing the spokes to pop at he hub, been there, did that. Best to get a well built wheel with a decent hub cause if its not spokes tend to pop, more details needed.

 

[GMF]

Sounds like a cheap hub? Are the spokes breaking at the nipples/rim? If not its probably poorly rounded spokes holes on the hubs causing the spokes to pop at he hub, been there, did that. Best to get a well built wheel with a decent hub cause if its not spokes tend to pop, more details needed.

Good point about the cheap hubs... it is hard to imagine that a detail that easy to get right (yet that easy to overlook) could still find its way on name brand bikes.

Rims aren't really a source of spoke breakage. If you are really concerned about it, get a cheap decent set of hubs like sh!man0 deore or better, use straight 14g spokes (the strongest commonly available), and brass nipples. To round out the wheel (ahem... so to speak) pick a double-wall rim that is reasonably stout, like in the mid 500g range for xc or closer to 700 if you are into more "aggressive" riding. Ask for a 3x build, and if you are really paranoid, go with 36 spokes instead of the common 32. If you can break that setup, you have some personal riding technique problems to deal with.

A quality build is pretty essential to the strength of a wheel (for example, i've ridden somewhat ridiculously light XC racing wheels on the "Shore" that are still kicking today...). You shouldn't have to spend a ton of money on this if you aren't focused on weight, as it sounds like your priorities may be price and strength (pick two of any three: strong, cheap, or light).

Good luck,
-Damon

 

[damion]

Are you pushing big gears?

I see a lot of broken spokes on wheels owned by gear mashers. Are you a masher or a spinner? (as in gear spinner) If you are always mashing the three or four hardest gears on the cassette, try spinning faster rev's in a slightly higher gear.

That being said, the Machined and Welded Rhyno Lite is a great option, but get a decent hub while you are at it.

 

[Homebrew]

A new rim isn't going to fix your spoke breaking problem. Are they breaking at the J-bend on the hub side, at the crosses or what? Who built the wheels, did they check to make sure there was even tension and did tension them high enough?

If they are breaking at the j-bend, using straight gauge isn't going to help. And because they don't cross as well or flex as much, it might end up worse. You can use a larger spoke like DT Alpine III which is 13G at the bend. Another option is using spoke washers to effectively make the spoke hole tighter. There are somethings you can do on the build too like tap the spoke heads to make sure they are fully seated. And as mentioned above, even spoke tension and high enough spoke tension are critical as well. Most people don't tension the wheel high enough.

If they are breaking at the crosses, the wheels are most likely not tensioned high enough. Tying and soldering might help here as well.

Anyway you slice it, the guy your going to isn't cutting it. You should take your wheel building needs somewhere else.

 

[toad]

Sounds like a bad build

Usually, spoke breakage is caused by an improper build, i.e. bad tension. Having the wheel rebuilt by a good wheelbuilder should fix the problem. As said above, your rim is not at fault, and the even the hub is probably not the problem. -t

 

[TobyNobody]

The rim is not the problem

I agree with those who have said the rim is probably not the problem. The rim on a traditional bike wheel is not what holds your weight - the spokes are. If you are breaking spokes then get all the spokes replaced and properly tensioned and the problem will go away.

Rhino lite rims are not designed for big guys like you and me (I have been between 270 and 250 lbs over the last 10 years) - they are designed to make lightweight riders who jump feel more secure.

I built myself a set of lightweigh rims onto LX hubs with 14 guage Dt spokes and did not have a broken spoke for 4 years. When the spokes start going, its time to get the wheel rebuilt with all new spokes. And don't buy any prebuilt wheels - most are designed to be lightweight insted of strong, and cheap ones usually are machine built and poorly tensioned and/or built with cheap spokes.