[Ratman]

Purchased this wheelset from an e-retailer and the package arrived this week via Fed-Ex. The shipping box looks brand new but as I began to unpack the wheels a quick visual inspection found several spokes that appeared to be bent or warped. I'm no wheel building expert but I'm pretty sure this isn't an optical illusion. So should I ship these back or are they safe to ride???

 

[MightySchmoePong]

Purchased this wheelset from an e-retailer and the package arrived this week via Fed-Ex. The shipping box looks brand new but as I began to unpack the wheels a quick visual inspection found several spokes that appeared to be bent or warped. I'm no wheel building expert but I'm pretty sure this isn't an optical illusion. So should I ship these back or are they safe to ride???
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Are they also loose to the touch? It looks like an improperly built wheel to me.

 

[Ratman]

Are they also loose to the touch? It looks like an improperly built wheel to me.

Indeed they are loose to the touch. Each one to a varying degree. The wheel does spin true or at least it looks like it does. I also didn't notice any exposed spoke threads at the nipple. So I wasn't sure what to think. I really didn't want to have to ship these back due to the PITA factor of it all but it looks like that might be the smart thing to do in this case.

I also e-mailed the same photos to the e-retailer that I purchased these from. At this point I'm waiting on a reply.

 

[3fast3furious]

So they laced them up and trued them but did not tension them?!?! Is the dish right? You don't need to be worried about the spokes being bent. They will straighten out when you tension the wheel. It's kinda BS that you have to tension it yourself though. When building wheels it's advised to use your WHOLE ass.

 

[mtnbiker72]

I'd contact the seller and would expect them to pay for return shipping.

I ordered a wheel from Universal Cycles (Handspun) and they were laced wrong, Universal sent a call tag, relaced them with upgraded spokes, and sent them back to me all within a week. No cost to me!

 

[DJ Giggity]

It is not too uncommon for the axle of one hub to bend the spokes of another during shipping. I have seen it enough to say that there is something else going on here. Send them back.

 

[highdelll]

SUUUPER WHACK
this is so the post is in caps

 

[LyNx]

Dude, seriously, out that seller, they don't know WTF they're doing :madman: Obviously those spokes arew not even close to tensioned properly, if they were the spokes would be at least close to straight, heck I doubt they even have enough tension that you could ride the wheel like it is. If it was a good deal, contact the seller and ask for some reemberment for unfinished wheels and take them to get properly tensioned, if they weren't that great a deal, definitely send them back. Actually on thinking about it if they're such loosers to have not properly tensioend the wheel, I doubt they prepped it properly either,SEND IT BACK and out the seller.

 

[Squash]

If the spokes are indeed loose to the touch I would say it makes the entire wheel build suspect. If these are a custom or "hand built" of wheels, i.e. you speced the hubs, rims, and spokes, etc. and the seller built them, or they speced the wheel and supposedly built them by hand, I'd say send em back. If they are a mass produced wheel set they were likely machine built, and things like this are not uncommon with machine built wheels.

In either case you have two options. A) Return them. Or B) Take them to an LBS or wheel builder in your area and have them checked over, tensioned and trued. They'll likely be fine after proper attention. And a good builder will find any potential problems with the wheels that might affect they're long term durability.

Regardless of what you decide to do, the whees SHOULD NOT be ridden in the condition that they are currently in. Wheels with loose spokes or that are improperly tensioned are a taco waiting to happen.

Good Dirt.

 

[meltingfeather]

ship them back. they're junk.

 

[Ratman]

Wow!! This is a tough crowd.

I figured the wheel build is garbage so I boxed them back up this morning and plan on shipping them back this afternoon.

I don't want to ruin anybodies good name but I will "out" the seller if\when I feel like the transaction isn't going the way I think it should.

This "650b experiment" thing is not exactly starting out the way I had envisioned.

Thanks for the advice guys!!

 

[LyNx]

Do not wait to "out them" only if you don't get satifaction, whoever the hell "built" (I use the term very loosely) doesn't have a fvcking clue what they're doing and others need to be made aware of this dupe.

Wow!! This is a tough crowd.

I figured the wheel build is garbage so I boxed them back up this morning and plan on shipping them back this afternoon.

I don't want to ruin anybodies good name but I will "out" the seller if\when I feel like the transaction isn't going the way I think it should.

This "650b experiment" thing is not exactly starting out the way I had envisioned.

Thanks for the advice guys!!

 

[ettore]

That wheel would have been a glorious mess after your first ride; good on you for inspecting them and not accepting shoddy work.

 

[liberatorx]

that spoke tension reminds me of the huffy I had when I was in grade school! Stand and spin and the rear whips all over the place lol

 

[shiggy]

Wow!! This is a tough crowd.

I figured the wheel build is garbage so I boxed them back up this morning and plan on shipping them back this afternoon.

I don't want to ruin anybodies good name but I will "out" the seller if\when I feel like the transaction isn't going the way I think it should.

This "650b experiment" thing is not exactly starting out the way I had envisioned.

Thanks for the advice guys!!

If you still want/need wheels, contact the seller and ask for a partial refund so you can get the wheels properly retensioned. Cheaper for them and you still have the wheels you wanted.

 

[salimoneus]

today's lesson: learn how to build your own wheels. you won't save a ton of money, but it's a valuable skill to have, is not terribly difficult, and is very gratifying