Rear rim's just cracked.

[Kell]

Heard a rather worrying pinging noise this morning and almost immediately the back wheel felt 'lumpy'. Checked all my spokes and none had snapped, but I could see that the wheel looked buckled.

I hadn't hit anything so didn't think anything more of it until after I cycled home tonight.

Had a proper look at it as I thought I might have to true it up.

But I then discovered that it's split.

So the questions I have are:

What is the standard warranty on Bromptons and would this be covered?

If not, what is the likely cost of a replacement? Presumably I can just get the rim done rather than a whole new wheel...

 

[Kell]

On closer inspection, it's actually split in two separate places.

Guess I'll have to call the shop in the morning.

 

[raleighnut]

That is brake track wear though, not a faulty rim.

 

[fossyant]

Worn out rim and by the looks of it you don't clean them often, which makes wear worse.

I used to go through rims in 18 months on my commuter

 

[Kell]

It's a commuter. The rims get cleaned when I do the chain. Which is about once every couple of months.

It is just over over a year old and about 2,200 miles.

In contrast, my rather less well built Dahon managed 5 years in the same conditions before the frame snapped. And I kept the wheels as they're still going strong.

While I appreciate that there's less surface area, so it's bound to wear out more quickly than a 26" rim, personally, I don't really think a year is acceptable in terms of 'wear rate'.

Just incredibly pleased I noticed this before setting off this morning as my current route includes a 40+ mph downhill.

I hate to think what could happen if this had been during that.

 

[Tanis8472]

Looks like it's scored all round too

 

[Tanis8472]

Not any way near enough cleaning imo.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Not any way near enough cleaning imo.

Too much cleaning IMO.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

On closer inspection, it's actually split in two separate places.

Guess I'll have to call the shop in the morning. View attachment 139030 View attachment 139029

It's a

On closer inspection, it's actually split in two separate places.

Guess I'll have to call the shop in the morning. View attachment 139030 View attachment 139029

It's a £15 rim or £20 (depending on which you'd prefer) what do you expect?
The design did its job by showing you the rim wear indicator. Seems churlish to complain that something happened because you pushed it beyond its wear limit.
At the end of the day it's going to cost £20 and an hour or two of you time to swap.

 

[Kell]

What rim wear indicator?

I cleaned the rims about 4 weeks ago when I replaced the chain and rear sprockets. As far as I could tell at the time, they looked brand new. There's not scoring on the wheel rim surface.

I've been on holiday for two weeks so the dirt you see there has accumulated over about two weeks. Do you lot really clean your rims more often than this?

As for what did I expect, well, I expected a new rim to last more than 2,000 miles.

I've been commuting on the same route for 10 years, commuting in London for 20, and been a regular bike rider for about 35.

In all that time, I've never had a rim split on the braking surface; and not even had to replace one under advice that it was worn. I've only ever had to replace them if they got buckled.

 

[fossyant]

It's wear. Simple. Those rims are still too dirty. I cleaned mine after every wet ride, which is often in Manchester (almost everyday)

 

[Kell]

The bike gets folded up at the end of the day and left in the boot of the car until the next day.

My daily commute involves four separate rides.

You're not seriously suggesting that cleaning the rims four timnes a day is feasible.

In my humble opinion, though I seem to be in the minority, a daily commuter should not need daily attention.

I'd have said that +/- 2,000 miles is not acceptable for a rim to fail, and I'd have thought the front would get more of a hammering as it does most of the work.

Maybe you all have lower expectations than me.

Another argument for disc brakes on a Brommie?

 

[12boy]

I have had very good luck with Sun Cr 18 rims having 4 sets in 700c for my other bikes. They do make a 349 rim. Can you lace your own wheels? I don't know if your spokes would be reusable, but I would think that labor, spokes and rim would still be less than a new wheel. I recall seeing your video of that 40 + mph ride and you are very lucky indeed not to have had a rim fail then. For what it is worth, I have been riding for about 40 years and never had a rim split like that either, nor broke a spoke for that matter.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

What rim wear indicator

As per the manual, when the wear indicators APPEARS (I.e., there's no indicator until the rims worn beyond limits) then replace wheel or rim.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

The bike gets folded up at the end of the day and left in the boot of the car until the next day.

My daily commute involves four separate rides.

You're not seriously suggesting that cleaning the rims four timnes a day is feasible.

In my humble opinion, though I seem to be in the minority, a daily commuter should not need daily attention.

I'd have said that +/- 2,000 miles is not acceptable for a rim to fail, and I'd have thought the front would get more of a hammering as it does most of the work.

Maybe you all have lower expectations than me.

Another argument for disc brakes on a Brommie?

Wrong bike if you expect it to be maintained free. The nearest you'll get to that Utopia is a brakeless fixie.