I took a WH-R550 in from a customer.
It's not just the wheel inspection—
the customer dropped off the whole bike for cable replacement and other work,
and asked me to look over a few other things while I'm at it.
The front hub had play in it.
You can't really see the play in the photo,
but I shot this anyway so I wouldn't forget the wheel model number
when I write up the post later.
The front wheel was only slightly off-center.
The rear wheel, though—both sides were wobbling badly.
I didn't need to remove the sprocket that was on there,
but working on the hub-side nipples is so much easier if I do, so I took it off temporarily.
The rim was wobbling so much I suspected it might be bent,
but working through it carefully, I got it surprisingly true.
After I finished, it was less wobbly than a brand-new hanging wheel.
The customer didn't mention this,
but the rim tape width wasn't correct, so I replaced it.
There was a 16mm-wide Schwalbe tape on there,
but I swapped it for 18mm-wide Vittoria tape.
You can see in the photo above how the rim tape had shifted to one side.
↑This part was completely out of spec.
There was no flat, but if left as-is,
it would definitely cause a puncture down the road.
On the front wheel's rim tape, there's a second valve hole
deliberately drilled right next to the original one.
I have no idea why that would be done.
It's not like the rim tape was so tight they couldn't shift it—
that doesn't seem to be the reason.
It looks like they placed a #2 Phillips screwdriver over the valve hole
and drove it through with hammer blows.
It's not just the wheel inspection—
the customer dropped off the whole bike for cable replacement and other work,
and asked me to look over a few other things while I'm at it.
The front hub had play in it.
You can't really see the play in the photo,
but I shot this anyway so I wouldn't forget the wheel model number
when I write up the post later.
The front wheel was only slightly off-center.
The rear wheel, though—both sides were wobbling badly.
I didn't need to remove the sprocket that was on there,
but working on the hub-side nipples is so much easier if I do, so I took it off temporarily.
The rim was wobbling so much I suspected it might be bent,
but working through it carefully, I got it surprisingly true.
After I finished, it was less wobbly than a brand-new hanging wheel.
The customer didn't mention this,
but the rim tape width wasn't correct, so I replaced it.
There was a 16mm-wide Schwalbe tape on there,
but I swapped it for 18mm-wide Vittoria tape.
You can see in the photo above how the rim tape had shifted to one side.
↑This part was completely out of spec.
There was no flat, but if left as-is,
it would definitely cause a puncture down the road.
On the front wheel's rim tape, there's a second valve hole
deliberately drilled right next to the original one.
I have no idea why that would be done.
It's not like the rim tape was so tight they couldn't shift it—
that doesn't seem to be the reason.
It looks like they placed a #2 Phillips screwdriver over the valve hole
and drove it through with hammer blows.
