Another day, another wheel (and so on).
A customer brought in the front wheel from Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5 for service.
I built this wheel at least five years ago,
but since the customer is a racer and uses it constantly including for commuting,
the total hours of use far exceed what most of my customers put on their wheels.
To be honest, most people don't wear out their wheels this badly even after ten years.
One spoke has a broken neck,
though this isn't the first time we've seen neck breaks on this wheel.
Separate from that, the brake zone is worn into a rounded groove,
so it was definitely time to replace the rim too.
Looking straight on and drawing a line down the center
and viewing it from an angle shows this.
The way the line suddenly narrows and kinks on the inner diameter side
is because the brake shoes caught the black anodized surface
on the inner side of the brake zone.
A moment ago I said this usage pattern was equivalent to over ten years of normal riding,
but I should also note clearly that on top of that,
the regular maintenance has been pretty neglectful—
like not removing metal shavings that got lodged in the brake shoes.
I'm striking this out, but leaving it for the record.
The red aluminum nipples show white corrosion, so they can't be reused.
As for the spokes...
When I put a tool on the nipple and started loosening it,
one spoke suddenly snapped on the first turn,
so I decided to replace all the spokes.
That meant a complete teardown rather than just a rim transplant.
The fracture is at a different location than a typical neck break.
Built.
Leaf hub, 20H, CX-RAY outpoke radial laced,
with red aluminum nipples.
Actually, I replaced the hub bearings on both sides too,
so the only parts carried over from the previous wheel are
the hub shell, hub axle, and both locknuts.
Separately,
I also replaced the bearings on Nomu Lab Wheel No. 1's rear wheel.
Of the four bearings, two were judged in need of replacement,
and two others looked like they'd fail soon if not swapped now,
so I ended up replacing all four with fresh ones.
Unless the customer says "forget it" or the parts become unobtainable,
I'll keep fixing them at the unwritten warranty discount rate.
Come on, break it again. I'll fix it.
A customer brought in the front wheel from Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5 for service.
I built this wheel at least five years ago,
but since the customer is a racer and uses it constantly including for commuting,
the total hours of use far exceed what most of my customers put on their wheels.
To be honest, most people don't wear out their wheels this badly even after ten years.
One spoke has a broken neck,
though this isn't the first time we've seen neck breaks on this wheel.
Separate from that, the brake zone is worn into a rounded groove,
so it was definitely time to replace the rim too.
Looking straight on and drawing a line down the center
and viewing it from an angle shows this.
The way the line suddenly narrows and kinks on the inner diameter side
is because the brake shoes caught the black anodized surface
on the inner side of the brake zone.
but I should also note clearly that on top of that,
the regular maintenance has been pretty neglectful—
like not removing metal shavings that got lodged in the brake shoes.
I'm striking this out, but leaving it for the record.
The red aluminum nipples show white corrosion, so they can't be reused.
As for the spokes...
When I put a tool on the nipple and started loosening it,
one spoke suddenly snapped on the first turn,
so I decided to replace all the spokes.
That meant a complete teardown rather than just a rim transplant.
The fracture is at a different location than a typical neck break.
Built.
Leaf hub, 20H, CX-RAY outpoke radial laced,
with red aluminum nipples.
Actually, I replaced the hub bearings on both sides too,
so the only parts carried over from the previous wheel are
the hub shell, hub axle, and both locknuts.
Separately,
I also replaced the bearings on Nomu Lab Wheel No. 1's rear wheel.
Of the four bearings, two were judged in need of replacement,
and two others looked like they'd fail soon if not swapped now,
so I ended up replacing all four with fresh ones.
I'll keep fixing them at the unwritten warranty discount rate.
Come on, break it again. I'll fix it.