A customer left me a KRU C-60 wheel for service.
Besides wheels, this manufacturer also makes carbon handlebars and other components.
The rim is labeled C-55, but
on the manufacturer's website, wheels with this rim designation
are listed under the model name C-60.
There's also a separate C-50 model, but
that one has an al-carbon rim with aluminum bead hooks and brake zones.
This is unrelated to this wheel, but EDGE's "65" rim
had a sticker label on it that said 68 initially,
while the actual rim height was 66mm.
The left and right sides of the front hub, and the left side of the rear hub,
have characteristic plastic dust caps fitted to them.
This one is gray, but the standard color also comes in black,
and there are also optional colors available separately: yellow, yellow-green, and red.
Yellow-green matches Cannondale and Merida bikes, and
from what I've personally seen, it's the most common color for KRU.
Though honestly, KRU itself isn't a brand you see very often anyway.
The dust caps are attached by gripping the flange with a spline-like mechanism,
and their dimensions and shape are designed to snap fit snugly,
so they won't slip off or come loose naturally.
So, the reason for the repair was
that the chain had dropped and bent several spokes on the freewheel side,
and the customer wanted them replaced.
The spokes were Pillar square aero straight spokes,
which are difficult to obtain, but I happen to know of spokes
with almost identical cross-sectional geometry
(meaning the same spoke weight too),
and we have them in stock, so I decided to use those for the repair.
There's a bowl-shaped washer under the spoke neck.
It doesn't appear to be exclusive to this wheel,
but it's another difficult-to-obtain part.
It's not related to this repair, but
if spoke nipple failures were to occur during riding,
these washers would also go flying.
...or so I thought, but since the front hub left and right sides and rear hub left side
are sealed with dust caps on the inside,
the only place where this could be a problem is the rear hub right side.
All fixed.
Only the spokes on the outer side in the freewheel direction
sustained damage, and without paying special attention to whether they were consecutive,
I simply removed the spokes I determined were damaged,
but looking at the result, they turned out to be 3 consecutive spokes.
This hub uses a thru-axle, but
it's an extremely unusual standard—
it's designed to work with frames that have a 130mm quick-release spacing.
On a typical quick-release rear hub, the 10mm hub axle
or end portion rests in the frame,
and a 5mm quick-release is inserted into the hollow hole of the hub axle.
But with this hub, a 10mm thru-axle serves as
the hub axle dimension and also acts as the quick-release mechanism.
KRU is a manufacturer that stands out for using proprietary standards and special specifications in their wheels,
but as for the clamp diameter of their handlebars and stems,
they don't use dimensions so specialized that they only work with their own products.
It occurred to me how Sram makes 29mm diameter (or more precisely, self-proclaimed 28.99mm) bottom brackets and crankshafts
so you can't use 0.5mm radius spacers with the standard 30mm size,
or how Deda uses 31.7mm clamp diameter on their handlebars against the industry standard 31.8mm diameter.
That said, KRU's thru-axle design seems to come from a genuine belief that it performs better,
not from any intention to be malicious and prevent standard quick-releases from being used,
so it's not quite the same situation.
↑The replaced spokes
They're bent, but that's not all—
They're gouged where the chain bit into them.
↑Pillar stamp mark
Besides wheels, this manufacturer also makes carbon handlebars and other components.
The rim is labeled C-55, but
on the manufacturer's website, wheels with this rim designation
are listed under the model name C-60.
There's also a separate C-50 model, but
that one has an al-carbon rim with aluminum bead hooks and brake zones.
This is unrelated to this wheel, but EDGE's "65" rim
had a sticker label on it that said 68 initially,
while the actual rim height was 66mm.
The left and right sides of the front hub, and the left side of the rear hub,
have characteristic plastic dust caps fitted to them.
This one is gray, but the standard color also comes in black,
and there are also optional colors available separately: yellow, yellow-green, and red.
Yellow-green matches Cannondale and Merida bikes, and
from what I've personally seen, it's the most common color for KRU.
Though honestly, KRU itself isn't a brand you see very often anyway.
The dust caps are attached by gripping the flange with a spline-like mechanism,
and their dimensions and shape are designed to snap fit snugly,
so they won't slip off or come loose naturally.
So, the reason for the repair was
that the chain had dropped and bent several spokes on the freewheel side,
and the customer wanted them replaced.
The spokes were Pillar square aero straight spokes,
which are difficult to obtain, but I happen to know of spokes
with almost identical cross-sectional geometry
(meaning the same spoke weight too),
and we have them in stock, so I decided to use those for the repair.
There's a bowl-shaped washer under the spoke neck.
It doesn't appear to be exclusive to this wheel,
but it's another difficult-to-obtain part.
It's not related to this repair, but
if spoke nipple failures were to occur during riding,
these washers would also go flying.
...or so I thought, but since the front hub left and right sides and rear hub left side
are sealed with dust caps on the inside,
the only place where this could be a problem is the rear hub right side.
All fixed.
Only the spokes on the outer side in the freewheel direction
sustained damage, and without paying special attention to whether they were consecutive,
I simply removed the spokes I determined were damaged,
but looking at the result, they turned out to be 3 consecutive spokes.
This hub uses a thru-axle, but
it's an extremely unusual standard—
it's designed to work with frames that have a 130mm quick-release spacing.
On a typical quick-release rear hub, the 10mm hub axle
or end portion rests in the frame,
and a 5mm quick-release is inserted into the hollow hole of the hub axle.
But with this hub, a 10mm thru-axle serves as
the hub axle dimension and also acts as the quick-release mechanism.
KRU is a manufacturer that stands out for using proprietary standards and special specifications in their wheels,
but as for the clamp diameter of their handlebars and stems,
they don't use dimensions so specialized that they only work with their own products.
It occurred to me how Sram makes 29mm diameter (or more precisely, self-proclaimed 28.99mm) bottom brackets and crankshafts
so you can't use 0.5mm radius spacers with the standard 30mm size,
or how Deda uses 31.7mm clamp diameter on their handlebars against the industry standard 31.8mm diameter.
That said, KRU's thru-axle design seems to come from a genuine belief that it performs better,
not from any intention to be malicious and prevent standard quick-releases from being used,
so it's not quite the same situation.
↑The replaced spokes
They're bent, but that's not all—
They're gouged where the chain bit into them.
↑Pillar stamp mark