We've received an Easton tubeless wheel for service.
The customer wanted us to check for runout and centering issues.
The front wheel's centering was spot-on, but it had runout in one spot.
This runout wasn't from use, but rather from a round spoke twisting and suddenly snapping back.
A single spoke loosening here and there happens too, but
this kind of initial runout is pretty common.
The rear wheel had significant centering issues.
It wasn't as bad as the front, but it had some runout as well, so
I corrected that while centering it properly.
Easton wheels are off-limits for shops to touch.
This is the manufacturer's policy.
Since it's the manufacturer's stance, the Japanese distributor follows the same line.
"Send runout corrections, spoke replacements, and rim replacements to the distributor.
We don't permit work anywhere else"—
this approach goes back to Velomax wheels, the predecessor to current Easton wheels.
People who've attended technical training sessions held by the current Easton wheel distributor
can work on them with restrictions,
and I personally fall into that category.
As Nomu Lab, we haven't received this training.
If doing this work today is a sin,
then releasing wheels with centering issues so obvious that they're revealed the moment you put them on a frame
seems like the real sin to me...
Wheels with centering problems shipped by the manufacturer get passed along
by the distributor and the selling shop in that same condition
straight to the customer.
Centering can be corrected anywhere—doesn't have to be the manufacturer or distributor.
At worst, the shop that sold it should catch it.
A shop that didn't sell it (like us) shouldn't end up having to do it.
The customer mentioned "the rear wheel's non-drive side feels loose..."
With this spoke configuration and lacing pattern, this is about right.
It's hard to generalize, but spoke tension roughly follows
"front wheel ≤ drive side" and "drive side × 0.7 ≈ non-drive side."
That 0.7 coefficient I just mentioned varies depending on the lacing pattern too.
What I want to achieve with hand-built wheels ultimately comes down to
bringing that coefficient as close to 1 as possible.
Since it's tubeless, there are nipple holes only on the inside of the rim, but
they've inserted something like an eyelet.
Maybe it's there because it's a better design, but I suspect it's mainly to avoid patent infringement.
↑This "Road Tubeless" logo here—
it's not "road tubeless" as a generic term,
but rather "RoadTubeless" as a specific standard name.
It's the logo that appears on Hutchinson tires, who started it all,
and similar logos appear on Specialized and Soyo tires too.
Well, they're all made by the same place anyway
Globally speaking, RoadTubeless dominates the road tubeless market share,
yet there's still momentum to exclude non-RoadTubeless road tubeless options as much as possible.
One company's 2WAY-FIT initially announced it wasn't compatible with IRC tubeless tires.
The stated reason was safety hadn't been confirmed, but
is it paranoid to think that's just a political reason dressed up as safety?
Oh, is someone at the door? Who could that be at this hour?
The customer wanted us to check for runout and centering issues.
The front wheel's centering was spot-on, but it had runout in one spot.
This runout wasn't from use, but rather from a round spoke twisting and suddenly snapping back.
A single spoke loosening here and there happens too, but
this kind of initial runout is pretty common.
The rear wheel had significant centering issues.
It wasn't as bad as the front, but it had some runout as well, so
I corrected that while centering it properly.
Easton wheels are off-limits for shops to touch.
This is the manufacturer's policy.
Since it's the manufacturer's stance, the Japanese distributor follows the same line.
"Send runout corrections, spoke replacements, and rim replacements to the distributor.
We don't permit work anywhere else"—
this approach goes back to Velomax wheels, the predecessor to current Easton wheels.
People who've attended technical training sessions held by the current Easton wheel distributor
can work on them with restrictions,
and I personally fall into that category.
As Nomu Lab, we haven't received this training.
If doing this work today is a sin,
then releasing wheels with centering issues so obvious that they're revealed the moment you put them on a frame
seems like the real sin to me...
Wheels with centering problems shipped by the manufacturer get passed along
by the distributor and the selling shop in that same condition
straight to the customer.
Centering can be corrected anywhere—doesn't have to be the manufacturer or distributor.
At worst, the shop that sold it should catch it.
A shop that didn't sell it (like us) shouldn't end up having to do it.
The customer mentioned "the rear wheel's non-drive side feels loose..."
With this spoke configuration and lacing pattern, this is about right.
It's hard to generalize, but spoke tension roughly follows
"front wheel ≤ drive side" and "drive side × 0.7 ≈ non-drive side."
That 0.7 coefficient I just mentioned varies depending on the lacing pattern too.
What I want to achieve with hand-built wheels ultimately comes down to
bringing that coefficient as close to 1 as possible.
Since it's tubeless, there are nipple holes only on the inside of the rim, but
they've inserted something like an eyelet.
Maybe it's there because it's a better design, but I suspect it's mainly to avoid patent infringement.
↑This "Road Tubeless" logo here—
it's not "road tubeless" as a generic term,
but rather "RoadTubeless" as a specific standard name.
It's the logo that appears on Hutchinson tires, who started it all,
and similar logos appear on Specialized and Soyo tires too.
Globally speaking, RoadTubeless dominates the road tubeless market share,
yet there's still momentum to exclude non-RoadTubeless road tubeless options as much as possible.
One company's 2WAY-FIT initially announced it wasn't compatible with IRC tubeless tires.
The stated reason was safety hadn't been confirmed, but
is it paranoid to think that's just a political reason dressed up as safety?
Oh, is someone at the door? Who could that be at this hour?