Sweet Open Wheel Since I’m a few hours displaced from our fantastic sponsor The Bike Hub, I was pretty much on my own to take care of that wheel damage from Tour of the Catskills. I’d joked around with Darrell about just hammering it back into place. While I’m not above attempting that shoestring (and unsafe) hack on a bent sidewall, in this case, the rim had been smooshed flat and was clearly starting to fold in on itself. Instead, I found a cheap source for a replacement rim (not from Easton—the Ascent II’s use rebranded Velocity Aeroheads, if you’re curious) and built it up myself. I’m actually pretty pumped about how it came out, and how little time it took. It was much easier thanks to the straight pull spokes—they stay in place in the hub, so all I had to do was unscrew the nipples, slide off the busted rim, slide on the new one and screw them back down. Even with my crummy stand, it was a piece of cake. Jobst Brandt says more often than not, spokes are totally ok to reuse. I’m a less psyched about keeping the old the nipples, though—I’m a big fan of brass (best 50 grams you’ll ever gain, probably closer to 30 over 24 spokes), and generally speaking, once aluminum’s been stressed hard in one direction, I don’t want to stress it in another. Now the only question is, do I try and transfer over the decals?

Sweet Open Wheel

Since I’m a few hours displaced from our fantastic sponsor The Bike Hub, I was pretty much on my own to take care of that wheel damage from Tour of the Catskills.

I’d joked around with Darrell about just hammering it back into place. While I’m not above attempting that shoestring (and unsafe) hack on a bent sidewall, in this case, the rim had been smooshed flat and was clearly starting to fold in on itself.

Instead, I found a cheap source for a replacement rim (not from Easton—the Ascent II’s use rebranded Velocity Aeroheads, if you’re curious) and built it up myself. I’m actually pretty pumped about how it came out, and how little time it took.

It was much easier thanks to the straight pull spokes—they stay in place in the hub, so all I had to do was unscrew the nipples, slide off the busted rim, slide on the new one and screw them back down. Even with my crummy stand, it was a piece of cake.

Jobst Brandt says more often than not, spokes are totally ok to reuse. I’m a less psyched about keeping the old the nipples, though—I’m a big fan of brass (best 50 grams you’ll ever gain, probably closer to 30 over 24 spokes), and generally speaking, once aluminum’s been stressed hard in one direction, I don’t want to stress it in another.

Now the only question is, do I try and transfer over the decals?

Posted by cosmocatalano
parts - the bike hub - wheels - repair - 0

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