Rim is cracked.

[benyx]

Hello!!
I wanted to get advice from the community:
I use Kona rove ltd. Currently in Iceland, this is a beautiful country, I highly recommend it.
So, after taking the last mountain pass, I realized my rim got 4 cracks in nipples, 2 spokes got broken. So apparently I need to replace the rim. I am using 27.5 wheels, 584 x 23 wtb rims.
The bike passed about 10000 km, all my weight was on the back.
So, the question:
As I understand the simplest way will be to use the same sized rim and replace it using the old spokes..
Can I do it in my situation? Or I have to replace spokes too?
What can you say?
Thanks a lot.

[Painkiller]

replace the spokes

[ichitan]

(08-05-2023, 03:16 PM)benyx Wrote:  after taking the last mountain pass, I realized my rim got 4 cracks in nipples, 2 spokes got broken. So apparently I need to replace the rim. I am using 27.5 wheels, 584 x 23 wtb rims.
The bike passed about 10000 km, all my weight was on the back.
So, the question:
As I understand the simplest way will be to use the same sized rim and replace it using the old spokes..
Can I do it in my situation? Or I have to replace spokes too?

If it was me, I would probably replace the wheel with a 26 inch wheel, depending on availability and cost, and how strong the 26 inch wheel is. You might be able to pick up a good used 26 inch wheel. The older wheels were stronger. In many parts of the world, a lot of 26 inch bikes are being trashed. You can pick up wheels from bikes being trashed. If the original wheel has a disc brake, you need a disc brake wheel, or to replace the brakes.

You could even put a 26 inch rim on your hub, with new spokes suitable for the 26 inch rim. Look at any rims you consider. Do they look stronger? Go for the strongest rim, either 26 or 27.5 inch.

Where I am, there are 26 inch bikes being trashed with stainless steel rims, which are much stronger than aluminum rims. You may not have them there.

If I was to replace the 27.5 inch rim, I would get a wider rim. Wider rims are stronger. Use new spokes.

The rim needs to have the same number of spoke holes as the hub. A wheel with less spokes is not as strong. 36 is ideal. You may need to get a new rim and hub.

[benyx]

(08-06-2023, 10:34 AM)ichitan Wrote:  

(08-05-2023, 03:16 PM)benyx Wrote:  after taking the last mountain pass, I realized my rim got 4 cracks in nipples, 2 spokes got broken. So apparently I need to replace the rim. I am using 27.5 wheels, 584 x 23 wtb rims.
The bike passed about 10000 km, all my weight was on the back.
So, the question:
As I understand the simplest way will be to use the same sized rim and replace it using the old spokes..
Can I do it in my situation? Or I have to replace spokes too?

If it was me, I would probably replace the wheel with a 26 inch wheel, depending on availability and cost, and how strong the 26 inch wheel is. You might be able to pick up a good used 26 inch wheel. The older wheels were stronger. In many parts of the world, a lot of 26 inch bikes are being trashed. You can pick up wheels from bikes being trashed. If the original wheel has a disc brake, you need a disc brake wheel, or to replace the brakes.

You could even put a 26 inch rim on your hub, with new spokes suitable for the 26 inch rim. Look at any rims you consider. Do they look stronger? Go for the strongest rim, either 26 or 27.5 inch.

Where I am, there are 26 inch bikes being trashed with stainless steel rims, which are much stronger than aluminum rims. You may not have them there.

If I was to replace the 27.5 inch rim, I would get a wider rim. Wider rims are stronger. Use new spokes.

The rim needs to have the same number of spoke holes as the hub. A wheel with less spokes is not as strong. 36 is ideal. You may need to get a new rim and hub.

---

Thanks!

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

If only your nipples and spokes are broken, that's all you need to replace.

if the actual rim is cracked, you have to replace the entire rim, and then reusing the same spokes and nipples becomes very troublesome. You would need a rim with the exact same ERD. Just 1mm difference in ERD can end your wheelbuild.

Thus, you would need to get entirely new spokes cut to the length needed for the new rim. Getting the same gauge spokes would allow you to reuse as many nipples as possible. I would recommend replacing all of them with 16mm ones though. More material and more threads means stronger nipples.

[ichitan]

Consider the easy options first.

You may be able to get a complete wheel, you can just put on the bike, which is a lot easier, but may be expensive.

You may be able to get a good used 26 inch wheel, you can just put on the bike, which may be less expensive. You need to consider the brakes. Wheels made years ago are normally stronger than new ones.

What you do also depends on your budget. Are you happy to spend a decent amount, or do you want to spend less? This may also be influenced by whether you do the work yourself, or you pay someone.

I would not use spokes from the old wheel because spokes have been broken, and other spokes have probably been weakened.

I just had a similar situation. I replaced my spokes with thicker spokes. Later, my aluminum rim has small cracks in two places. When the rim cracks, you cant expect to go on repairing it. I put together a strong wheel for little cost. But it was a lot of work.