msgthrows

I have a Giant City Escape (2017 model) that I got 17 months ago. I have all the equipment for maintenance, and most repairs and I have kept it in really good shape... except the wheels and pedals...
I don't understand it, but I broke the pedals it came with 4 months in, and the replacements I got 3 months after that. I went to steel pedals and they are already making noise in the bearings but are still in one piece. I had two pinch flats on the old tires (with recommended tire pressures maintained), and then replaced them with better ones and have had one puncture from a glass shard I patched. The issue is that I broke a spoke about 3 months ago, aligned the wheel with the one missing spoke (because the bike was a year and a half old at this point), and now i broke 2 spokes today on my commute in.

I am wanting to cut my losses and get something that can handle the hard pothole filled road commute I have, but maintain the ability for a weekend 30-40 mile ride. I'm in my mid 20s, but I really think a bike should be able to hold up better than my experience. Does anyone have some thoughts for what I could be doing or get? I'm in Houston so it gets pretty hot in the summer, freezes in the winter at times, has notoriously bad roads and traffic, and is always raining. I think tubeless tires would help, but I have no experience with them and none of my buddies have, and I will need at least the gear range I have because I don't own a car and load up my panniers and backpack at times.

Thanks for reading though this, but I feel it is out of the norm.

*Update* Thank you so much for the replies, I took it into the shop for the spokes and pedals because I needed to regardless to get around. I really just wanted some information on if my expectations of maintenance requirements were off (they obviously were), and reassurance that it wasn't something I was doing. Thank you for the couple of links and recommendations for tires and pedals. I rode out of necessity in undergrad and enjoyed it enough to stay at it, but I'm really just learning what to expect using it as my only mode of transit. Thanks for the help!

acidfast7

Honestly, you need good tyres. Nearly all bikes come with junk tyres.

Buy some Schwalbe Marathon tyres (should be around 50-70 USD shipped to your door for a set).

https://www.bike24.com/p21037.html?q...lbe%20marathon

Just checked and that tyres on that GIANT are junk.

The pedal breaking sounds like bad assembly or really cheap pedals.

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content...ge=2;orderby=2

Try something like that.

The bike on the whole will be more than adequate.

Lived in Brazos country for 7 years (I not it's not Houston) but it's close enough.

pdlamb

Buying a new bike because the pedals' bearings are shot doesn't make much sense -- it's like buying a new car when the oil needs to be changed.

First suggestion would be to go to a good bike shop and ask them for good pedals. Back in second place (by seven lengths) is to find something like the MKS pedals online, assuming you're looking for platform pedals.

rumrunn6

agree, pedals, spokes & flats doesn't mean the bike is bad. truing a wheel while missing a spoke then riding it is probably not the best idea. when I was breaking spokes on a new cheap hybrid, about 10 yrs ago, I bought a new wheel with more spokes & was sure to have that wheel's spokes professionally checked before I rode it & again after the 1st 100 miles. it held up great for years after w/o any more broken spokes. good luck whatever you do!

acidfast7

Also, 17 months if you'd daily is quite a bit of mileage and you've used up the parts that are made to a low price point (under £300 new in the UK). So change the bad bits with better bits.

noglider 

I think your expectations are off. You have to expect some troubles on any bike, and you should be willing to fix the problems or have them fixed. It's not like a dishwasher that just runs every day without asking for anything. It's not like a car that can go thousands of miles at high speeds without any repairs. If they made bikes that reliable, they'd weigh over 100 pounds, and you wouldn't to ride them. Get good tires, fix or replace the bad wheel, and ride well. Get some good pedals. If you are wearing out the bearings in pedals, are you riding through puddles or mud? Do you leave the bike outside overnight?

nfmisso

https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Master-.../dp/B00DMKWW0G these wheels will fit your bike. Have a professional tension and stress relieve BEFORE you ride. With decent tires and inflation pressure, they will last longer than you do.

Also learn to ride light - get off the saddle for bumps; balance the load front to rear (large triangle bag and/or front panniers)..

Pedals: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GSQVEE are my favorites.

CliffordK

How heavy are you?

I can do well with low spoke count wheels, but will fix broken spokes if they occur. I tend to be very careful about what I hit or run over, down to small pebbles. And, as @nfmisso suggests when you anticipate or feel a bump coming, stand up and let your legs take the spring.

Anyway, 2 broken spokes... simultaneously? Just fix the spokes and keep riding. If you get a third or fourth, then look at 36 spoke wheels or respoking what you have with quality name-brand spokes.

fietsbob

How much are you spending on those pedals ? not much ?

MKS 3000R is a classic utility pedal you can service... R is for the reflector ..

bikeaddiction1

Excellent point, not only does this reduce impact loads to the bike but to your body as well.

cyccommute 

You have several symptoms but you need to address the problem, not just the symptoms. As nfmisso pointed out, you are riding wrong. The pinch flats and broken spokes are the clue. You have loaded your bike up with a bunch of weight and then you are sitting in the saddle like a sack of taters. There is a reason a "seat" on a bicycle is called a "saddle". It is there to support you but it isn't a chair. Watch the road in front of you...not directly in front of you but about a car length ahead...and when you see a hole or bad bit of road, lift off the saddle slightly and use your arms and legs for suspension. You are the heaviest thing on the bike and if you just slam the whole unit into whatever you are riding across, the bike takes a beating. Lift off the saddle and your bike takes less of a beating. I ride touring bikes both on- and off-road with the kind of load you are using without issue because I ride "light" in the saddle...and I distribute the load between the front and rear.

Tubeless might help but, honestly, you aren't experiencing that many problems. 3 flats isn't excessive, especially considering that 2 of them were (mostly) avoidable with proper technique. Tubeless also introduces another maintenance issue that you'll need to deal with. The sealant needs to be refreshed or replaced every 3 to 6 months depending on a number of factors including temperature. It won't prevent flats if it is old and/or dry.


What are you going on about? msgthrows has already replaced the tires and is experiencing something that can happen to all tires. A random flat won't be fixed by going to a different type of tire.

A broken spoke isn't a "tire" issue, it's a wheel issue. Fix the problem rather then find red herrings to try and fix.

I will agree that the pedals are not the best but, again, I'm not sure a broken pedal axle is indicative of a bad pedal. It could be related to the manner in which it is ridden.

And, finally, 17 months is nothing for a bike in a relatively mild climate like Houston. It wouldn't be all that much for a bike anywhere. Assuming a 12 mile commute (24 miles per day) and a 260 day work year, the commuting mileage is just a bit over 7000 miles. That's nothing for a bike of just about any quality.

There's the problem for pinch flats, broken spokes, and, probably, broken pedals.

noglider 

The original poster logged in on January 20 and updated his original post rather than adding a post to the thread. He hasn't been back since. The good advice here can be useful to others, but we don't know how @msgthrows is doing.

acidfast7

You need to change your tone when you address me for future reference.

noglider 

You can dish it out, but you can't take it.

acidfast7

I can take it.

However, I'm turning a new over leaf and it's only fair to let people know that they have the option of not communicating with me or having me complain. In exchange, I will interact with people here in a more professional manner.

At some point, people with either agree, ignore/block me or continue to respond in the same manner, to which they will receive such a comment.

In addition, new people will trickle in, who won't have the back history and the issue will resolve itself.

I'm aiming for the 2010-2012 version of myself.

If people don't want to agree, that I see it as their loss and such is life!

noglider 

Self-awareness is a good thing.

acidfast7

I know. I usually choose to **** around on here as I'm extremely self-aware IRL, but the time for ****** around on here has passed. I hope that people have enjoyed it.

cyccommute 

acidfast7

Minimal-content post with condescension.

noglider 

As my mother would say, enough already, you two.

BillyD

If you guys can't get along you need to move along.