jaspertunison

I got a rear wheel for free. I think its from the 80's but it seems in pretty good condition. I didnt much care for the plastic thing that prevents the chain from going over the highest gear, so I wanted to remove it. Its late, like 830pm so I couldnt go to the shop to get the 2 pronged tool, so I just figured I would burn the darn thing off. Needless to say it made a heck of a mess, a giant plastic goo that contains chuck of dirt, small twigs (i threw dirt on it to put it out) is now bonded to the spokes, the hub,and the cogs.
This whole burning took a long time, it just kept burning and burning, maybe for like 7-8 minutes. And it got really hot too. I heard the spokes ping* a couple times, maybe just shifting themselves about. Also after it was all done the bearings felt pretty crappy too. More-so then they were previously. So is it possible I damaged any of the metal parts, maybe I melted something in the freewheel?

Joshua A.C. New

I'm going to answer as though this isn't a joke. At least that way I'm providing a straight-man service.

If the spokes were pinging, that means things were changing shape. That means they got pretty hot. That means that you don't know where the grease has gone inside the freewheel, which would explain the ****ty feeling of the bearings. There's a good chance the grease burned, even, depending on what kind of grease it is.

I'm afraid that's what we call a "*****".

UnsafeAlpine

Oh man, that's great!

Replace the spokes, take the hub apart and clean and grease it, and get the dirt and melted plastic and twigs off it, and it should be fine.

PDXJeff

+1

In a pinch, I use a utility knife and pliers. Fire is cool, but not as a bicycle tool.

Seggybop

Burning plastic by itself can't get nearly hot enough to damage any metal parts, but the grease in the hub/freewheel is probably dead. Open it and clean it out.

BCRider

And you thought that this would be a good idea how?

You really need to learn about patience before you do anything else mechanical......

Marrock

I think the term "Charlie Foxtrot" would apply to this situation.

griftereck

would have just attacked the spoke guard with a screwdriver
would have been easy to break up.

operator

Lol, this has got to be a joke post.

HillRider

I dunno. There is nothing so foolish that someone, somewhere hasn't done it.

Also, burning plastic can certainly get hot enough to ruin the properties of metal parts even if it doesn't melt them. Buy a new wheel.

jsharr

For future reference, the correct way to do this is to light the dork disk on fire and then ride the bike to maintain air flow over the parts and prevent overheating.

BCRider

We can only hope....

coldfeet

I think I may steal that as a sig!

I too suspect the OP of joking, but you never know!

GuitarWizard

Wtf?

Eggywootah

C'mon guy, you know fire is not the correct way to remove a pie plate. What you are supposed to do is dunk the whole wheel in a vat of liquid nitrogen and then hit it with a baseball bat.

eelriver

Please keep a camera nearby next time you work on your bike. (But not too close).

KasbeKZ

i used to break those plastic things off with my bear hands when i was a kid. well, i still am. but a long time ago. i did it to every cheap bike i got. yeah i'd bet if it was pinging then it's pretty out of true. and possibly lost some strength

mcgreivey

You had bear hands when you were a kid? Did you have a pet bear? Or did you borrow some hapless bear's hands? Or are you a bear?

The dork disc on my old Windsor is steel, not plastic. I'm pretty sure the liquid nitogen trick wouldn't work. I guess I'd need a pretty hot flame to burn it off. Would acetylene work? I guess I'd need to keep the wheel turrning while I burn it with the torch.

2 wheeler

Next time, try a chainsaw.

Tabor

DannoXYZ 

I guess this adds yet another answer to why it's called a "dork disc" !@#!!!

jgedwa

I have nothing to add. But since this thread will soon make it to legendary status, I just want to get my name in here.

jim

KasbeKZ

sorry. bare hands. i have trouble remembering things with little structure like language and stuff. that's why i'm a mechanical engineer, where everything is solid and explainable.

Wino Ryder

Thats right. You gotta be a dork to wanna to take it off.


But seriously, where does this "dork disc" hatred come from??... I mean its not just here on this thread either, but everywhere on the forums. Its almost like the spanish inquisition to stamp out and burn at the stake every spoke protector that was ever made. For the life of me I cant understand that (really).

In almost every thread, in all the forums, where someone wants to show off their new bike, some self knowlegable, but misguided soul (without fail) will come out and say "Yeah nice bike, but you might want to get rid of that dork disc."........WTF for??.......Case in point is the OP, who was willing to burn down his whole house and everybody in it just to rid the earth of the demon spoke protector on his bike.

"For Cristsakes......Leave the damn thing alone!!".........its not bothering anyone, and its designed to help you in the first place.......to keep your damn chain from ripping out your spokes!!

Oh, it dont stop there either. This same "spanish inquisition", or more correctly "OCP inquisition" is also responsible for the witch hunt against kick stands and bike reflectors.

jgedwa

Dork disks, accusations of OCP... Now all we have to do is work chain lube into this and we have the trifecta. Maybe with a little layer of Shimano v. Campy.

jim

p.s., I remove all dork disks by cranking it up to 400watts. They shatter into a million pieces.