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Cracked rear wheel rim - what to replace with?

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Cracked rear wheel rim - what to replace with?

Old 05-13-21, 09:19 PM
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seanpatrick76
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Cracked rear wheel rim - what to replace with?

Hey all, so I recently purchased a used bike in fairly decent condition (looks great!) but didn't notice right away that there's a crack in the rear wheel rim. I'm not handy enough to build a new wheel myself, so am wondering whether it's worth taking to my LBS to try to fix (i.e. just replace the rim) or to try to find a replacement rear disc wheel online.

The bike is a Norco Threshold 2016 A, the rear wheel is a WTB SX19 700c Disc. The cassette and brake itself seem to still be in good condition, it's just the rim that's cracked. Will something like this work? https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod166431
If not, what should I be looking for in a rear wheel for compatibility (other than making sure it's 11 speed and disc break ready?) It seems like the wheel has a 10 x 135 axle which I assume must be adhered to?

Thanks!!



Cracked rim ^^^




Tire type ^^^




Disc Brake ^^^



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Old 05-13-21, 09:45 PM
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It is usual to transfer over to the new wheel (or rebuilt one) the old cassette and rotor if they are in good shape. If you have the rim replaced I suggest doing the spokes/nipples too as they have unknown stresses on them, before you got the bike. Do the math on costs and check the old hub's condition before making any choices. Also consider the shop's wheel building skills, are they motivated and experienced or excited but money hungry. If the shop is good and solid a hand built wheel will generally give better value over the years. If not then a production built wheel might be the better path, especially if you are hard on your equipment and have a trend of eating up wheels. Andy
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Old 05-13-21, 10:54 PM
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To be honest, that wheel probably isn't worth a ton and getting it relaced to a new rim probably doesn't make sense. If they were to relace it, the rim would have to have the same effective rim diameter, which could be difficult to match unless they can just source the same rim. Many shops won't rebuild without replacing spokes and nipples (I make this call case-by-case--if a rim clearly died due to an impact and there's no other history of fatigue failures, I'll usually rebuild with the same spokes (but not nipples), but in this case I'd probably also insist on new spokes). You should probably just buy a new rear wheel.

The wheel you linked to will work fine. I would personally pick something with a higher spoke count for gravel riding in most cases. It is tubeless ready which I'd consider pretty much necessary for gravel riding, personally.
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Old 05-13-21, 11:25 PM
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Originally Posted by seanpatrick76
Hey all, so I recently purchased a used bike in fairly decent condition (looks great!) but didn't notice right away that there's a crack in the rear wheel rim. I'm not handy enough to build a new wheel myself, so am wondering whether it's worth taking to my LBS to try to fix (i.e. just replace the rim) or to try to find a replacement rear disc wheel online.

The bike is a Norco Threshold 2016 A, the rear wheel is a WTB SX19 700c Disc. The cassette and brake itself seem to still be in good condition, it's just the rim that's cracked. Will something like this work? https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod166431
If not, what should I be looking for in a rear wheel for compatibility (other than making sure it's 11 speed and disc break ready?) It seems like the wheel has a 10 x 135 axle which I assume must be adhered to?

Thanks!!


Cracked rim ^^^



Tire type ^^^



Disc Brake ^^^

It’s not that difficult to transfer the spokes to a new rim. Your rim has a listed ERD of 603mm. The WTB Frequenc Team CX i19 has the same ERD. It appears to be available from Pro Wheel Builder for $68.
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Old 05-13-21, 11:55 PM
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I see threads showing on those spokes. Someone used spokes that were a few mm too short, and quite possibly went a little too far with the tightening/tensioning trying to cover it up.
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Old 05-14-21, 05:01 AM
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Originally Posted by seanpatrick76
Hey all, so I recently purchased a used bike in fairly decent condition (looks great!)
Would be looking for any other issues as well, if the rim has failed, there are probably more issue the bike has, the bike isn't that old, but old enough for it to be worn out, and not economically viable for the previous owner to repair.
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Old 05-14-21, 07:44 AM
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Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
It is usual to transfer over to the new wheel (or rebuilt one) the old cassette and rotor if they are in good shape. If you have the rim replaced I suggest doing the spokes/nipples too as they have unknown stresses on them, before you got the bike. Do the math on costs and check the old hub's condition before making any choices. Also consider the shop's wheel building skills, are they motivated and experienced or excited but money hungry. If the shop is good and solid a hand built wheel will generally give better value over the years. If not then a production built wheel might be the better path, especially if you are hard on your equipment and have a trend of eating up wheels. Andy
If it's a new wheel, I'll most likely go production wheel. Handbuilt are obviously ideal, but I think given the unexpected cost here I'll try to find a reasonable replacement if it makes no sense to just replace the rim. Good point about HUB. Most bike shops around this area (Victoria BC) seem pretty respectable and have been in business for many years, so I'm sure quality wouldn't be an issue. Price on the other hand - wow!

Originally Posted by cpach
To be honest, that wheel probably isn't worth a ton and getting it relaced to a new rim probably doesn't make sense. If they were to relace it, the rim would have to have the same effective rim diameter, which could be difficult to match unless they can just source the same rim. Many shops won't rebuild without replacing spokes and nipples (I make this call case-by-case--if a rim clearly died due to an impact and there's no other history of fatigue failures, I'll usually rebuild with the same spokes (but not nipples), but in this case I'd probably also insist on new spokes). You should probably just buy a new rear wheel.

Yeah I'm leaning towards a new wheel. As another poster mentioned further down the spokes seem short and might have caused extra stress on the rim due to extra tension; if I have to replace the spokes, nipples and rim on a low-priced production wheel - it's likely a new set will be cheaper.

The wheel you linked to will work fine. I would personally pick something with a higher spoke count for gravel riding in most cases. It is tubeless ready which I'd consider pretty much necessary for gravel riding, personally.
Doesn't the QR diameter have to match? I've been trying to figure it out, but it seems like if it's 135 / 10 QR then I have to get another 135 / 10 QR wheel no? The ones I linked (point taken re higher spoke count) have 142 / 12. That's ok though?

Originally Posted by cyccommute
It’s not that difficult to transfer the spokes to a new rim. Your rim has a listed ERD of 603mm. The WTB Frequenc Team CX i19 has the same ERD. It appears to be available from Pro Wheel Builder for $68.
Thanks for the tip, and the website. I'll have a look through it.

Originally Posted by urbanknight
I see threads showing on those spokes. Someone used spokes that were a few mm too short, and quite possibly went a little too far with the tightening/tensioning trying to cover it up.
Thanks for pointing that out.

Originally Posted by jimc101
Would be looking for any other issues as well, if the rim has failed, there are probably more issue the bike has, the bike isn't that old, but old enough for it to be worn out, and not economically viable for the previous owner to repair.
I'll have another look. I went over the frame closely before purchase, took it for a couple of test rides (shifts well), had a look at the cassette wear, listened to the hub for any issues etc. - but somehow completely overlooked the rim. I only noticed when I got it home and turned it upside down to give the cassette a closer inspection, and I noticed the crack in the rim. Damn it.
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Old 05-14-21, 08:02 AM
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I was looking at used wheels on Facebook Marketplace, thinking of selling a set of Alex wheels off of my hybrid. I have seen many of these WTB's for sale. Many look in good condition and reasonable prices.
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Old 05-14-21, 08:06 AM
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I may need to be calibrated but..... The referenced replacement is a through axle, hence the 142/12. Not a fit if your DO is designed for a 10mm axle.
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Old 05-14-21, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
...Do the math on costs and check the old hub's condition before making any choices. Also consider the shop's wheel building skills, are they motivated and experienced or excited but money hungry. If the shop is good and solid a hand built wheel will generally give better value over the years. If not then a production built wheel might be the better path, especially if you are hard on your equipment and have a trend of eating up wheels. Andy
Given the backlog of work at my LBS, I'd think buying a new wheel would be the way to go. You might see if your shop can work in checking on build quality, if they've got a mechanic who's good with wheels.
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Old 05-14-21, 08:33 AM
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Yeah, sorry, missed the axle on that fulcrum wheelset. What you want is a 135mm qr in the rear.

The original wheel died due to fatigue stress at the rim, possibly by excessive tension on that spoke. Doesn't really matter, needs replacement. Someone might have overtensioned to cover for a short spoke but the wheel robots don't care and I think it's not that likely. If the short spoke was a problem in of itself it would cause nipple failure.
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