Cracked Allant rear rim

[rob feature]

It's not hard and and the process is well documented. It can be done with out the truing stand if you see the Grin video above. If you buy the Park stand and dishing tool new it will set you back that $500 in tools alone. Unless you are planning to build more wheels in the future or just want the experience, it is probably better to pay a shop to do it.

I'm not working with a hub motor. It's a regular MTB wheel fed off a Bosch mid-drive.

Yeah, I may not buy the Park stand. Still shopping around. There are much cheaper options available for occasional use. And I do have some more wheel work on my list. Wanna swap the hoops on my Yeti SB95 and an older 26er with a Lefty. And it would be nice to be able to true rims with a dedicated, stable jig instead of using the frame or fork & zipties .

 

[rob feature]

In case you were wondering. I'm taking the 'high road?'. Farming this out is too much work. I'm kinda curious anyway. So, disassembled the wheel, learned a few things along the way.

Next task - determine ERD, order up a rim and a few more tools, and attempt a rim swap. Assuming the hub looks good when I get in there - saving that for tomorrow. Either way, I'm building this.

 

[rob feature]

Among early observations - this rim is poorly built. Not only is jagged machining crust left on the holes, but I found a couple sharp nipples - apprentice marks

Ever wondered how you got a flat but didn't run over anything?

 

[rob feature]

I almost never use power tools on bikes, but this is one place that it just works. Super slow and low power mode of course.

Almost never use a flathead driver on, uh, anything either. This gets the nipples off pretty easily after a few turns from a spoke wrench to zero the tension all the way around

Picked up a Park ND-1 for the re-install

​

 

[rob feature]

All Summer later

Now that I'm an expert in failing to find a wheel for the Allant, I'm also a wheelbuilder. A humbled one. But it finally came together

Going to do some final tension and sanity checks tomorrow before taping, but hoping for a shakedown ride this weekend.

This rim should be a good bit more robust. It's a freeride / downhill rim, and looks way more skookem than the OEM - which on even first inspection is cheese compared to the Sun Ringle Duroc. Was able to match the ERD and rim width (34mm internal) to stock specs - which seems legit. This one gets eyelets & appears to be orders of magnitude superior to the OEM.

Would I do this again? Yeah, I'm kicking myself for not just ordering a rim right off and DIY. Lacing is a breeze. Truing takes patience, but ain't rocket surgery. I might have to build all my wheels from here on out.

Oh, went with the Cycling Deal truing stand from Amazon instead of Park. Zero regrets there. It's worth every cent of the $150 pricetag. Which is what I would have paid someone to build this wheel. Dished by flipping the wheel in the stand. Tension checked by frequency

 

[rob feature]

Man, this has been a saga. I got the wheel where I wanted to be - within .5mm radial and just about perfect on the dish and lateral. And then I got sick. 4 rounds of different stuff back to back(so far). I'll spare you the details, but I'm still dealing 5.5 weeks in.

Over the last couple days I've felt well enough to work on the bike and yesterday spent almost all day on it. It got a completely new drivetrain, new rear brakes, and of course the new rim. The new Maxxis Re-fuse seated nicely and would have gone on with a floor pump.

I can't get in the sun right now because of medication, but once the sun went down, I set off on a shakedown ride that has been over 4 months in the making.

It lives!

Bike feels super solid. The rear feels more sure of what it's doing. I never could put my finger on it, but the rear always had a lateral 'softness' that this rim doesn't demonstrate. Felt like a tire rolling. No trouble taking full power on steep hills or quick acceleration (neither of which I do with any regularity).

Just in time, because this is the time of year I spend a lot of time on it. Looking forward to making up for lost time!

Bonus foto - Denver Broncos just finished the renovation of their practice field

 

[fooferdoggie]

I hate that get a new toy and something stops you from playing.

 

[Marcela]

Chiefs vs Broncos tonight. Go Chiefs!