Repairing my broken back wheel
I returned from my Istanbul cycling trip over 6 months ago. I had troubles with my back wheel since Bulgaria, where I first went to a mechanic. Since that only helped for a few days, I saw another mechanic in Greece. Both told me I'd have to exchange the wheel eventually because the alloy had been irreparably damaged by to much force. No wonder – I drove my bike like an MTB and had the complete weight on the back wheel for more than half the trip before I realized that the material was giving in. So when I got back to Germany, I said I'll repair it in time.
Then things happened, like moving from the farm back to Frankfurt and all the joys that come with moving, like spending too much time at Ikea or the hardware store to get the place habitable. I had my old bicycle to get around in Frankfurt and no pressure to fix the broken back wheel but I was a bit annoyed by having to take my old bike and not knowing how to fix the broken wheel. Yes, I could have taken it to a bicycle mechanic or could have bought a complete wheel, but I love understanding things, so I decided to keep the hub and get a new rim and spokes. A few weeks ago I dove deep into wheelbuilding, learned a lot about spokes (Doppel-Dickend, Einfach-konifiziert, Messer-Speichen ...), rims (geöst, ungeöst, Hohlkammer, ...), hubs, ... – you name it – finally figured out how things could fit together, and ordered a promising looking combination.
Today Johanna and I finally got to it.
Starting out felt like solving a puzzle. What goes where? Which things are symmetrical, which are slightly different? We found the "Wheelbuilding" article by Sheldon Brown very helpful, especially the German translation:
I don't have much to write about the act itself. It took us 3 hours, most of it adjusting the tension of the spokes, and went smooth. The new rim seems more solid then the old one. It comes in at 600g, which is 200g more then the old one and is "E-bike ready" – which could mean that it is more forgiving when it comes to high forces.
The wheel is fixed for now. I will check it again after a few rides. The front break is leaky however, which I only found out after I bled (entlüften) it. To not push this repair of for another 6 months, I direcly ordered a new break system and will exchange it as soon as it arrives.