More rear wheel woes ***EDIT: The mystery is revealed!

[primal]

So this morning I decided to do a little chain maintenance on my bike while checking out the other spokes to see if they were loose (see my spoke thread). Well, found a few loose spokes, but while cleaning the chain I noticed my wheel had a flat spot. Upon further examination, I realized that the rear tire was flat. I grabbed my bike pump (didn't have handy access to the air compressor at the time) and started pumping... only to find out that air was coming through the nipple where the broken spoke used to be.

Now, what are the odds that the inner tube was somehow punctured by a broken spoke? Also, what are the odds that the guy who had the rear tire replaced was an idiot and put a tubeless tire on and the only things holding the air in were the spokes themselves? I'm going to try screwing the old spoke back in to see if it will hold air...

On a side note, I thought the rear wheel seemed a bit more squirrelly than usual...

:curse:

[primal]

Okay, I just put the old spoke back. When its in the correct position, the tire seems to hold air. Any clues?

Edit: Another note... I have new-found faith in my rear tire. I thought they were some cheap aftermarket Challenger-brand tires. Turns out they are Kenda tires. They also happen to be tubeless, which I assume won't affect my ability to put a tube in it?

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by primal

Okay, I just put the old spoke back. When its in the correct position, the tire seems to hold air. Any clues?

The key word is "seems". It's a temporary illusion.

You need to stop just for a minute and contemplate the situation here.

While I guess nothing is impossible, it is virtually impossible that you have a tubeless tire on the back without a tube. So.....what likely has happened is that the loose "nut" has vibrated around long enough that it has worn a hole in the protective strip AND the tube.

You will need a new "spoke strip" (the correct name for that escapes me at the moment) and a new tube. If you find that there is NOT a tube in it, you should track down the previous owner and kick his ASS.........then check the front tire too. :skull:

The only good part about this is that it will be much easier to do spoke replacement with the tire OFF. BIG CAUTION do not monkey with the other spokes while the tire is off.....unless some are SO loose that they appear to be about ready to fall out. The spoke tension changes from tire off to tire on.

Good luck!

[primal]

Yea, I'm looking for replacement tubes and a new "spoke strip." What size tube do I need? It seems from the tire thread that the tubes for this particular tire size are designated differently (inches instead of the tire dimensions, maybe?).

I'm likely going to be taking the tire to a shop to have the tube and spoke strip replaced, but I'm probably going to replace the spoke before hand so I don't have to pay them to do it. Worse comes to worse the spoke nipple will fall out and I'll have to have that done anyway.

Also, does anyone have any experience with the non-OEM tubes? Bikebandit has some pretty cheap tubes compared to the OEM tube.

[Sarris]

The correct term is "Rim Strips" and all tubes must be DOT approved, so non-OEM is OK. The tube is sized per the rim size.

:rawk:

[primal]

So, I figured out why my tired went flat... danged on screw right through the tread. Dunno how I missed it. Caught it while I was removing the wheel. I'm taking my rim in to a local shop to have the tire replaced (going with the Kenda Challenger again). Should cost less than $90 (he quoted $90 for the tire, labor, and remounting, but said it would be cheaper if I just bring in the rim) Now, ready for a noob question? What all do I need to bring with me? Do I need just the rim? Rim and axle? Rim, drum brake, and rear sprocket?

[Sarris]

Just the rim.

:biggrin:

[primal]

Thanks.

[primal]

Oh, and when it comes to mounting the wheel back on, is there really much need to regrease everything? I might do it anyway if I can find some appropriate grease in a drawer around here somewhere, but I'd still like to know how crucial that would be.

[Dupo]

Its not crucial, but hey, while everything is out......might as well.