# Wheel Life Expectancy



## budmol3 (Dec 7, 2008)

I just discovered that my Williams 19s with about 8k miles have cracks in the rim around most of the drive side rear spokes. I guess it's time to replace these wheels but I am looking for something more durable; I don't want something that is just going to be so much junk after only a little under 2 years. I am looking at ROL race SL; does anyone have experience with their long term durablilty?


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

Can't comment on the durability, but I'd recommend getting something hand built with more spokes and you shouldn't have to worry about durability.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Could it be that the spokes in a wheel have to do x amount of work and therefore less spokes have more work to do (per spoke) than more spokes? Of course the nipples and rim holes share this work.

At a quick look, those wheels seem to have 20/24 spokes. What about going to 24/28 or 28/32 depending on your weight and type of riding? Rol Race SL seem to be the same spoke (and spoke hole) numbers so why would you expect any more longevity? An extra few spokes will hardly slow you down but they might save you the price of another set of wheels.

BWW Blackset Race beat them both on price, at least one of them on weight *and* they do it with 8 more spokes.


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Like a lot of rims, the 19s are prone to this. The Rol wheels you mentioned use the Kinlin XR300 rim, and it will not crack at the spoke holes... well, at least of the few hundred I know about have not.


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## blackjack (Sep 7, 2010)

budmol3 said:


> I just discovered that my Williams 19s with about 8k miles have cracks in the rim around most of the drive side rear spokes. I guess it's time to replace these wheels but I am looking for something more durable; I don't want something that is just going to be so much junk after only a little under 2 years. I am looking at ROL race SL; does anyone have experience with their long term durablilty?



10 years, 100,000 miles depending on how much stopping you have to do on your usual rides.

How long do brake tracks last? I think your answer lies in this question.

Mavic or velocity rims, on a handbuild by one of the denizens of these forums should provide you with many times the longevity of this 8k wheel. That is if you're not swayed by the low spoke count fascination.


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## budmol3 (Dec 7, 2008)

I was browsing the Neuvation website and noticed that they actually acknowledge the problem with rim cracks. They will even replace cracked rims for $60. What disappoints me about Willams is that they neither inform new buyers of the products limited lifespan or offer a reasonable way to deal with the cracked rims.


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## penn_rider (Jul 11, 2009)

All the more reason to stay away from these. I had a set of ambrosio wheels, chorus hubs that are still going strong with their new owner, 12 years and counting. Dished once, trued twice since new.
I am sure rims/wheels like these will last the same, but I hear more and more of failures in the low spoke, lightweight rim and hub wheels...


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## blackjack (Sep 7, 2010)

budmol3 said:


> I was browsing the Neuvation website and noticed that they actually acknowledge the problem with rim cracks. They will even replace cracked rims for $60. What disappoints me about Willams is that they neither inform new buyers of the products limited lifespan or offer a reasonable way to deal with the cracked rims.


I had a neuvation rear that cracked around the spoke holes. John Nugent replaced the wheel quickly and I had it in a couple of days and sent the damaged wheel back. Not bad for a $300 wheelset.

I like an old school box section 32-36 spoke rim though.


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## budmol3 (Dec 7, 2008)

I bought a Kinlin XR-240 and replaced the rim on the model 19 rear wheel. The erd is a tad smaller but the spokes go past the end of the nipples by less than a mm. I matched the spoke tension using a Park tension meter; hopefully this extends the life of the wheels to something reasonable. I will probably look into something with more spokes for a long term wheelset. I just couldn't see just tossing these wheels or buying a whole new set that would fail the same way. I can only hope that wheel suppliers become more up front with their customers about product life in the future.


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## ergott (Feb 26, 2006)

Some of this has to do with priorities.

I specifically ask my customers what their priorities are. If durable is high on the list, I add 4 spokes (simplified, but you get the idea). If they want race wheels and want to push the aero/weight envelope something does have to be sacrificed.

It's all about balancing what you want from your wheels.

-Eric


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

ergott said:


> Some of this has to do with priorities.
> I specifically ask my customers what their priorities are. If durable is high on the list, I add 4 spokes (simplified, but you get the idea). If they want race wheels and want to push the aero/weight envelope something does have to be sacrificed.
> It's all about balancing what you want from your wheels.
> -Eric


The beauty of custom wheels. Just who *are* the factory pre-builts built *for* anyway?


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## Waves77 (Aug 15, 2010)

Did you contact Williams at all? I thought they had a good rep for CS...


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## budmol3 (Dec 7, 2008)

It was Williams that told me the wheels are at the end of their life and offered another set at a discount. I did not want to just do a repeat of my first wheel set; if you have to buy new wheels every 8000 miles the prices don't look so reasonable. Up to that point the customer service was fine for issues with the freehub and bearings on the rear wheel.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

last year I replaced a Velocity Deep V on a commuter bike after 2 years...commuting about 10 miles/day, so they probably have around 6000 miles. I've had a pair of neuvations on my rain/training bike for the past 7 years...replaced the rear last year after a cracked rim...front is still OK but should probably be replaced this winter for my own safety. For the $$, for my experience, Neuvation is hard to beat, especially with Neugents' replacement policy.


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## Waves77 (Aug 15, 2010)

budmol3 said:


> It was Williams that told me the wheels are at the end of their life and offered another set at a discount. I did not want to just do a repeat of my first wheel set; if you have to buy new wheels every 8000 miles the prices don't look so reasonable. Up to that point the customer service was fine for issues with the freehub and bearings on the rear wheel.


Wow, that really sucks.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Deep V failure*



bahueh said:


> last year I replaced a Velocity Deep V on a commuter bike after 2 years...commuting about 10 miles/day, so they probably have around 6000 miles. I've had a pair of neuvations on my rain/training bike for the past 7 years...replaced the rear last year after a cracked rim...front is still OK but should probably be replaced this winter for my own safety.


Why did you replace the DeepV rim? Those things are hell-for-stout and you don't hear about cracks or other failures. Did you wear out the brake track?

Front wheels can last a LONG time, so just because you got cracks on the rear doesn't mean the front is at risk in any way. Baring some sort of visual cracking, I can't see a reason to replace the front. My current front wheel (32 spoke Velocity Aerohead) has over 60,000 miles on it with zero issues.


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## jpdigital (Dec 1, 2006)

*+1*



Peanya said:


> Can't comment on the durability, but I'd recommend getting something hand built with more spokes and you shouldn't have to worry about durability.


And to add to this thought, if you do go the handbuilt route, consider getting a rim with double-eylets. (My personal preference is DT Swiss 465 w/ double eylets.)


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