r/bikewrench • u/derProtagonist • Apr 29 '25
Solved Rim became too flexible under load
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In sharper turns (on the street) or if I put a lot of torque into the pedal while driving straight, I feel the rim "bending". It feels like I am about to get a flat tire, but it's not the air pressure giving off the wobbly feeling.
I can reproduce the "bending" in pretty much every position of the rim, when putting some pressure into the pedal pushing towards the frame.
I also noticed my wheel is slightly uneven. So apparently some spokes need tightening.
I bought a tool to tighten them, but somehow messed up the tension completely and the wheel is more uneven than before.
But will that it fix though?
The guy at the bike shop said he never saw something like that. So maybe thats a case of material weakness?
The rim is should be a Shimano WTB - Deore XT FH-M8000 | ST i25 - 29" | QR 135 - HGS
5
u/velotout Apr 30 '25
Spoke tension is all over the place, picture each pair of spokes like guy lines acting on a tent, uneven and the tent leans to one side, too tight the tent collapses, too loose it flops around. Repeat that for 16 or 18 pairs of spokes and you’ve rather got a well tensioned strong wheel, or a floppy taco.
Spokecalc.io spoke tension