My training partner gave me his old (at least 10 years) Spinergy race wheels when he bought a new set this year. What a nice guy. I used them this past weekend for the first time at a half Ironman with great success. My question/concern is that the wheels are extremely noisy and not the good noise. There are grinding sounds coming from both wheels which I assume are the bearings.
As these wheels are sealed is there any way to check or repack the bearings? Do the wheels need to be sent back to Spinergy and if so considering the age of the wheels is is worth the effort?
Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.
BTW, I had a PR at the race with the 4th fastest bike time overall and to top it all off got a spot for IMC. Thanks.
Yes, the bearings are easily replaced. Rev-X’s use an “R-8” Bearing size on the front (2) and non-drive side of the rear. The Drive Side is a Cone and Ball Bearing shimano style assembly. Any questions, let me know. Keith@Spinergy
In my opinion they are great wheels, don’t believe the BS stories people make up about spinergy Rev X’s. I have access to a set and have been trying them out too. I would have a local shop that is a spinergy dealer have a look at them. I think that the bearings are replaceable.
Edit: I found a blog post that references this thread. I have changed my opinion since then
Thanks Kieth, What I can’t seem to figure out is how to remove the R-8 bearings. Do I need a special tool to remove them from the hub or should I just take them to shop? In the past I have always re-packed my own hubs, but these were standard Shimano hubs. Thanks again for responding.
What I can’t seem to figure out is how to remove the R-8 bearings…
Although there may be a special tool for this purpose, the bearings are simply “pressed in” and are removed by applying pressure to the axel to first remove one side then the other. I have used a brass drift (or in a pinch, a piece of hard lumber as a drfit) in combination with a heavy rubber mallet or hammer but the hub must be supported in a manner that allows the bearing to be removed without causing undue stress to the carbon spokes (I drilled a suitable size hole in a length of 2x4 and then secure it in a vise on the work bench)!
Hardly BS when the wheel collapses on you travelling down a hill at 65kph (as in my case). Let’s just say I went into a pretty good roll with many scrapes and bruises. The wheel was history. The bike received minor damage - lucky me.
Cause → The pop ring came off the hub and the glue which binds the hub did not have the strength to keep the wings of the wheel on the hub.
Oddly enough - although Spinergy admitted a manufacturing fault, they refused to send me a new wheel and instead offered me a “deal” on a new paris of wheels at a price higher than I would have paid retail.
As you can imagine I told them to keep the defective wheel and stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Not impressed with company’s customer satisfaction policy or the quality of the wheels.
I ended up paying for a new pair of wheels out of my own pocket (not Spinergy’s). Even though the back wheel did not collapse, I refused to risk losing my life and I never put the wheel on my bike again.
Choose for yourself whether to believe the history and many reports…but I can tell you what happened to me was no fluke - it is simply just a crappy wheel.
P.S. I am not one that goes out of my way to complain about products - so you may want to pay special attention to this.
I have seen failed Rev-X and broken jaws that they caused. If I was Apinnergy I would give you golden wheels FREE…how ever rumor is/was (and I have no idea if it ia true) that Spinnergy changed hands and the new owners have no liability to the old product and thus could give a shit less. I may be wrong.
I will say that I had an arm rest on my Carbon X break and cause me to crash…I asked Profile for new arm rests - they sent me new bars, a BDC, levers, stickers, called me, e-mailed me and they WERE ON IT…that is what I would expect from Spinergy.
I have seen failed Rev-X and broken jaws that they caused. If I was Apinnergy I would give you golden wheels FREE…how ever rumor is/was (and I have no idea if it ia true) that Spinnergy changed hands and the new owners have no liability to the old product and thus could give a shit less. I may be wrong.
I will say that I had an arm rest on my Carbon X break and cause me to crash…I asked Profile for new arm rests - they sent me new bars, a BDC, levers, stickers, called me, e-mailed me and they WERE ON IT…that is what I would expect from Spinergy.
I will take that rear off of your hands, if it is a 700, if you are interested. I had rev-x’s on my old 650 bike but sold them because my new bike is 700.
Now you guys have me worried I don’t want to be heading down from Yellow Lake with wheels that are unsafe. Maybe I should stick with the training wheels for now. Thanks.
The rear was a 650. Also, it is in the hands of Spinergy. Believe it or not, they said they would charge me to send it back to me. I knew I would not be riding it so I told them where they could put it.
rumor is/was (and I have no idea if it ia true) that Spinnergy changed hands and the new owners have no liability to the old product and thus could give a shit less.
I don’t have much of an opinion about whether spinergy’s wheels are well engineered or well built. I do know that their customer service sucks. Regardless, that’s not the way it works. If someone got hurt, they would sue and if they convinced a jury it was Spinergy’s fault, Spinergy would have to pay. A good plaintiff’s lawyer will go after former shareholders when the original manufacturer was sold and then went bankrupt ten years ago. A second year law student could establish liability in Spinergy’s case; a successor who is still in the same business and even operating under the same name. If you could separate liabilities from assets that way, Ford, Chevy, Honda etc would “sell” themselves to strawmen every year and never pay out on a products liability claim.
Spinergy wasn’t proactive about dealing with the situation because they treat customers like a baby treats a diaper. MHO is that Spinergy’s “customer is always wrong” attitude has a lot more to do with the negative press they have gotten than anything about the way they build their wheels.
Yes. It was a new wheel with limited miles. Collapsed just like the picture.
Another worthy point. If ever the bike falls on your hand your chances are pretty good you may acquire a nice DEEP cut if it is the wheel that contacts the hand. I have a scar from this happening. I am surprised tbhese wheels were even race legal - I would be concerned if someone was riding them in a pack in the event mass crash occurs.
I’m sorry that you were hurt, I am just asking for details for my own knowledge now. As far as I know they are not race legal for mass starts, just time trialing for the reason you stated.
The pictures just shows a broken wheel and I don’t know if it was from a crash or failed on it’s own. Ben never replied to me.
sorry man, i’ve don’t hang out here much and have been outa town for a while.
I don’t really know the guy well, his wheel failed for seemingly know reason at collegiate nats last year. the rim was not impacted the aluminum rim was still perfectly round and not dinged. It imploded on him “JRA.”
My other experience was when a team mate of mine did a 35 mph face plant in a crit in gainsville last year when is front revx imploded/exploded, again not an impact and “JRA.” in that case, several people witnessed the wheel explosion and the wreck. He was not so lucky and drove his teeth through his upper lip and put a hole in his temple. He had to ride with a surgical mask for over his face for 2 months.
This is all 100 percent true, i bullshit you not and wouldn’t waste my time to post it if i couldn’t back it all up.
The guy’s from spinergy who post here are salesmen, not engineers, although spinergy’s new wheels seem perfectly safe and a reasonable, even if gimmick based, deal. Spinergy’s former engineers will tell you not to ride the revx wheel, it is not safe.
sorry man, i’ve don’t hang out here much and have been outa town for a while.
I don’t really know the guy well, his wheel failed for seemingly know reason at collegiate nats last year. the rim was not impacted the aluminum rim was still perfectly round and not dinged. It imploded on him “JRA.”
My other experience was when a team mate of mine did a 35 mph face plant in a crit in gainsville last year when is front revx imploded/exploded, again not an impact and “JRA.” in that case, several people witnessed the wheel explosion and the wreck. He was not so lucky and drove his teeth through his upper lip and put a hole in his temple. He had to ride with a surgical mask for over his face for 2 months.
This is all 100 percent true, i bullshit you not and wouldn’t waste my time to post it if i couldn’t back it all up.
The guy’s from spinergy who post here are salesmen, not engineers, although spinergy’s new wheels seem perfectly safe and a reasonable, even if gimmick based, deal. Spinergy’s former engineers will tell you not to ride the revx wheel, it is not safe.