Bought a pair of used Bontrager race wheels from the LBS. They were set up for Campy, so I bought a new cassette and had them switched over to Shimano.
On first test ride (week before race) would pedal along, then all of a sudden the pedals would just spin with no resistance, then catch again. Went straight back to LBS, mechanic took the hub apart. Because it was right before the race, I did not want to risk it and ran my training tires.
Got the bike all set up for the next race, and because gearing has to be adjusted etc, took it out for test ride the week before the race, and same problem! Took it right back, and of course, we could not replicate the problem with the mechanic right there, thinking it was heavy load that caused the problem.
Went out today, and guess what…found out it is not heavy load that causes the pedals to spin without resistance, but high cadence. Called the mechanic, and he is stumped.
Of course the have offered to give me my money back. Frustrating in that this will be the second race I can not run the wheels on, and now I have to scramble to get the gearing reset for my training tires.
Anyone ever had this problem. I am wondering if I should just take the refund on the wheels, or try again to have them fixed.
what type of grease did they use when they reassembled the hub. I’ve never worked on Bontrager wheels, but there are some freehubs out there that are particularly finicky about using grease on the freehub mechanism (the older Rolf Vector Pros come to mind). If the grease is too thick, it doesn’t always allow the mechanism to engage properly, causing the intermittent problem you describe. Try switching to a lighter grease or an oil like Phil Wood Tenacious Oil to see if that solves the problem.
Does it happen when you shift into the small chain ring? Sometimes, if your front derailleur is a little off the chain won’t mesh with the small chain ring immediately and will allow you to pedal with no resistance. Just a thought…
what type of grease did they use when they reassembled the hub. I’ve never worked on Bontrager wheels, but there are some freehubs out there that are particularly finicky about using grease on the freehub mechanism (the older Rolf Vector Pros come to mind). If the grease is too thick, it doesn’t always allow the mechanism to engage properly, causing the intermittent problem you describe. Try switching to a lighter grease or an oil like Phil Wood Tenacious Oil to see if that solves the problem.
Bingo! I would almost promise this is the issue. Those have DT’s “star ratchet” system and if they use anything other than either a VERY light coat of thin bodied grease (Rock-N-Roll Red) or DT special hub grease, the ratchet won’t engage.