I have just changed my rear tire after a long wet ride and noticed a lot of water in the rim. I am using non threaded valves and there is a small amount of play between the valve and the rim. Is there any thing on the market other than a bit of tape to stop this happening? I have just moved to a tropical climate so at least 50% of rides are in the wet.
Thanks
What kind of rim? If it’s something like the carbon fairing on Hed Jets for example you can just drill some small drain holes along the base of the fairing. Just be careful when drilling and there will be no effect on aero or wheel integratey…
I’ve never seen anything specific. Water just seems to get into everything on the bike, one reason your frame has drain holes.
Maybe try some teflon tape?
Wheels are Kyseriums. Not sure I want to drill holes. So I might just try tape or leave it and let the centrifugal force of the wheel spin it out.
Thanks
I live in south Florida and rain is just something you have to live with. You need to take the entire tube and tire off the wheel and drain them. also, see if your frame has two tiny holes on the end of the chainstays by the rear dropouts. If so, hang your frame in your garage and drain your frame. Wipe down the rest of the bike and put some lube the chain and you should be good to go.
Tibbsite…I’ve got it real bad.
Doc only gives me 12mths to live…
You stole my name. You are the reason I have to be nzmarkj on everything. Give it back.
MarkJ,
You believe that the water is entering you rim at the valve stem hole, but you are probably mistaken.
The water is running down each of the spokes and “pooling” in the spoke holes in the rim. As the rim spins the centripital force pushes the water into the rim. The falling rain and water thrown up by other riders hits the spinning spokes and then races down the spoke to try and get off the wheel but it gets caught in the spoke hole/well in the rim.
Many rims have drain holes or are effectively sealed at the spoke hole. You can drill a drain hole in your rim. Some better LBSs will perform this service for you for a fee. If you chose to do this yourself, you must determine if the cavity is convex or concave in cross section to determine if the water wells on bath sides of the rim and therefore two drain holes are required, on on each side of the rim, or if just one drain hole is adequate to drain the rim. If two drain holes are required, do not drill both holes opposite one another at the same point on the rim. Space them approximately 180 degrees apart from one another. Also, be sure the drain hole is not on the braking surface, if it is , it will eat up your brake pad in no time.
Early Rolf Vector Pro wheels were plagued with this same design fault. It was possible to retroactively “correct” this flaw by drilling a drain hole in each wheel. This cured the problem and prevented water from accumulating in the rim. Rolf wheels that were manufactured later had these “drain holes” installed at the factory.
I am amused by the “great” wheel manufacturers who design and engineer the next greatest wheel and fail to test their product in real world tests including riding in wet conditions. The pros would not tolerated wheels that increased their rotational mass during a ride. All this additional mass is at the perimeter of the wheel where it has the greatest negative impact on performance.
I suspect the manufacturer’s attitude is to make no change thereby not increasing the manufacturing cost of the wheel and sell it to the recreational cyclist believing that most recreational cyclists are fair weather riders and they will never discover this flaw. The honest wheel manufacturers will advise you where to place the drain hole to preserve wheel integrity or they will advise their bike store retailers to better control this procedure.
Believe me, at the pro level this issue gets fixed or the wheel won’t be ridden, period.
Good luck.
I’ve thought about this one a bit, and was wondering if anyone has tried sealing the holes with silicone. You know, the kind of stuff that you use to caulk your bathtub with. I’m guessing that a dab of clear silicon right where the spoke enters the fairing would prevent water entering, wouldn’t look too bad, wouldn’t require any drilling, should be cheap, and by its nature allow for spoke movement and truing, or be easily removed.
Any thoughts?
I had this issue with my Spinergy XAeros. I found that the Spinergy decal was covering the drain hole for the rear wheel. I trimmed away the decal in that area. I also found that I need to store the bike with the wheels rotated to where the drain holes are at the bottom to allow for drainage after wet rides or washing the bike.
BenDavis,
I don’t consider myself a weight weenie. Never have and never will. For some, the mantra “steel is real” will identify that I don’t have the lightest production bicycle ever made. But its not the heaviest either by a long shot and it is what some would consider a higher performance road bike.
I do time trial and I do have a time trial frame and have more than one pair of aerodynamic wheels.
In spite of all this, the thought of manufacturing a wheel that traps water in the rim just frustrates the hell out of me. Why would anyone accept a design that will increase the rotational mass of a moving part? Not only will it increase the rotational mass of the moving part, the wheel, but it will confine the increase to the perimeter of the wheel where it has the greatest negative impact on performance. This is truly bad engineering and design!
Now I am the first to recognize that these flawed designs are not advertised and we, the victims, only learn of these faults after purchasing the flawed products. I’m not maintaining we are fools. If we were permitted to make informed purchase decisions on these flawed designs, they would end up on the retailer’s shelves or back at the manufacturer’s distribution warehouse, but not on our bikes.
Now, what do I think about the silicone seal thing? It still rubs me the wrong way. I am still increasing the rotational mass of the wheel at the perimeter by adding the silicone sealant at each spoke hole when I shouldn’t have to. Why did I buy this wheel in the first place? If its just a training wheel, then I guess who cares? Its just another training opportunity. If it is some kind of a performance wheel, then there isn’t any way I’m going to add weight to it, period.
I guess I’m just funny that way.
I hear you. I paid good $ for my HED jet 60’s, and it irks me that they take on water. I just tell myself that riding with 2 pints in each wheel is like running with leg weights on. I just hope the manufacturers get it right before my next purchase, oh, and that I don’t ever have to race in the rain! 