30 mile ride in some serious pouring rain this morning. Got home & began the Great Bike Clean Off and noticed a sloshing sound in the rear tire. Pulled it apart and found about 1/8 cup of water inside the rim. Had to pull the tube out in order to allow the water to drain out of the valve stem hole.
No water in the front wheel. No moisture at all in the tire (where as the rear tire was soaking wet).
Is this normal for this wheel? I’m not sure where the water is coming in from but since the front tire is fine, I’m guessing this is NOT something that should be happening.
Any suggestions on how to prevent this? Or is it just the nature of this beast?
Thanks,
Denise
The Ksyruims don’t have drilled spoke holes (they are hot-pierced and only go through the inside wall of the rim); I’m guessing that one of the plastic grommets is loose and water leaked into one of these holes.
The other possibility is that the rim is partially separated at the joint…very unlikely, but worth a quick check.
.
Sooner or later, if you ride in the rain enough, water always seems to get into rims. I’ve poured out half a cup before. Some say the water follows the spokes as the wheel spins and works its way into the rim around the nipples. The water’s not in the tire because the inner tube fills it up - no room for water in there.
Regardless, you can let the water out by drilling two small holes in each rim near the brake track. Many wheels come stock with these holes drilled, for this purpose. Have a look at some other wheels and you can see them.
Greg’s photos include one here:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Race_Wheels/Hed_releases_new_Jet_650c_3465.html
And there are more, in various different brands of wheels. Some get covered with decals but are easy to clear.
Damn, really? The first time I ride in rain on these wheels with less than 500 miles on them and they fill with water? People are ok with that? We spend the extra cash for lighter wheels yet end up hauling 1/2 cup of water with us? This makes no sense to me. And the fact that the front wheel was fine tells me that something isn’t right and this isn’t normal.
A friend that I rode with has the same wheels. Same conditions. No water in her rims.
These things aren’t even 4 months old. I’m not going to void a warranty by drilling holes in them. I’ll fight for a replacement.
Thanks all.
Denise
Hi Denise,
Yep, really. I consider any wheel without at least two drain holes in the rim to have a design defect. To answer your question, no, I’m not okay with that. So I just drill the holes. 
Please let us know how Mavic responds - they might recognize their defective design. Then what? New Mavics for you? If the new ones also have no holes they’ll (eventually) fill up with water as well. Maybe they’ll “repair” this defect by drilling their own holes in your wheels? I wouldn’t mind that at all - it’s a beautiful, well-proven solution. Even reduces the weight of the rim (okay, not by much…).
Cheers,
I’ll keep ya all posted. My LBS is pretty awesome and hopefully they will be able to take care of this quickly.
Sounds good. Hope they can get your wheels squared away! Er, I mean all fixed up.