Broken Spokes

August seemed to be the month where I had to deal with bike issues.  It's the first time that I've had to deal with a broken spoke, and before the month was out I'd have to deal with 2.  Of all of the things I've had happen to me to prematurely end a ride, I have to say that a broken spoke has to be the most disheartening.  Both times I've had it happen when I was in a groove, and feeling like I could put out a really good effort, just to hear a strange metallic "ping", and the feeling that something was off.  Unlike a puncture or some other mechanical issues, there really isn't anything you can do to fix a broken spoke, either. That said, these experiences have given me a chance to review a few things on my own form as well as reaffirm my decision to get Boyd wheels instead of a high end warehouse brand.  

Broken at the J bend

Not a sight you want to see

There's your problem, right there...

From a personal performance point of view, I have to re-evaluate how I ride.  One of the big stressors on wheels is compression, specifically from hitting pot holes and other road hazards.  Because of my larger size, I put a lot of instant stress on my wheels when I go over these hazards at speed than a typical ~150lb rider.  In general I have taken the attitude of being more willing to "eat" a pothole in order to stay stable and not wreck than to attempt to avoid hazards at the last moment.  I need to adjust this and pay better attention to road conditions.  On routes that I know fairly well, I know where to look for these hazards and make sure I'm in a proper place to avoid them.  Beyond that I need to make sure I'm looking far enough ahead to avoid issues when at all possible as well.  Swerving at the last minute isn't an issue, but I shouldn't need to swerve to avoid road hazards as much as just make sure I'm looking for them.

In the cases where I cannot avoid a hazard, I need to make sure I'm not sitting with the majority of my weight on my back wheel.  This put a lot of unneeded sharp stress on those spokes, which can in turn cause weak spots to form.  Ideally I should get out of the saddle to handle the hazard, but just evening out my weight should go a long way to helping relieve just a little of that pressure.  

I also need to start making a much more concerted effort to document when I've had hazard hits and verifying that the wheels stay true and inspect the spokes.  If I can determine that a spoke has formed a weak spot before it breaks, it should mean less time hobbling back to get my wheel fixed.  I'm already working on spending more time doing general bike maintenance, and I'm going to be making an effort to start having a regular monthly deep clean and review of the bike to look for issues.  I can definitely add a more thorough wheel review as needed.  Something as small as making sure that the rear derailuer is working properly, and isn't throwing the chain into the spokes at all could mean the difference between no issues and almost constant repair.  I can definitely improve in this area.

Shortly after having the second spoke break in the month, I started getting down about my wheel decision.  I had gone through a lot of research when picking out these wheels, and I felt that I had make a good decision when I picked up these wheels.  With 2 breakdowns so close together, I had started second guessing if I had made a good decision.  Personally I put a lot of stock in dependability and confidence, especially on my bike.  After I have any sort of breakdown or change it takes me several rides to get confidence back that I'm not going to have another issue that could cause me to damage myself or the bike.  Not having confidence in the machine that I am using definitely puts a major crimp in what I feel willing to do.  I start having doubts about longer rides.  I don't want to get stranded.  After reviewing how I can take better care of my ride, I think I have places where I can improve and see improvements on the longevity of my investment, both in myself and my bike.  It's just going to take a few good rides to get the confidence level back up.

Through all of this, the most phenomenal thing for me has been the service that I've gotten from Boyd's.  I've heard horror stories of people having to ship their wheels back to the manufacturer to have warranty work done on them, and having to deal with loaner wheels or even worse being unable to ride for weeks at a time.  Since I live in Greenville, where Boyd's puts together every wheel by hand, I have to luxury of bringing the wheel back and having them take a look at it easily.  Beyond that, the courteous nature of the staff and the confidence that I have when I get the wheel back that everything is okay is exceptional.  Instead of just repairing the broken spoke, they took the time to inspect the wheel and even replaced a few that I had somehow damaged without noticing it (more than likely from chain issues).  They also take the time to make sure to build it back up, instead of just putting in the new spoke.  In the end this gives me confidence that when I get the wheel back I'm not having continued issues, but I should have a wheel I can rely on.  

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Boyd wheels to anyone, even with the recent issues.  My current wheels should last well beyond the life of my bicycle, and serve me well.  If they do happen to have any more issues, I also have the confidence that I can get them taken care of properly and professional, by folks that know not just how to repair a simple issue, but know how to build a wheel the right way.

Stages of Desire: Acquisition

This is a series of posts about getting new wheels.  As I stated in a previous post, I had selected the Boyd Vitesse wheelset as my upgrade to the stock wheels on my Scott S40. After waiting for them to restock the high spoke count wheels I was able to pick them up last week, just in time for the Assault on the Carolinas.  I've had a chance to get about 150 miles on them so far, and I definitely have some first impressions on what these specific wheels do for my rides.  Some of it I expected, although there are a few changes that I wasn't really looking for that I found interesting.

Boyd Vitesse wheels - Fresh from the Factory!

First change:  The ride quality.  I've had a chance to ride a few sections of road that I would consider less than desirable  one of them being Perimeter Road here locally.  This to me is one of the roughest patches of road that I travel pretty regularly.  What I found was that the Vitesses ate up a good amount of the vibrations, and definitely improved the overall ride quality on poor roads.  I expected this, but experiencing it was definitely something new.

Second change:  Stability.  This was not an expected change for me, at least not one that I would have written down.  In fact, it took me a couple of rides to really believe what I knew relatively quickly on the wheels:  I was more stable at higher speeds.  Looking back on it, it really makes sense.  These wheels are stiffer and more stable overall, so the fact that the bike handles and acts better at high speeds shouldn't be a big surprise.  The fastest I've gotten these wheels is about 45mph so far on a descent.  At that speed the bike was stable, but it's also well beyond any speed that I would purposefully ride.  Thus if I end up seeing a speed on my bike computer beyond 40mph, it's purely circumstantial, and nothing I'm looking to top by pedaling faster.

Third change:  Ride comfort.  This one really surprised me.  Right now I have 3 bibshorts that I use regularly, and of them I really only had 1 set that I used for longer rides where I knew I wasn't going to be sore.  For the Assualt on the Carolinas I used a pair of Voler Elite FS bibshorts that I picked up over the winter, and after over 4 hours in the saddle I felt fine and comfortable in the shorts.  This is definitely a welcome change.

Fourth change:  Active muscles used.  This one is harder for me to explain, and I'm still not entirely sure if it's because I'm looking for it actively or if it's just a psychosomatic response on my part.  What I'm finding is that I'm actually maxing out efforts well before I'm reaching my top HR.  By this I mean that I'm to a point where my body says "sit down and spin" before my heart is actually at levels I've been at on the same efforts in the past. What I'm hypothesizing is that I'm using muscle groups differently at this point because of the difference in stiffness of the wheel.  The only bike that I've used so far has been this Scott, so my body was tuned to how it reacted.  My expectation is that in the next 2-3 weeks I'll continue to see improvements on harder efforts as my body adjusts to the new experience on the bike.  

Fifth change:  Efforts required.   This one is the main expectation that I wrote down prior to getting the wheels.  The proof wasn't in the 8% incline that I originally marked, but more in the long 2-3% incline while in a group ride.  These are the sections that I would fade on previously.  What I've found early on is that I was able to keep up with the surges that the group makes on the longer false flats.  My hypothesis on this is that the effort to keep speed at an incline is less of a parabolic curve with the new wheels than it was before.  Thus when the speed creeps up on a 2% climb, I'm not having to increase the level of effort to my max (or beyond) as quickly.  I'll definitely be watching this metric carefully over the next few weeks to see if this stays the same.  I ride a specific segment regularly that has a nice long false flat.  It'll be interesting to see how my average time changes, although keeping variables to a minimum will be tough.   

Other adjustments:  The other main things I've had to work as far as adjustments have been dealing with tire pressure, brake adjustments, and skewers.  The new skewers are fantastic, but I'm working on making sure I have the rear wheel tight enough to not cause extra play in the rear wheel (and thus brake rub).  The new rims are wider than the OEM wheels, and thus I'm having to make adjustments to the brakes so they hit square and don't rub.  The main benefit of the wider rim is that I should be able to run at a lower tire pressure, and see even better ride quality.  I'm still running at 110psi for the most part, although changing to a higher performance tire, and getting them wider (700x25 instead of 700x23) may assist with this.  All of these adjustments are things that I would consider normal with any major change on the bike.  

Summary - I'd say after getting in 4 tough rides, including a metric century, on these wheels that they are a huge improvement over the stock wheels that came with my bike.  They definitely are going to be an adjustment period for me, as I only have experience with a single bike configuration since starting this journey in 2011.  Of all of the changes I could have made on the bike, I have to believe that this will be one of the biggest.  At some point I'm going to have to look at what I want in a new frame, but my current goal is to ride this bike 24,901 miles prior to making another massive change.  

Stages of Desire: Stage 1 - Anticipation

I have made no secret about the desire that I have to replace the wheels on my bike with something "better".  No matter how much I instruct my inner self that I just need to deal with Rule 5 and allow the basic equipment that I have on the bike get me stronger, and deal with upgrades when the actual need for an upgrade arises, the desire has grown.  Through all of my research and talking to folks, I've been told that the biggest upgrade I can do is going to be in getting new Wheels.  Lighter, stiffer, more aerodynamic!  If I listen to all of the hype that manufacturers put out there, I should look like Peter flippin Sagan on new wheels!  The reality is that a 38 year old network engineer that is 6'1" and weighs in around 215lbs is never going to look like Peter Sagan on the road. Well, maybe like Peter Sagan when he's 80.

There are some realities, and there are some outside expectations that I have for this upgrade, and I'm looking forward to going through the entire process and doing a write up for each segment.

After going through the investigation process, I decided on getting some Boyd Vitesse alloy wheels as my upgrade.  I had mostly made this decision late last year, but I had told myself that I needed to save up to get them this Spring, specifically for the final preparation for the Assault on Mnt Mitchell in May.  In fact, I'd have said wheels now if they hadn't had such good sales this quarter that they are waiting on a new shipment of parts. 

I chose the Boyd's based on recommendations from several friends as well as other folks here locally that are using them.  The overall opinion of the wheel has been extremely positive, and the fact that they are assembled here locally means that I have a local source to work with if I should happen to have a problem.  They also make the wheel in two varieties:  1 set for light people, and 1 set for Clydesdales like myself.  The fact that they make a wheel that is rated for someone up to 240 lbs gives me more confidence that I will have the best chance of not having wheel issues possible.  Most modern high end wheels end up having a top end recommended weight of between 200 and 220 lbs.  

As for expectations, I expect that they are going to be lighter than my existing wheels, and that they should take less energy to keep rolling.  What I want to see is how the difference in a better hub as well as a better balance of weight between the hub and the rim equates to pedaling efficiency.  My hope is that when I'm dealing with a larger incline (between 8-10%) I can keep the wheel rotating with less exertion than I do currently, either while seated or standing.  Whether it's because of flex/stiffness, weight distribution, weight of the wheelset or mystical wheel mojo can be up for debate.  This may equate to a slightly better speed while climbing, but only from a Greg LeMond "it never gets easier" standpoint.  At some point the amount of effort to climb is no longer determined by the low speed rolling resistance, and instead is a factor of the ability to climb and keep your heart rate under control.  My expectations are that at 8% incline I should be able to keep a cadence of 70 while in the 34-24 gear ratio with a lower heart rate with the new wheels.  There are always variables to deal with when setting expectations as specific as this such as temperature, time of day, fueling, and overall condition.  I have data points from earlier this year on Paris Mountain that I'm expecting to use as a baseline to compare to.  It won't be perfect, but it should work as a basic measure to get an initial comparison. 

Until the new shipment of parts comes in, all I can do is anticipate the adventure to come!