Okay, just don't buy bikes from #Ride1Up then.

The response I got is that the rims are small because the Pirelli tires that came with the bike are too tight to fit on normal rims.

I know this is bullshit. These tires are marked 45-622, so they're meant to go on wheels with a BSD of 622mm, and I've put this tire on a wheel with a BSD of 622mm without much trouble.

They don't consider this wheel to be defective and I'm not getting any service.

I'm gonna buy new rims and spokes and rebuild the wheels, and then hopefully I'll be riding this bike for the next five years or so. It's not a bad bike otherwise.

Nonetheless, I don't suggest buying bikes from Ride1Up.

#Cycling #EBike #BikeRepair

The only good thing about this situation with my #Ride1Up e-bike is that I'm no longer worried about trying to true the rear wheel. If spokes break, then they break. The rims are no good so the wheels need to be rebuilt anyway, which I will do on my own, at my own expense, if I have to.

I am going to make this the bike I ride as my main form of transportation for the next five years at least. I won't be discouraged or defeated. It's just going to take more time and maybe more money than I'd like.

#Cycling #BikeRepair #EBike

Okay, I've figured out how to actually measure the bead seat diameter of a bicycle wheel rim and I've done it and I'm not going to mess around with this anymore, even though I'm sure there's still some systematic error somewhere in my measurements.

I measured the well circumference of each rim with a narrow tape measure hooked over the valve stem hole on each rim. (This one only measures in inches, but I work with what I've got.)

Well diameter in millimeters is 25.4 times the circumference in inches divided by pi.

I measured the flange heights above the well and bead seat using two rulers: one stood up on its edge across the top of the flange, and the other extending down into the rim and resting in the well or on the bead seat, measuring at the bottom of the other ruler.

Bead seat height above the well is the difference in flange heights above the well and above the bead seat.

Finally, the bead seat diameter is the well diameter plus 2 times the bead seat height above the well.

My Ride1Up Roadster V3 wheels are similar in dimensions, but they're both too small. They're 617mm, which is 5mm less than the nominal 622mm.

The Matrix 550 was previously installed on my 2008 Trek 7000 hybrid. It's nominally the same size so I thought it would make for a good comparison as a "normal" wheel which has never given me tire trouble. It's 628mm, which is 6mm more than the nominal 622mm.

I don't think layering on rim tape will be the solution in my case because that would eat into the flange height above the bead seat. The bead won't have the support that it needs. These wheels are just too small.

#Cycling #BikeRepair #EBike #Ride1UP

I'm done.

I can't deal with this anymore.

#Ride1UP (my bike's manufacturer) needs to deal with this. I'm out of options.

#Cycling #BikeRepair #Ebike

I've discovered a serious problem with my #Ride1UP Roadster V3:

The stem is loose. It's easy to twist the handlebar out of alignment relative to the fork if I hold the front wheel between my knees and push on the bar.

This is a dangerous condition for any bicycle and must be fixed before I continue riding it.

This is after 50mi/80km. I really should have checked sooner, but I expected better from a company like Ride1UP.

I've requested instructions for tightening the stem, because the stem on this bike doesn't seem to be of a standard type.

#EBike #Cycling