Got up on the pedals and hub goes boom!

[redir]

Just pulled the bike out of the shed to ride to work. It was in a high gear so I really had to get up on the pedals. Took one stroke and the hub blew up. Zipp 303. Glad it didn't happen when I was going 35MPH

Anyway I'm thinking of replacing it with a power tap G3 hub since I have the computer for it. IS there anything I need to know about hubs for this wheel? Does it have to be laced the same way and so on?

[MattTuck]

high watt problems

[KarlC]

What Zipp hub is that ?

Zipp had a recall on some hubs you should check.

[redir]

Yeah I would love to think of it as a problem that I jsut have too much power

Originally Posted by KarlC

What Zipp hub is that ?

Zipp had a recall on some hubs you should check.

Ok yeah I should have checked to be sure, I will when I get a chance. It's of the 10-speed era.

[sitzmark]

Originally Posted by redir

Yeah I would love to think of it as a problem that I jsut have too much power



Ok yeah I should have checked to be sure, I will when I get a chance. It's of the 10-speed era.

Looks like you have a 188 V7 (2011-ish). No recall. Counting 9 (visible) radial spokes so should be a 24H rim. Ideally would re-lace same pattern but G3 won't support. If spoke holes are in good condition (no stress cracks) should be good to go - happy logging all that power!

[berserk87]

I would check with Zipp. I think the hub recall was related to a bearing issue, but it doesn't cost anything to ask. Even if they say "no", perhaps they offer help with a solution?

Oddly enough, and related to another thread on Paceline, I've had more hub flange fractures over the years than cable breakages.

Keep up the good work. Blowing up stuff means that you are riding, and putting out the watts.

[Mark McM]

There are two Zipp hub recalls listed on the Zipp web site, and both are only for the front hub:

https://www.zipp.com/support/recall-...tion/index.php

It looks like the Zipp hub has radial non-drive size spokes. The Powertap G3 hub manual specifies that the non-drive side must be laced at least 2x, but says nothing about the drive-side - although it is customary to lace Powertap hubs with crossed spokes on both sides. If the Zipp wheel can be laced with crossed spokes on the drive-side, that's what I'd recommend. In any case, the spoke lengths will certainly be different (and the G3 uses elbow spokes), so you'd have to get new spokes. The G3 hub is available in 24, 28 and 32 spoke configurations.

[dem]

If you're the original owner, call Zipp.. they will likely hook you up.

All the high-zoot wheel makers know their only value add is their reputation, so usually they'll do something nice for the original owner.

[redir]

I'm not the original owner but it's still a good idea to seek there advice. That's what I will do, thanks.

[Dasarbule]

I have replaced the rear hubs on 4 zipp carbon wheels
and 2 zipp 101 alloy wheels due to that same problem. Also model 88 fronts. Unfortunately, this is in a territory without dealer/distributor support. I have flipped the rims and rebuild them with Powerway R36 hubs.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Dasarbule

I have replaced the rear hubs on 4 zipp carbon wheels
and 2 zipp 101 alloy wheels due to that same problem. Also model 88 fronts. Unfortunately, this is in a territory without dealer/distributor support. I have flipped the rims and rebuild them with Powerway R36 hubs.

What do you mean by, "I have flipped the rims..." ?

[dddd]

This is likely a case of creep-yield failure that was underway before you took your fateful commute ride.
Caused mainly by sustained tension in a vulnerable material such as billet or cast aluminum that has been dimensioned for lightest weight.
I've seen a few radial-laced wheels come apart like this while sitting unused for a while, so usage and even rider weight might not even be a factor in this case.
More than 10 years old though and racing parts aren't fully "expected" to remain functional for that long. With front wheels this sort of thing is frightening.

Crossed-spoke lacing, even if such a failure were to happen, doesn't remove two or more consecutive same-side spokes from the structure, so the wheel can usually still continue to rotate as the rider comes to a gentle, controlled stop.

Parts like this can be a liability time-bomb against a company's bottom line, why many frame and fork makers have offered trade-in money for old parts toward a new purchase.

[redir]

Originally Posted by dddd

This is likely a case of creep-yield failure that was underway before you took your fateful commute ride.
Caused mainly by sustained tension in a vulnerable material such as billet or cast aluminum that has been dimensioned for lightest weight.
I've seen a few radial-laced wheels come apart like this while sitting unused for a while, so usage and even rider weight might not even be a factor in this case.
More than 10 years old though and racing parts aren't fully "expected" to remain functional for that long. With front wheels this sort of thing is frightening.

Crossed-spoke lacing, even if such a failure were to happen, doesn't remove two or more consecutive same-side spokes from the structure, so the wheel can usually still continue to rotate as the rider comes to a gentle, controlled stop.

Parts like this can be a liability time-bomb against a company's bottom line, why many frame and fork makers have offered trade-in money for old parts toward a new purchase.

Well burst my bubble! No man it was raw power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZ0sSStW6Y

YEah those 3 spokes just blew out and the rim instantly was sent into the brakes. If that was the front wheel and I was on the fast 3 mile descent right out side my front door it would spell big trouble.

IDK why I keep buying racing stuff. I mean i do actually race on occasion still, but at 200lbs I always break stuff. Some people never learn I guess.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by redir

YEah those 3 spokes just blew out and the rim instantly was sent into the brakes. If that was the front wheel and I was on the fast 3 mile descent right out side my front door it would spell big trouble.

IDK why I keep buying racing stuff. I mean i do actually race on occasion still, but at 200lbs I always break stuff. Some people never learn I guess.

That flange probably did not "just suddenly" break, although it may have seemed that way. Metals fatigues by crack propagation*, and if the hub had been examined before the failure, it is likely that the cracks could have been detected. So the load that caused the final breakage probably wasn't an extreme overload, but was simply the straw that broke the camel's back. This is why periodic inspection of equipment is important, to detect fatigue cracks before they result in final failure.


*In hub flanges, the maximum stresses tend to be at the sides of the spoke holes, and cracks that initiate there tend to propagate toward adjacent spoke holes. This results in cracks spanning multiple adjacent spoke holes, and is why spokes tend to break away from flanges in multiples, such as the 3 adjacent spoke holes in your hub.