Frustrated with Front Wheel Hop; can’t find a shop willing to touch it

[Ariel Red Hunter]

Originally Posted by Ski_rush

I hear ya, and I appreciate the support. I have not had any luck selling the bike. I figured I'd post it and would get a few nibbles from Craigslist. I was able to sell my Hawk/Bashan from an online ad. Not one single email; and I'm not counting the one from a Nigerian prince who wanted to send me a check to arrange shipment of my "item".

I still need to remove the tire from the rim and need to spend $45 on new tire spoons and legit rim protectors. I returned the tire irons I got from HF because they were not the "spoon" type. I only got those because I was desperate. I'm at a weird place with the bike.

On one hand, I'm very pissed that I've had it since February and can't ride it because of a damn "oval" wheel. I'm also pissed at myself for not acting on this sooner and sending it in for a warranty item, which has now expired so I'm on my own. So, from this perspective, I want to do whatever I need to in order to actually use the bike, which I might be stuck with due to not being able to sell it.

On the other hand, I don't want to really sink any money into it, even if it is just $45 for new tire spoons. The thought of spending any money on this bike annoys me. I spent money that I did to buy the damn thing, and can't even use it. So, spending $45 on the new spoons isn't appealing because it could be just a waste of more money on a rim that might very well never be true.

I found new 17" rims on Ebay from China. But, there are three issues with them. One, since they are also from China, they will be of the same poor quality as the rim on my bike. Two, there is no guarantee they will be straight and true. Three, even though they are also 36 spoke rims, there is not guarantee they will work with this hub.

So, I'm stuck at the moment.

Well, now you know why to stay away from oddball sized rims. 18 inch rims are available just about everywhere. You can find very good Japanese aluminum 36 hole rims on e-bay. Then buy the spokes that fit. If you have a 17 inch rim now, the 18's will need to be 1/2 inch longer. Don't file down any spokes until you KNOW you've got the wheel built accurate. It may help to think about your wheel as built in 12 sets of 3 spoke groups. When I used to do this, I made a wooden jig to set up the wheel and locate the hub and take care of the off-set, if any. I"ll go into this a little farther tomorrow........ARH
So. When I started doing this for myself, I cut a piece of 1/2 inch plywood slightly proud of 18 inch square. Then I rasped, filed and sanded until the four sides of the plywood just touched the outer edges of the wheel rim. Now mark the center of each place where the rim is just touching the outer edges of the plywood. Now remove the wheel and run the lines in a "plus' sign or crossing one another. Where the lines cross is where the wheel center is. The axle will go there, eventually.
But for now I make an axle pattern out of easily obtained red oak. Next, taking the wheel off-set measurements from the old wheel, accuratly "pack out" the rim to get the correct off-set, IF ANY. Remember that the hub is always wider than the rim, which explains why the rim must be always "packed out". The rim "saddle" that is. Where the spokes go. I guess that's all I have to say, except this thechnique is the easiest I've ever found to keep the whole thing in relationship while lacing up a wheel. I fervently hope this helps someone in his/her endeavors to stay away from $100.00/hour shop rates.