2807 9c spoke issues

[davec]

Hey has anyone had spoke issues with the 9c's?
i just bought mine brand new
when i first got it and started riding there was all sorts of clicking sounds coming from it- after a week it made a creeking sound and i stopped riding it immediately
i understand you ride it for a week for things to settle in than you tension/true it
anyways after about a week i did so-

even after the true i have 3 spokes are still loose- and it makes a clicking sound occasionally
the 3 spokes don't sit flush in the spoke holes
i just feel the wheel was built poorly and i may need take the whole thing apart and rebuild it....
which is dissapointing- because when you buy a bike wheel normally everything is trued and ready to go - but these things come from china what can one expect

example:

 

[Ykick]

Save yourself frustration and reliability - rebuild with quality rim/spokes and don't go overboard with thick spokes. I personally use 13-14ga Sapim butted spokes and Mammoth Fat rim - haven't touched a spoke wrench in nearly two years! Built another more heavily dished wheel with same components and same good result over past 4 months.

Before that using stock factory wheels constant truing, tensioning and eventually spoke breakage. Best $100 you can spend on eBike hardware IMO.

 

[davec]

or maybe if they made these things with solid spokes err mag wheels
kindof like this
http://www.sportaid.com/corima-4-spoke-hand-bike-wheel-rear.html

maybe it would elimiate the old bicycle wheel spoke issues.....it looks more reliable
actually thx for the advice kick- yes i think i will have to re-build it... and use quality parts if i need this thing to be reliable....i should have just bought the motor only....

 

[Drunkskunk]

Save yourself frustration and reliability - rebuild with quality rim/spokes and don't go overboard with thick spokes. I personally use 13-14ga Sapim butted spokes and Mammoth Fat rim - haven't touched a spoke wrench in nearly two years! Built another more heavily dished wheel with same components and same good result over past 4 months.

Before that using stock factory wheels constant truing, tensioning and eventually spoke breakage. Best $100 you can spend on eBike hardware IMO.

+1

 

[gogo]

A vendor known here decided quality truing from China was not reliable and has it done stateside instead. If you have loose spokes after truing, you're not done yet. You may need to use washers to get everything snug and you may want to substitute quality 14 gauge for the usually standard crappy 13 gauge that comes on Chinese laced wheels.

[EDIT] What ykick said, 13-14 butted spokes, and you may as well get the rim you really want as long as you're buying new spokes and doing a lace.

 

[Tommy L]

I've run my 9C2810 up to 50mph/80kph. Still makes the spoke noise. I just keep an eye on it.
For now I've change out controllers and limit my speed to 30mph/50kph, still makes the noise.

But truly, a new quality rim and High Quality Spokes is never a bad way to go
Also........PRO RIM TAPE!

Tommy L sends....

 

[999zip999]

This is the tool I used to put between the spokes and bend the spokes so they would stop rubbing. I got so sick of triing to get the spokes from creeking and just about to look for a decent rim and spokes as not all the nipples where of the same size either 12 or 13 on the spoke wrench. I understand these is not a spoke tool but a tool for adjusting brakes on a car. But with the cheap rim and cheap spokes and all the creeking I had after 2yrs. With many adjustments over the yrs. I just went for it and made clearence between the spokes as not to rub. It did the fix on the cheap chinesse rim and spoke combo. The noise for the first time has gone away. Plus the whining sound of the 9c 2810 has gone to a min. So I will try and true again and keep it on the road as is. 80v 30amps.
Plus was riding on the beach it was getting crusty between the spokes so I had to stop as the sea and salt is to much for a hub motor inside and outside.
I can't beleave it worked but I had to try something. As cheap spokes need a cheap fix.
P.s LFP I will loan my new spoke if you like ? You must send it back as I just couldn't let you keep a top scerect new tool

 

[liveforphysics]

A wheel laced with bigger spokes than the rim's strength supports stretching adequately will fail. They fail both in random loosening spokes, as well as breaking spokes from stress distribution focusing.

I'm personally running Sapim super spokes:
http://www.sapim.be/spokes/butted/super-spokes

They are 1.4mm shank, just between 17 gauge and 18 gauge thickness. I hammer on them. Constant stairs and obstacles off road, along with bombing hills on pot-hole filled roads as fast as I can pedal, they are laced into a hubmotor, and this wheel just stays true and taught and makes no noise.

 

[Tommy L]

Also to remember about METALLURGY is that if the Spokes have a Torque spec, then torque them
to that number. It allows the metal to retain elasticity. Over tightening, if you are German it would be
called (said with a German accent) "Good'n Tight". Going beyond the metals ability to have elasticity
means "loose"

Tommy L sends.....

 

[davec]

i am thinking about getting a Alex DM24 rim as it's a good quality product- although the champion chinese 26" rim seems ok ( it is double walled)
anyone know of a good place to get 14ga sapim spokes for a reasonable price....

 

[wesnewell]

i am thinking about getting a Alex DM24 rim as it's a good quality product- although the champion chinese 26" rim seems ok ( it is double walled)
anyone know of a good place to get 14ga sapim spokes for a reasonable price....

what hub motor? What size rim? What size tire (width)? I put over 5000miles on my champion rim without a problem. It had 12g spokes. It only creaked when the spokes were loose. After tightening them it was ok. But I replaced it with a Weinmann DH-39 wider rim with offset spoke holes and the spokes don't touch each other on it. It's a heavy (829g) very strong rim suitable for tires of 2.0" and wider. If you like Alex, the DX32 is close to it.

 

[Drunkskunk]

i am thinking about getting a Alex DM24 rim as it's a good quality product- although the champion chinese 26" rim seems ok ( it is double walled)
anyone know of a good place to get 14ga sapim spokes for a reasonable price....

I get my spokes from member JRH, who's site is http://holmeshobbies.com/.
The Alex rim is good, far better than the chinese RSO (Rim Shaped Objects). SunRingle Rhynolites are another option.

 

[davec]

@wes it's this motor here: http://ebikes.ca/store/photos/M2807FD26.jpg
i think these have 13ga spokes
has anyone ever re-drilled a hub for 14ga spokes and have a template or a good technique..... this is a trivial task that requires good precision..... of course spoke washers would be easier......

 

[Ykick]

@wes it's this motor here: http://ebikes.ca/store/photos/M2807FD26.jpg
i think these have 13ga spokes
has anyone ever re-drilled a hub for 14ga spokes and have a template or a good technique..... this is a trivial task that requires good precision..... of course spoke washers would be easier......

Not sure drilling will help, use 13/14 ga butted and they'll fit the motor fine. Last 36 ordered from JRH cost me about $42 shipped.

 

[davec]

thx kick
i should of ordered the motor only
butted 13/14 would work nicely.as the dm24 is eyeletted for 14..and i could build the wheel properly with the spoke heads sitting snug in the flange... only reason i was thinking of re-drilling was because i thought i saw small stretches in the spoke holes- i will double check tommorow when there is more light....
- i believe jr also has 12/13 butted so i could use the champion for my clyte 5305 and dedicate the alex to my 9c

 

[Ykick]

I've come to the same conclusion about loose motors but many vendors don't have proper boxes to ship a loose motor and are likely gonna charge you just as much, if not more, to ship sans wheel.

Majority of Chinese riders can probably get along with their "standard" quality but guys like us, +200lbs will give motor wheels trouble.

13/14ga butted spokes work quite well and if you eventually break one it's easy enough to scavenge a long 14ga from practically any old bicycle wheel and twist it into hub flange. Tighten up and you got emergency roadside spoke repair covered.

Ideally, 13-15-14 would be most perfect for motor wheels but good luck finding them! The washer thing appears to work well for some guys but I'm lazy and don't care to bother sourcing another component.

 

[wesnewell]

I get my spokes from member JRH, who's site is http://holmeshobbies.com/.
The Alex rim is good, far better than the chinese RSO (Rim Shaped Objects). SunRingle Rhynolites are another option.

Who do you think makes Alex rims? Answer: Chinese. I can't believe how much misinformation is spread on this forum. Didn't check SunRingle, but I'd be surprised if they weren't Chinese too. And while technically, Taiwan is not part of China now. They were once before becoming Formosa, and later Taiwan. The inhabitants are Chinese. You people better learn to respect the Chinese. They're likely to own us in the US one of these days. With every man woman and child in the US owing them ~$50,000 now, you might say they already do.

 

[wesnewell]

The 9C motors have 3mm spoke holes.I'd use 12G (2.6mm spokes in it to avoid flange tear out. If your rim is made for 13G/14G spokes use butted spokes for it. You didn't give your tire width, but for best fit IMO, divide width in half for minimum inside rim width, and never less than 21mm.

 

[dogman dan]

I'm only 1/4 german, so I learned to run a looser, but snug and evenly tensioned wheel. I have way too many motors to go and relace them all. So I learned to keep em true and tight, but never overtighten.

Bend a rim, and you must replace it though, once bent, you'd have to over tighten some spokes to try to get it half ass straight.

When my spokes creak a bit in a hard corner, I can live with it, but if they start talking too much, I know it's time to work on the wheel some. Once past that initial stretch in, they tend to do ok for quite some time, provided they aren't hopping too many curbs.

Definitely the key thing is to never take them too tight, and wreck what little elasticity there was in a cheap spoke. All this applies to a cross lace. I've never tried to run a radial spoke wheel, since I like 26".

 

[Tommy L]

I'm only 1/4 german, so I learned to run a looser, but snug and evenly tensioned wheel.

you say......"1/4 german"

Tommy L sends....

 

[dogman dan]

Revisiting and re reading the original post more carefully, I'd definitely replace those few spokes that fit really bad.

Worse than the German side of me, is the Virgo side. But as I age, I find myself saying "close enough" more and more.

 

[wesnewell]

From the first photo it appears that one spoke is not seated properly and that all you need to do with it is seat it properly and tighten it up. Spoke heads should be flush against the flange.