Oh dear. The art of bicycle maintenance and all that. I knew this wheel was overdue for replacement and has been for some time. I folded the front wheel of the pair when I crashed and broke my shoulder, and the rim of this rear wheel was worn way too thin. I’m not riding much at the moment though so left it. And left it. And left it.
Last weekend the rim started to rub. Uh oh. That was a particularly terrifying ride. I had been planning to replace these wheels with some PowerTaps but I’m too skint (and is probably part of the reason for delaying replacing) but I grabbed another pair of Campagnolos for my training bike as these things have been so damned tough.
I went into the garage to stick the new wheels on and found this. Some time in the week the tube and tyre exploded, the lip of the rim burst and green slime had splattered everywhere. (The slime helps repair punctures when I’m riding).
I guess the slime wasn’t going to fix this one. These wheels must have easily ridden over 20,000 miles and braking wears away the aluminium, especially if you like riding in mucky lanes. I should have replaced these wheels a few thousand miles ago.
I’m very glad this didn’t happen when I was riding. If I managed to stay upright I would have struggled to get home! It was hard enough getting the wheel out of the bike in the garage.
So there’s a lesson for you! Check and replace your wheels before this happens!