[Yak] Velocity Rim Failures- information from Bike Friday

[Jordan Bishko]

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping to provide some insight and or information about the Velocity
rims failure that was recently discussed on the Yak. My name is Jordan
Bishko and I am the Manager of Service and Customer Service.

There was a specific lot of Velocity rims that had a below specification
extrusion for the rim bed. Said another way, the rim bed was thinner than it
was supposed to be and cracked. This happened to a certain percentage of the
rims that used the specific defective extrusion. Not all rims are affected,
just some from a certain batch. Based on the number of Velocity rims we have
sold, we have only had small number fail, but still, they should not be
failing at all in that location.

At first Velocity was less than forth coming about this, now they have
discovered the root cause of the failures and have been gracious enough to
rebuilt any affected wheels at no charge to the customer.

It should be noted that the sidewall of a rim is considered a consumable,
the friction from your brake pad will wear away metal from the sidewall
until it fails. 20” rims will wear out inherently quicker than 700c due to
their small size (smaller diameter rim, more revolutions per the same
distance covered, more friction by the brake pads). That being said, if the
rim fails on the sidewall, it is due to normal wear and tear (unless there
are also cracks in the rim bed).

So, if you are leaving for a big ride or a bike vacation, you should inspect
the sidewall of your rims!!!!! This advice is applicable to all bicycle
wheels. This advice cannot be emphasized more, if you are going to be
disappointed about a rim failure on your vacation, due diligence suggest an
inspection of this consumable part. If you are leaving on a vacation and you
have a Velocity rim a couple of years old and want to make sure that you
will not face these issues on your trip, remove the tire and rim tape and
inspect the rim bed for cracks.

I hope this provides a bit more information and insight into Bike Friday and
Velocity rims. If you have a defective Velocity rim on a Bike Friday that
you bought from us or a BF dealer, please contact us and we will get you a
replacement.

Please feel free to give me a call (541.687.0487) or email (
jordanb at bikefriday.com ) with any additional questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Jordan
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