5 Awful Things People Do To Wheels

ABUSE ULTRALIGHTS
"Ultralight wheels are for racing, but people buy them to save weight and then train on them. People also buy the absolute lightest wheels they can afford to save weight, not realizing that their body weight may be too much for the wheels. I see guys who are 210 pounds buying products rated for 175-195."

RIDE A FLAT
"You can ruin the entire wheel if you try to ride a flat home on the pavement."

STRIP NIPPLES
"We get lots of wheels that people have used a crescent wrench, Vise-Grips or an incorrect size of spoke wrench on. That will usually ruin the whole wheel.

WRECK SIDEWAYS
"Riding through water when you can't see the bottom is a great example—the wheel can slip, get stuck and bend sideways, which pretty typically causes a bent rim. A wheel is strong bottom to top, but not side to side."

RIDE LOOSE QUICK-RELEASES
"While you're riding, if your releases aren't tight, you can hit something and pop off the wheel, trashing it beyond repair. And if the release isn't secure on a roof rack, the wheel can bounce out of the mounts and get run over on the highway. We see lots of those."