Topic: Buchanan Spokes: Test them immediately!

[stueveone]

Spent all week, right after work, polishing my rear hub so that I could true it up and get it to the tire shop on Saturday only to find that when I tried lacing the outside spokes of my brand new Excel rim to Buchanan SS spokes, that the spokes would not fit through the hub holes!!! Marred up a couple of the holes trying to jam them in. Looked at the bend in the end of them and they are slightly off. Tried opening the holes in the hub just a whisker, but that won't work. Guess I'll have to send them back.
WTF? Buchanan, you guys specialize in spokes. Right? Thought you'd have known how to do you job by now. Shameful.
So test your spokes immediately once you get them! Apparently quality control at Buchanans isn't what it used to be...

[dave500]

tell buchanan.

[Blucav85]

Seems like you are bashing a very reputable company that I'm sure will have no problem fixing the mistake that was made. Thet have good customer service. Before you go bashing on a company you should deal with them first. Then if they don't want to resolve the problem then you should start a post like this.

[rhinoracer]

Seems like you are bashing a very reputable company that I'm sure will have no problem fixing the mistake that was made. Thet have good customer service. Before you go bashing on a company you should deal with them first. Then if they don't want to resolve the problem then you should start a post like this.

Telling it the way it is isn't bashing, and Buchanans is not reputable or they would have taken mine back and replace for the same reason. And I bought mine about six years ago, if Stueveone had searched here he would have known about the problem, there are more threads about this problem.

Buchanans cares more about making a penny than about their customers. If he calls they'll tell him that: "The problem is the Honda hub which comes with a wider flange that doesn't fit Buchanans catalog spokes". I know because that's the BS I got from them.

Then they'll tell him to: "Tighten the spokes as much as he can and in a few thousands of miles they will wear a groove in the flange and straighten themselves". I know because that's the crap I got from them.

I finally had to grind down the flanges in my hub and re-polish them.

Buchanan's has a bunch of bad spokes in stock they want to unload in unsuspecting customers that think they are dealing with a "very reputable company".

So if by reputable you mean they have a reputation of selling crap and then flipping off their customers well, they earned that reputation.

[tomkimberly]

Oh cry us a river well you. We are lucky someone like Buchanan even offers spokes that with *a few minr tweeks* will work. If you want direct replacements, keep searching for the one last set frm Honda, or make your own.

Tom

[754]

 Tell me if this is true or not;
 Is there more than one choice of guage for the spokes ?? pretty sure there is a choice on nipple size.
 If that is the case, you cannot reasonably assume a slightly heavier spoke..will just slide on thru..

 I know setting up heavy spokes on Bicycle hubs involves re-drilling.
 I think some folks forget that doing the work yourself.. includes "WORK".. What some folks consider a "PROBLEM", is just considered "Part of The Job" by those who they would have paid to do it had they not gone the DIY route..

 It does not take long to figure out that most  "Bolt-On Parts" dont.. 

[grcamna2]

Did you try speaking w/ someone else there at Buchanans?...someone who can make this right for you ?
I remember building a pair of wheels for a Yam.XT600 w/ Sun rims and SS Buchanans spokes and from what I remember they looked a little short in the bend like in you're picture.I remember having to bend the outer spokes in toward the center of the rim to get them to thread in straight & just doing that seemed to lock everything together real well..;the inner ones weren't a problem.
When I had the wheels fully built with 1-2K miles on them the spokes were still with-in torque when I checked them.The wheels were put together tight and held strong in the hub for that bike.I like the fit and looks of O.E. spokes best as far as my own Cycle.

I do remember when I ordered spokes from Buchanans they did ask me what gauge spokes I had(stock) and what gauge would I want(back in 98') and they asked whether I wanted butted or straight gauge..& I needed to make the choice on that.I spoke to a man there who was helpful to me as a first time customer..;I'm glad he asked ! When ordering O.E. spokes it's a no brainer, but these are aftermarket custom made spokes.

[754]

 + 1 on TomKimberlys post..
 Why is no one complaining that the stock spokes are digging into the hubs as well.
 Wire wheels, they bed in, they require Tuning....well most of them do.. its the nature of the beast..

 if you cant handle it, buy mags.. they are way straighter than the best wire wheels anyway...

[disco]

Correct re heavier gauge being available, but u can see these are butted spokes. I understand the heavy gauge are NOT butted.
@tomkimberley...as for being grateful & that i have to then tweak  a product.....u must be kidding. If i paid good $ for them i would expect them be right.

[754]

 Mesure the diameter of the butted part, it looks bigger than the other.. means clearly drilling bigger, and not just a hair..

[rhinoracer]

Mesure the diameter of the butted part, it looks bigger than the other.. means clearly drilling bigger, and not just a hair..

If I drilled the holes big enough to clear the bend radius, the spoke head would pull through. Either the bend radius or the straight end length is wrong and they've known that for at least six years.

BTW, I've done more than just tune my spoke wheels but I'm with disco, I paid good $ and I expect them to be right, why would I be grateful for having been given that crap excuse over the phone.

[lucky]

Mesure the diameter of the butted part, it looks bigger than the other.. means clearly drilling bigger, and not just a hair..

If I drilled the holes big enough to clear the bend radius, the spoke head would pull through. Either the bend radius or the straight end length is wrong and they've known that for at least six years.

BTW, I've done more than just tune my spoke wheels but I'm with disco, I paid good $ and I expect them to be right, why would I be grateful for having been given that crap excuse over the phone.

Did you try to spoke the hub with the disks bolted to the hub?

[grcamna2]

Those are a Nice pair of custom fit rotors rhinoracer; what was their original application ?

[rhinoracer]

Did you try to spoke the hub with the disks bolted to the hub?

No, this is a pic of the front hub, I just didn't have a pic of the work I've done to the rear hub. Front spokes fit fine as did the rear inner ones, the problem with buchanans rear hub outer spokes is well known and documented, they don't fix it because of people that feel lucky buchanans exists, c'mon.

Rotors are from an R-1, had to machine the hub and fab spacers to fit the CB carriers and center the rotors on the R-1 upside down fork, not the easiest conversion but that's the fork I had on hand.

[754]

 If the flange thickness has changed over the years, or just varies in general, it may involve a bit of chamfering or countersinking, or a slight relief in a certain place. I highly doubt that Buchanans uses different bent spokes than they sent you, rather they just check their build notes, and deal with it.
 

[tomkimberly]

Don't take offense guys, I would just like to let mainly the younger crowd know how fortunate we all are for vendors like Buchanan who still make parts that will work on our ancient bikes. Want to have some real fun, try restoring a 60 YO CZ, Jawa, BSA, Trumph, or even some of the Yamaha's out there. Finding parts for Honda's is easy compared to them.

A real restorer just moves along, happy to at least have something to work with instead of having to make parts from scratch.


Tom

[tweakin]

I have never had anything but positive interactions with them.  I am running heavy gauge spokes from them and they worked fine in my stock hubs...

[stueveone]

If I hadn't read other peoples problems with Buchanan, then I wouldn't have written the mildly scathing editorial. Mine was not an isolated incident. That is the problem. I leave a certain amount of wiggle room for 4:45 on a friday manufacturing. Mistakes happen. But for there to be a bunch of people crying foul on Buchanan, spanning back to several years ago... I'm just saying I have more pride in my workmanship.

Taking the stance that I should be grateful that Buchanan is even there in the first place; nothing would ever evolve or work in this world. I don't see how Buchanan not having competition enough to push them to be the best is a good thing? That's like saying "Hey man, where else are we going to buy things that don't work well?!!"

And as for tweaking them to make them work? Yes, I can maybe drill my hubs. I could maybe bend them carefully. But that isn't the point. Some people can't do these things and don't want to. And if they pay the money for them, they shouldn't have to. It's not like I bought them cheap out of the trunk of some guy's car. I bought them to work. And these didn't. It's like going into the Apple store with a new computer that has a faulty letter "k" that keeps popping off the keyboard. They aren't going to tell you to bust out the glue and "come on, where is your sense of adventure!" If i would have wanted the thrill of customizing spokes, I would have played dice on eBay.

And again, see: this is not an isolated incident. When things aren't designed or built properly it pisses me off. It's sloth and laziness who can't remedy design flaws. And I have ZERO patience for that s#it.

Listen guys, just writing all this so that maybe it will help someone shopping for spokes next time. I guess just another way of saying "buyer beware".


stueve

[Retro Rocket]

Don't take offense guys, I would just like to let mainly the younger crowd know how fortunate we all are for vendors like Buchanan who still make parts that will work on our ancient bikes. Want to have some real fun, try restoring a 60 YO CZ, Jawa, BSA, Trumph, or even some of the Yamaha's out there. Finding parts for Honda's is easy compared to them.

A real restorer just moves along, happy to at least have something to work with instead of having to make parts from scratch.


Tom

Time for a reality check, If any company sells anything sub par then regardless of how many happy customers they have and how big they are they should immediately rectify the problem or be called out as above. There are lots of other companies doing it tough at present that would love the business. A real restorer would also be pissed off, Cry me a river, what a stupid comment.....

[grcamna2]

Does anybody know if there is a company that is similar in type to Buchanans that makes Spokes to spec?...they will probably be expensive I would imagine.
I just wondered how many custom spoke manufacturers there are in the World ?
I know there are LOTS of bicycle spoke manufacturers,but i just don't know if they will also make different sizes for other applications ?

[goon 1492]

Man I'm all up and down and back and forth here folks. I was just tryin to order some spokes from Buchannon and got stuck on the conical or full width question.. I'm huntin' for the honda hub to HD 16" wheel. They had em and I didn't think a hundred an sum bucks was that bad but I also didn't know there was "issues"..

[grcamna2]

Just make sure that you specify the exact dimensions for the spokes you want.

[turkey2143]

I had the exact same problem with Buchanan as rhinoracer and I ended up sending in my assembled wheel to Buchanan and they removed the old spokes, replaced them with new, then trued, mounted my old tire and balanced it at the cost of me shipping back and forth to there (which was ~$50 each way). They instructed the shop I had paid, after trying myself, to bend them in and that they would "straighten themselves out" which was bull#$%* and I ended up with 2 snapped spokes after a year.

I'm just glad I have true wheels with straight spokes.

[tomkimberly]

Don't take offense guys, I would just like to let mainly the younger crowd know how fortunate we all are for vendors like Buchanan who still make parts that will work on our ancient bikes. Want to have some real fun, try restoring a 60 YO CZ, Jawa, BSA, Trumph, or even some of the Yamaha's out there. Finding parts for Honda's is easy compared to them.

A real restorer just moves along, happy to at least have something to work with instead of having to make parts from scratch.


Tom

Really? Where else would you recommend we purchase spokes if not from Buchanan. Some of you guys act like Buchanan needs our business. Think about it, what type of proffit margin do yhey get for covering all these older applications? Been out looking for tires or exhausts lately? Many applications are long gone so you now need to select something close. Are you going to report all of these vendors too as bad guys?

Tom

[timdhawk]

I had a bad experience with them to: 3 incorrect spoke orders sent to me, lots of "communication" issues on thier part, ultimately I had to send in my rims for them to lace because no matter what i tried I couldn't get it done. They then blew out 2 spoke holes on the rim in the process and wanted ME to provide them with a replacement rim at my own cost. After a few months of run-a-around I finaly got my rims laced and the cost of the replacement one coverd but it was certainly not an ideal experience. Because of it all, Im not using them for my current project.