Wheels And Tires - Cake Kalk OR Manual

3.3 Wheels and Tires

With new factory wheels, you have to check and tighten the spokes after
riding. To make sure the wheels are in their best shape you need to tighten the
spokes after your first rides of a couple of hours. You will find some loose
spokes for sure, this is because the spokes and rim will work a bit when they
are new. Be sure that when you start to tighten your spokes the hub is
completely cooled down, because the braking hubs get warm.
Tighten your spokes as follow. Use a spoke wrench and tighten the nipple
which is found where the spoke and rim meets. Check all spokes with your
spoke wrench and tighten loose spokes. Don't tighten loose spokes too firm
otherwise you will pull the wheel out of his straight position. Spokes that are
still tightened don't need to be tightened extra firm. Keep repeating to check
the spokes after your second and third ride. You will find that the spokes keep
nicely tightened because they are now "settled" in the hub and rim.
Now your CAKE wheels are ready to race. Keep checking your spokes regularly.
By checking regularly, we don't mean that the spokes have to be tightened
every time. You just need to make sure that there are no loose spokes in the
wheel. If you tighten the spokes every time you check them the result can
be that after a while the spokes are all way too tight. Keep in mind: A spoke
needs to have the possibility to "stretch" with big impacts. When the spokes
are over tightened the spoke cannot stretch and it can break.
• Check that the tires are inflated with the correct pressure.
• Check the tires tread pattern is at least 3 mm deep.
• Check for bent spokes.
• Check that all spokes have the correct tension.
• Check that the brake discs are straight.
• Check that the axle of the front wheel is tightened correctly.
• Check that the rear axle is tightened correctly.
• Check that the axle of the rear wheel is adjusted correctly and evenly on
both sides, according to the swing arm markings.