@pkasanda check this out. Proof that switching materials only would not solve the problem. There is a fundamental issue with how these are being made. It cracked before even being ridden, so it’s not a material strength issue…
I have been agreeing with you, (in other threads) that this part is unsafe and that fixing it would require substituting both a kegle style core design and upgrading to the industry standard Glass Fiber re-inforced Nylon. @jeffwuneo convinced me that making the exact same part out of Nylon GF might still result in an unsafe part due to other flaws in the core design.
@jeffwuneo and others have pointed to the thin wall of the bearing compartment, the sharp notches in the spokes, the undersized spokes and other problems that weaken the core.
So likely, the product will continue to be dangerous to riders unless the manufacturer throws out the old mold and starts from scratch with a new mold, new kegle style core design, and using materials that are in line with those of reputable wheel manufacuters.
As you have pointed out in another thread, the manufacutrer may never do that – they seem to be more interested in covering up the occurances of failures and continuing to sell thier existing product and inventory.
I am confused by how you are flip flopping concernng the material. In one post you write that you recommended Nylon GF to the manufacturer. In the next you write that PC/ABS is strong or that it could be stonger than Nylon GF. And now you are saying its not a material problem again.
I think it is an unusual conclusion.
"The product arrived cracked immediately so – that proves that there is no problem with the material strength " Really?
I think it proves that the existing part is terribly inadequate – including the thin walled bearing compartment, --including the unreinforced plastic. The whole thing is terrible
I assume you are referring to this picture from @AlanZhou (zero kilometers)
This picture seem to confirm that unreinforced plastics lack the strength, resilience and other properties needed to hold a metal part in place.
There are lots of unknowns like:
-It may have cracked when the factory pressed in the bearing
-Or in a freezing cold shiping container, the plastic may have shrunk around the bearing and cracked.
-Or the customer may have installed the bearing and it cracked.
Regardless of how it cracked so early, the fact that it happened seems to confirm that the the unreinforced Polycarbonate/ABS blend is extremely inadequate.
I’m not sure why you say it is not a material strength issue. Maybey you are trying to say that there are probems with the manufacturing process like the temperature of the plastic, the cool down process, etc. OK, that may be true also. I suppose if you have poor manufacturing processes that the failure rate will be high regardless of the material choices. Is that what you are trying to say?
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Ive had many sets of abec clones and genuine abec’s and this is the only set to crack like shown in my picture.
I believe abec cores are adquate for the wheel size and I don’t think kegal core is necessary.
you mind showing the serial on the wheels?
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I thought it was material at the very beginning, from the picture of total failure. Then all the hairline cracks start showing up, and that is when I realized the common pattern, the cracks only start right in line with a spoke. This points now to not material strength (you would think that the spoke area has more strength). IF it was the bearing expanding the material and cracking it, it would happen in an area where the shell is not being reinforced by spokes behind it. What this points to is the spokes are actually pulling on the inner shell, creating additional stress at those points. This shows the core was not molded properly. Perhaps if done right, the material itself would have no problem.
They would have a batch # rather than a serial, that looks like a batch #, same batch as @AlanZhou
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Thanks for the info… I haven’t ridden them yet. waiting for a press pulley this friday. Really hope these dont crack on me… want to test and provide feedback.
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Got paranoid, and started to look for hairline cracks… I have two wheels that I haven’t even touched yet, so still with the factory-fitted bearings, and I can see a hairline crack in the bearing seating on both of those wheels. I wish I had a microscope to look at it better or to capture that on photo… But yeah, that’s not super reassuring.
Batch # PJ00205
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your paranoia triggered mine… I checked the other wheels under a light and i can see the hairline cracks in 1 of the other wheel… these are going back… smfh not worth the risk.
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will this pulley work on TB 110? want to confirm before I place my order. I really wanted to like the cloud wheels
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shout out to saint paul for looking out for my homies
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By the way there is an other number stamped out in the core (where the bearing spacer sits). Remove bearings and turn the wheel until you see it. Mine says Yz01-03
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So turns out wheels are showing up precracked lamo.
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Is too much talking for this but I say last thing.
I think problem is still from core design because of wheel size. If there cracking already then is possible for problem of cooling and shrinkage rate during injection process. I think this problem more notice when first ride or adding bearing to wheel.
I am talking to factory already for this problem.
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Literally just packed them back up to ship. I’m done with them… looking for alternatives.
Really pissed
I think it is hard to completely seperate poor material from poor processing.
I agree with you that the manufacturing outcome is extremely poor. The wheel pictures from @AlanZhou had cracks on both sides. The front side in particular seemed to have multiple imperfections.
My best guess is that this particular unit shrank a lot. When the bearings were pushed into place, the plastic cracked because the plastic is not resilient enough to streach and there is no fiber reinforcement to prevent or slow down the propegation of cracks.
The reason the plastic shrank so much could be either the quality of plastic or the temperatures used during the injection molding. One theory might be that they overheated the plastic before it was injected or the mold was not hot enough so the plastic cooled too quickly as it was injected. Another theory could be that the plastic is poor quality or that the PC/ABS mixture was inconsistent.
Its hard to say which theory is the best one, or if perhaps both might be true. ABS and PC shrink very differently. I’m surprised that they mix the two plastics together when making this type of part.
@jeffwuneo says the reason that the two plastics are mixed together is to make the plastic flow into the mold better – so that it is possible to make a less expensive mold.
So like you have said many times, this manufacturer seems to be concerned about having the lowest manufacturing cost. They don’t seem to care about having a part that is as strong and durable as the OEM wheels. Their web site says thier products can replace OEM wheels on a long list of higher speed electric longboards. So thier claims are exagerated and that puts their customers at risk.
So I agree with you if your point is that the problems with this product goes way beyond the choice of material. However, I think it is hard to argue that an unreinforced plastic should be used to manufacture a component that is subject to so many impacts --and where the failure of the part could result in the death of a customer.
I think it is an important distinction to make. People who read this thread may choose to inspect thier wheels and keep riding if they think that a wheel is safe as long as you can’t see any cracks. They might make a safer decision if they conisder the possibility that an unreinforced plastic is doomed to fail when subject to impact, vibration and the bouncing weight of a rider.
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Eagle eye!, yep the wheel have multiple fractures.
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PC/ABS is a common material. PC by itself is too stiff.
If their manufacturing process is not fixed, gf nylon will crack even worse. The cooling + stiff gf will put hairline cracks all inside the nylon. Even more dangerous.