Breaking Spokes - BOB Yak vs. Panniers?

[Gordon Snapp]

I'm planning a tour down the Oregon Coast and on to San Francisco. I did
this about 10 years ago and was plagued with broken spokes on rear wheel.
It spoiled the trip. I'm a big guy (215 lbs.) and was carrying a lot of
weight. For this tour should I buy a BOB Yak, or go to my local bike shop
and tell them to build me a rear wheel that is bullet proof? (Is this
possible?) I have a 26 1/2" frame Nashbar Touring Bike that is rather
whippy with a load. I discovered on that trip how crucial it was that my
load was balanced. Otherwise the handlebar shimmy was annoying and
sometimes frightening. I think handling is a concern, but the big issue is
broken spokes.

 

[jim beam]

what brand of spokes did you have in the wheel that kept breaking them?
was it a bargain basement wheel or something nice? if you want spokes
that won't break, yes, spend the money on the bomb-proof wheel and make
sure they use quality spokes like d.t. or sapim.

regarding shimmy, my experience is that you need to pay attention to
loading, etc, but the frame and [rear] wheels make a significant
contribution to the problem. a wheel with maximum hub flange
spacing/minimal dish is best - so consider a mountian bike rear hub.
similarly, use a frame with the largest diameter down & top tube
diameters that you can - significantly affects torsional stiffness.

Gordon Snapp wrote:
> I'm planning a tour down the Oregon Coast and on to San Francisco. I did
> this about 10 years ago and was plagued with broken spokes on rear wheel.
> It spoiled the trip. I'm a big guy (215 lbs.) and was carrying a lot of
> weight. For this tour should I buy a BOB Yak, or go to my local bike shop
> and tell them to build me a rear wheel that is bullet proof? (Is this
> possible?) I have a 26 1/2" frame Nashbar Touring Bike that is rather
> whippy with a load. I discovered on that trip how crucial it was that my
> load was balanced. Otherwise the handlebar shimmy was annoying and
> sometimes frightening. I think handling is a concern, but the big issue is
> broken spokes.
>
>

 

[Tom Nicholson]

If your breaking spokes then aim to have as little dish as possible:
either
replace the rim with an offset drilled rim, using an old seven speed
hub and gears to minimise dish,

or

use a Rolhoff hub. (the ultimate low maintenance touring setup) But
you may need to rob a bank first.

Assuming cash is not abundant:

Use decent spokes.
Get the wheel built by someone who builds wheels for a living. Don't
get it built by the dude at the bike shop who repairs wheels and does
the odd build up.
Tell the wheelsmith that you are big, ride hard, break spokes and
don't care about the weight of the wheel - then let them build you a
bulletproof, nicely tensioned wheel.

Yaks are just that - big, heavy and unweildy.
Beutifully built wheels are light, strong, and and will always be with
you wherever the bike go's .

May the tailwinds be yours,

Tom

 

[Frank Miles]

In article <[email protected]>,
Gordon Snapp <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm planning a tour down the Oregon Coast and on to San Francisco. I did
>this about 10 years ago and was plagued with broken spokes on rear wheel.
>It spoiled the trip. I'm a big guy (215 lbs.) and was carrying a lot of
>weight. For this tour should I buy a BOB Yak, or go to my local bike shop
>and tell them to build me a rear wheel that is bullet proof? (Is this
>possible?) I have a 26 1/2" frame Nashbar Touring Bike that is rather
>whippy with a load. I discovered on that trip how crucial it was that my
>load was balanced. Otherwise the handlebar shimmy was annoying and
>sometimes frightening. I think handling is a concern, but the big issue is
>broken spokes.

People ride loaded tandems all the time without wheel problems. These
are good wheels, of course, but the answer is most certainly yes, bomb-proof
wheels are definitely possible. Regardless of whether you use a Bob or
panniers, you want strong wheels. Nothing else makes any sense with such
a tour.

-frank
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