Broken spoke, searched, no help...

[J5311]

ok, i brought my bike to my LBS before i road it to make sure it was road ready (the bike was in my uncle's postion but hasn't been ridden for 5 years. its a '90 schwinn traveler) i had them replace one broken spoke and had them retrue both front and rear wheels... it cost me arouns 38-$40... a day later i went for a short 6-8 mile ride no problems, then 2 days later i went for an 11 mile ride. in the last mile my one of my spokes break in the rear wheel. now i talked to my LBS and they want another $15 to retrue the rear wheel. i'm not having it. i'm not going back to them...

i bought an extra spoke so now i have 2 just incase it happens again, and also bought the free wheel tool... i got the casset off now my question is this...

In order to put another spoke in I have to take some out correct? And if that is the case, i would have to take the air out of my tires right?

I went to the park tool website and there is only info on truing, nothing on replacing a spoke... any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jared

 

[daveornee]

ok, i brought my bike to my LBS before i road it to make sure it was road ready (the bike was in my uncle's postion but hasn't been ridden for 5 years. its a '90 schwinn traveler) i had them replace one broken spoke and had them retrue both front and rear wheels... it cost me arouns 38-$40... a day later i went for a short 6-8 mile ride no problems, then 2 days later i went for an 11 mile ride. in the last mile my one of my spokes break in the rear wheel. now i talked to my LBS and they want another $15 to retrue the rear wheel. i'm not having it. i'm not going back to them...

i bought an extra spoke so now i have 2 just incase it happens again, and also bought the free wheel tool... i got the casset off now my question is this...

In order to put another spoke in I have to take some out correct? And if that is the case, i would have to take the air out of my tires right?

I went to the park tool website and there is only info on truing, nothing on replacing a spoke... any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jared

http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

 

[gclark8]

Jared,

It may be cheaper and esier if you remove the tyre, tube and rim tape. If its on the drive side, the cassette also. Then take the bare wheel to the LBS, they will probaly do it for free, put in a little effort, not all... you don't have the experience.

 

[J5311]

i need to get experience somewhere..

 

[kdelong]

You don't need to remove any spokes but the broken one. The nice thing about spokes is that they are fairly flexible. You can look at the other spokes as a guide for installing the new spoke.

You can usually find a decent truing stand on the internet for less than $50.00 US at Nashbar. It is not a Park but it is good enough to get the job done. At least it works for me. Once you have that, it is just a matter of practice and patience to become an amateur wheel mechanic.

 

[alfeng]

i need to get experience somewhere..

It is EASIER (though, not necessary) to repair a wheel/anything if you know how to build one from scratch.

So, something to consider is to buy a set of hubs, rims, and spokes and lace up a new set of wheels ...

REGARDLESS, you want to (slightly) detension all of the spokes before fiddling with the replacement; and then, retension the spokes as if it were a new build.

Undoubtedly, one reason the "second" spoke broke is because the wheel's spokes weren't detensioned.

A truing stand is "nice" to have (i.e., it makes the process faster), but not necessary ... some truing stands are MUCH BETTER than others. Even if you have one with self-centering calipers (not necessary), you will probably want to verify the rim is truly centered when you are done (you can do this by simply "flipping" the wheel around in the stand) or with a dishing tool (also, not necessary).

 

[kdelong]

I had to have a truing stand. I know guys who could true a wheel on the bike but I'm not one of them . I think that it would be easier to learn wheel building with a stand. And with the relatively low cost of the Minoura stand, I think that it woulod be worth your while to get one. It will pay for itself after you have used it three times.

 

[goindowntheroad]

I just want to chime in and say don't blame your LBS. You have a 90's Schwinn that sat around for 5 years and you broke a spoke. Just because they tuned up the wheels and/or bike and want to charge you again isn't wrong. Had you bought the bike from them I'm sure they'd stand behind their product. If a bike sits around for 5 years then all of a sudden it has a rider on it I'm sure it's going to either go out of true or a spoke will break. The wheels on that bike aren't great and neither are the spokes. Of course the shop could have detensioned the wheel and re-tensioned it but that would definitely cost more than $40. Do yourself a favor and have them order you a cheap new set of wheels for $80 and get out and ride. If you get into it and really start riding a lot you can upgrade to better quality wheels. Sorry if I'm sounding like an a%@ but i've owned a shop and am just telling it like it is.

 

[Retro Grouch]

Suppose you had bought a 17 year old car from your uncle and had some mechanical problem with it. If shortly thereafter the same problem recurred, wouldn't you assume that there was some unresolved underlying problem?

Throwing spokes at a 17 year old wheel isn't the answer. At best you need to loosen all of the spokes and retension it as alfeng suggested. Much more likely that old rim is bent and you'll have to choose between a having straight wheel or having even spoke tension. Do you feel lucky?

If it was my bike I think that I'd either replace the whole wheel or lace a new rim onto the existing hub. When I fix things I like for them to stay fixed.

 

[david462]

i would first try to replace the one broken spoke (yourself) to save money before trying anything else...

get the spoke that you need in the correct size. then do this:

*remove the tire/tube/rim strip

*look where the new spoke is going, look at the hole it goes through in the hub. it needs to go in the opposite direction from the two spokes on each side of it

*depending on the spoke cross pattern, you will need to have the spoke cross over a certain number spokes and under the last. look at another spoke already in place to see how many spokes you cross over first. it will probably take some bending of the spoke, that is ok, just dont kink it.

*once you have crossed the spoke over and under the last, just push the threaded end through the hole in the rim and screw the spoke nipple on.

*now you just need to true the wheel and check the tension in the spokes, which i assume you read how to do on the park tool site. skip the truing stand, its a waste of money unless you intend to use it a good bit. just put the wheel back on the bike and with the bike off the ground on a stand or something, use the brake pads to see how you need to true the wheel.



if you get another broken spoke after this, you could try replacing all the spokes, which would require you to learn how to build wheels. its not that hard, but you will need a guide for the first time. spokes go for about $0.50 a peice. ive heard of a few people having trouble with breaking spokes on older bikes. could be that they turn rusty or something, or they just got way out of tension.

last thing to do is just buy a new cheap set of wheels.

 

[dhk2]

Suppose you had bought a 17 year old car from your uncle and had some mechanical problem with it. If shortly thereafter the same problem recurred, wouldn't you assume that there was some unresolved underlying problem?

Throwing spokes at a 17 year old wheel isn't the answer. At best you need to loosen all of the spokes and retension it as alfeng suggested. Much more likely that old rim is bent and you'll have to choose between a having straight wheel or having even spoke tension. Do you feel lucky?

If it was my bike I think that I'd either replace the whole wheel or lace a new rim onto the existing hub. When I fix things I like for them to stay fixed.

+1. Quit wasting time and money on an old wheel that has reached the end of it's useful life. It's time to have your LBS built you a new wheel.