Broken Spoke. What to do?

"ain" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:rvZNc.127088$Mr4.16281@pd7tw1no...

Quoted message said:

Hi Everyone.

I have a question I want to ask you people here about my bike.

In April I bought a Specialized crossroads bike. It's a hybrid, built for
the bike paths. I bought it to get some exercise and lose weight.

After biking for about 2 1/2 months I broke a spoke on the back wheel. I
brought it to the shop where I bought it and they fixed it no charge. Well
tonight I was out riding and I broke another spoke. About 2 weeks after

they

Quoted message said:

fixed the last one. I can't tell if it's the same one as before. I was
feeling the spokes a few days ago and I noticed that one of them seemed a
little loose, I forgot about it and just remembered it after the spoke
broke. Could a loose spoke be a sign of a wheel that is not true or a sign
that a spoke is going to break?

Can anyone tell me if there is something wrong with the wheel, or is it

me?

Quoted message said:

I am pretty hefty, about 290lbs.

I don't ride on anything rough, just the bike paths, seldom even come off

a

Quoted message said:

curb.

The guy at the shop seemed to allude that I might need 'better' spokes

and

Quoted message said:

offered to rebuild my back wheel with something better than stainless

steel

Quoted message said:

spokes, what I have now, sorry I can't remember what the new spokes would

be

Quoted message said:

made of. Should I go for the replacement spokes or do I have a right to

ask

Quoted message said:

for a replacement wheel? The rebuild with the stronger spokes will cost
about $65.

Can anyone advise me please.

Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone advise me please.

Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

....whatever you do, keep riding.

I am going through the same thing with my bike...one broken spoke after
another, but I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes
with a new wheelset. (not what you should do)

simpson

"H N Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can anyone advise me please.

Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

Thanks for the advice. I will go for the rebuild.

Quoted message said:

...whatever you do, keep riding.

I am going through the same thing with my bike...one broken spoke after
another, but I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes
with a new wheelset. (not what you should do)

Luckly my bike already has disc brakes.

Do you think I should ask the bike shop for any kind of break on the labor
or is this a thing that is beyond the bike shop's control and I will come
across as an idiot if I ask?

Also, what is a good spoke to use?

"ain" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:p2%Nc.133116$ek5.103943@pd7tw2no...

Quoted message said:

"H N Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

> Can anyone advise me please.
>
> Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

Thanks for the advice. I will go for the rebuild.

Quoted message said:

...whatever you do, keep riding.

I am going through the same thing with my bike...one broken spoke after
another, but I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes
with a new wheelset. (not what you should do)

Luckly my bike already has disc brakes.

Do you think I should ask the bike shop for any kind of break on the labor
or is this a thing that is beyond the bike shop's control and I will come
across as an idiot if I ask?

It seems like a lot of $$, but the job is very labour intensive. Not a job
one would call quick and easy. If you're a regular costomer at the shop you
could ask for a small discount. Go ahead and ask. ya got nothing to lose.
Goodluck

ain said:

Also, what is a good spoke to use?

The shop most likely stocks DT Swiss spokes, but it's likely they have
Wheelsmith or Sapim spokes.

All are good.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

ain said:

Hi Everyone.

I have a question I want to ask you people here about my bike.

In April I bought a Specialized crossroads bike. It's a hybrid,
built for the bike paths. I bought it to get some exercise and lose
weight.

After biking for about 2 1/2 months I broke a spoke on the back
wheel. I brought it to the shop where I bought it and they fixed it
no charge. Well tonight I was out riding and I broke another spoke.
About 2 weeks after they fixed the last one. I can't tell if it's the
same one as before. I was feeling the spokes a few days ago and I
noticed that one of them seemed a little loose, I forgot about it and
just remembered it after the spoke broke. Could a loose spoke be a
sign of a wheel that is not true or a sign that a spoke is going to
break?

Can anyone tell me if there is something wrong with the wheel, or is
it me? I am pretty hefty, about 290lbs.

I don't ride on anything rough, just the bike paths, seldom even
come off a curb.

The guy at the shop seemed to allude that I might need 'better'
spokes and offered to rebuild my back wheel with something better
than stainless steel spokes, what I have now, sorry I can't remember
what the new spokes would be made of. Should I go for the replacement
spokes or do I have a right to ask for a replacement wheel? The
rebuild with the stronger spokes will cost about $65.

Get the wheel retensioned (ie, the original spokes stay, but the are all
checked and adjusted). Wheels often need retensioning after a bit of riding,
and loose spokes will make for more broken spokes as the loose ones aren't
taking their share of the loads on the wheel. My MTB wheels seemed to
survive having my approximately 240lb [censored] (now considerably less thanks to
the bike) hammer down on it when I first started MTBing - I'd say the load
on a wheel from hammering over big bumps with a clueless rider who didn't
realised to get his [censored] off the saddle would be considerably higher than
the loads caused by a 290lb guy riding on smooth surfaces.
I'd be tempted to try another shop for the retensioning - IMO if there are
loose spokes after they've put a new spoke in, they're not doing their job
properly.

"ain" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:p2%Nc.133116$ek5.103943@pd7tw2no...

Quoted message said:

"H N Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

> Can anyone advise me please.
>
> Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

Thanks for the advice. I will go for the rebuild.

Quoted message said:

...whatever you do, keep riding.

I am going through the same thing with my bike...one broken spoke after
another, but I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes
with a new wheelset. (not what you should do)

Luckly my bike already has disc brakes.

Do you think I should ask the bike shop for any kind of break on the labor
or is this a thing that is beyond the bike shop's control and I will come
across as an idiot if I ask?

Ask if it's covered under warranty but I wouldn't expect a discount if it's
not, it's a time consuming job. If they mess it up that's another story.
After one rebuild I had the wheel disintegrated several miles out, I was not
too happy when I returned to the shop. That was my last visit there. Make
sure it's nice and tight before you leave.
--
Chris
________________
www.chrisgroff.com

Quoted message said:

"ain" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:p2%Nc.133116$ek5.103943@pd7tw2no...

Quoted message said:

"H N Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

> Can anyone advise me please.
>
> Go for the rebuild. Once they start breaking they won't stop.

Thanks for the advice. I will go for the rebuild.

Quoted message said:

...whatever you do, keep riding.

I am going through the same thing with my bike...one broken spoke after
another, but I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade to disc brakes
with a new wheelset. (not what you should do)

Luckly my bike already has disc brakes.

Do you think I should ask the bike shop for any kind of break on the labor
or is this a thing that is beyond the bike shop's control and I will come
across as an idiot if I ask?

Ask if it's covered under warranty but I wouldn't expect a discount if it's
not, it's a time consuming job. If they mess it up that's another story.
After one rebuild I had the wheel disintegrated several miles out, I was not
too happy when I returned to the shop. That was my last visit there. Make
sure it's nice and tight before you leave.
--
Chris
________________
www.chrisgroff.com

Quoted message said:

ain said:

Also, what is a good spoke to use?

I like DT's, specially the butted ones.
Assuming you had a decently built wheel to begin with and still had spokes breaking for you it might be worth the effort to go for a spoke combo/pattern that's a little bit more unusual than straight gauge three-cross.
Check out this site for tips and suggestions:http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

ain said:

After biking for about 2 1/2 months I broke a spoke on the back wheel. I
brought it to the shop where I bought it and they fixed it no charge. Well
tonight I was out riding and I broke another spoke. About 2 weeks after they
fixed the last one. I can't tell if it's the same one as before. I was
feeling the spokes a few days ago and I noticed that one of them seemed a
little loose, I forgot about it and just remembered it after the spoke
broke. Could a loose spoke be a sign of a wheel that is not true or a sign
that a spoke is going to break?

Can anyone tell me if there is something wrong with the wheel, or is it me?
I am pretty hefty, about 290lbs.

The guy at the shop seemed to allude that I might need 'better' spokes and
offered to rebuild my back wheel with something better than stainless steel
spokes, what I have now, sorry I can't remember what the new spokes would be
made of. Should I go for the replacement spokes or do I have a right to ask
for a replacement wheel? The rebuild with the stronger spokes will cost
about $65.

First, from now on, mark the replaced spokes somehow. A band of
permanent marker ink would be OK for this in the short term. Then
you can tell which are breaking, the originals or the replacements;
you can tell which side the broken ones are on; and you can tell if
the broken ones are concentrated in one spot on the wheel for some
reason.

Is the wheel true? Spin it and find out! You can judge in several
ways, the simplest being to just watch the distance between the rim
and a brake pad as it spins.

The spoke tension in the rear wheel will be different for the left
side and right side. Right side will be higher tension. If you have
a loose right-side spoke, then go back to the bike shop and tell them
about it. Since they did a spoke replacement, they should have made
sure all the spokes were tensioned properly when they finished with
the wheel.

Finally, if you do get the wheel rebuilt, use DT, Wheelsmith,
or Sapim spokes, and whatever brand, make sure they are butted.
14-15-14 is appropriate. DT Alpine III would also be good. Any kind
of butted spoke is much more durable than straight-gauge.

Good luck.

Greg
--
Gregory S. Sutter "How do I read this file?"
[email hidden] "You uudecode it."
http://zer0.org/~gsutter/ "I I I decode it?"