WH-R550 Broken Spokes

[frusso10]

I’ve been riding road bikes for about 10 years logging thousands of miles and believe it or not have never broken a spoke. I might also add that my cycling weight is about 195 pounds. Recently I purchased a set of Shimano WH-R550 wheels. When I had about 500 miles and after a 50 mile ride broke my first spoke on the rear wheel just as I was pulling into my drive way. Had the spoke replace then two hundred mils latter and after a 40 mile hilly ride broke my second spoke again on the rear wheel. I have three road bikes with different wheels Alex, Mavic SL and the only time I broke a spoke was on the WH-R550. Is this common with this wheel set? Has anyone else had the same problem. I’ve lost my confidence and worried I’ll get stranded on a long ride with this wheel.

 

[capwater]

Lightweight wheels with low spoke count + big rider = broken spokes.

 

[artmichalek]

Lightweight wheels with low spoke count + big rider = broken spokes.

Sadly they aren't even all that light.

 

[Bobby Lex]

Yes.

A friend of mine with those wheels ended up having to replace 3 broken spokes on the rear wheel (3 separate incidents) within the first 500 miles on his new Trek 1000.

He finally lost all faith in those wheels, and bought a new set of higher end wheels.

I think the problem was with the build, not the components, because when I checked the wheel the tension on the non-drive side spokes varied greatly.

I rebuilt the wheel with new spokes and nipples. It is being used by another friend who weighs about 250 lbs. So far (about 300 miles) it has stayed perfectly true, with no broken spokes.

Bob

 

[frusso10]

Yes.

A friend of mine with those wheels ended up having to replace 3 broken spokes on the rear wheel (3 separate incidents) within the first 500 miles on his new Trek 1000.

He finally lost all faith in those wheels, and bought a new set of higher end wheels.

I think the problem was with the build, not the components, because when I checked the wheel the tension on the non-drive side spokes varied greatly.

I rebuilt the wheel with new spokes and nipples. It is being used by another friend who weighs about 250 lbs. So far (about 300 miles) it has stayed perfectly true, with no broken spokes.

Bob

Thank you Bob,
Great responce.

 

[marapets]

welcome to the forums!!

 

[curby]

Back in the 80s few riders over 175 were riding 32 spoke wheels, 36 was common for training even for lighter riders... radial, 2 cross? that was for the under 150lb class, track or TT stuff... are these new rims that much stronger than Mavic G4 or GEL330 tubulars?

just an observation, from an aging cyclist...

all's'miles

curby

 

[waxbytes]

I don't know how relevant it is but I have over 2500 miles on a set of Shimano R540 wheels with never a problem. Those are sixteen spoke wheels, and I'm about 190 LBS and ride some pretty cracked up pavement. I recently broke a spoke on my mavic cxp21/shimano 105 hub 32 spoke wheels with about the same amount of mileage. I think the build quality is the single most important factor in spoke breakage.

I think the main difference between low spoke count wheels and normal 32 or 36 spoke wheels is that a low spoke count wheel is unrideable with a broken spoke whereas the high spoke count wheels can be adjusted and still get you home.