Jani Yusef wrote:
> A couple of spokes broke over the length of some riding.
> Is it worth replacing the spokes or should I just get a new rim and
> everything? Right around the broken spokes the rim is sort of bent
> outwards to the point where it now rubs up against the brake pads.
> Why is this? Is this because of uneven distribution of the weight on the
> rim now?
Obviously, it's time to buy a new bike.
OK, so here's what you need to do:
Take your wheels to a bike shop that can build wheels, and does a good
job of it. Have them replace ALL the spokes, on both wheels.
Or, buy the necessary spokes yourself, and replace them yourself, using
a book like "The Bicycle Wheel" or Sheldon Brown's web page devoted to
wheelbuilding.
The rim has a bend in it because the spokes that used to pull the rim
into shape are now broken, and not providing any pull.
The reason spokes break, aside from if the chain falls into the
drive-side spokes and damages them, is because they were probably not
properly tensioned to begin with, and cyclic loading has caused bending
in the elbow region, which leads to metal fatigue, and then to
breakage. That's where most spokes fail - at the hub. If the chain
drops between the cassette and the spokes, it can score the spokes,
which then might break later.
The reason I say to replace all the spokes is because the others that
aren't broken now might break at some later time, for the same probable
reason the current ones broke - metal fatigue. Better to do the job
right than half-assed, if you'll pardon the expression.
Maybe more than you wanted to know, but what the heck. Didn't cost you
anything but time to read it.
E.P.
