CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Spokes Advice

(9 posts)

  1. dg145
    Member

    Hi

    I've had a spate of popped spokes on my rear wheel recently and am looking for some advice/suggestions to see if there is something I should be worried about or doing.

    The first went about 6 weeks ago (bike is about 5 months old) - fair enough, just got it replaced. At the weekend I had another two break, so had them replaced on Monday. They guy at the shop said that the wheel is about 1mm out of true, but he hadn't fixed it as the bike has disc brakes and he felt it wouldn't matter too much at this point.

    Annoyingly, another one went this morning.

    A couple of weeks ago the rear hanger snapped and sent the rear mech into the back wheel (new hanger, chain and rear mech duly fitted). I wondered if this may have caused any weakening of the spokes, or is 3 popped spokes in 4 days just bad luck?

    Posted 11 years ago #

  2. SRD
    Moderator

    How heavy are you? How much luggage do you carry? MrSRD had this problem years ago and eventually got a reinforced wheel (someone here can doubtless give you a more technical spec) and hadn't popped a spoke since.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  3. chrisfl
    Member

    This seems to happen to me whenever I get a new wheel. I would suggest getting the tension across all the spokes increased.

    I was impressed that the guys in Pedals shop did this without me asking when they supplied me a new wheel - so I do think it does make a difference.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  4. dg145
    Member

    @SRD how heavy? Not sure, 13 - 14 stones? Certainly no heavier than when I first got the bike, and probably a fair bit lighter than when I first got my other bike 18 months ago (no broken spokes on that one - yet). I carry a fairly light rucksack.

    @chrisfl ... hmmm, I might just book it in for a service and ask that they pay particular attention to the tensioning of the spokes (and true the wheel).

    Thanks

    Posted 11 years ago #

  5. wingpig
    Member

    If you had a rear mech/spokes interaction event it'll not have helped - mine took out all but one of my driveside spokes back in February. If you had some uneven spoke tensions it won't have helped. My current stop-gap rebuilt rear wheel took a fair dinging a month back and has been popping a couple of spokes a week since as damaged spokes gradually give way, which I'm ameliorating with a fatter tyre, lower tyre pressure and lower spoke tension until my components for a stronger and spokier wheel arrive.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  6. DaveC
    Member

    Aye ask a shop to re-tension all the spokes evenly. My limited experience with both shop bought (machine made) and hand built wheels is they machine made wheels (those which came with a new bike) broke much earlier and more common than the hand built wheels. I think your experience with your current wheel appears similar to mine. I bought an expensive carbon bike om May but chose the cheapest wheels. The rear has been breaking spokes like its going out of fashion. My local bike mech told me it may be too late as the spokes may be damaged already, although not broken and short of replacing them all I would just have this problem with this current wheel. I asked about a rebuild with new spokes and he said it would be a waste of money, and just to replace the spokes as and when they brake. Fortunately for me I use him frequently and also send others his way so my spoke replacement has gone down from a tenner for the first to free/or £2 a spoke currently. Sometimes its good to use one reliable mechanic and send refer others to them to build a good relationship up.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  7. Dave
    Member

    The spokes break as a result of gradual weakening that eventually makes them fail, because they aren't tight enough and this allows them to flex as you ride, and fatigue.

    This means the spoke that happens to be weakest breaks first, but they will probably all be damaged to varying degrees at that moment, and slowly get worse, gradually more and more snap.

    Replacing the broken spoke doesn't fix the tension in the rest of the spokes, for that the wheel needs to be re-tensioned. It's more time consuming and not as easy as just popping a new one in.

    Posted 11 years ago #

  8. dg145
    Member

    Thanks for the advice, all.

    I've booked it in to my LBS on Saturday for them to re-tension all the spokes and true the wheel (and check for any other damage to the rim etc.)

    The guy I spoke to explained what Dave refers to above - and that it may take a bit of time to do it properly (not just a case of popping in for a quick replacement of a broken spoke).

    Back on the hybrid for a few days I guess ...

    Posted 11 years ago #

  9. Dave
    Member

    Yeah, replacing a spoke only takes a couple of minutes.

    Retensioning a wheel is harder than building one from scratch IMO, as when you build a brand new wheel, all the parts are in good condition!

    Posted 11 years ago #

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