Bust spoke, how much should it cost?

andy83
andy83 Posts: 1,558
edited August 2009 in Commuting chat
Having ride home today and heard a clunk, checked bike and spoke came out of the nipple.

Nipple still there, but couldnt seem to get the spoke to screw into it properly and didnt have time to take off tyre etc

going to take wheel to lbs tomo, how much would be reasonable to pay, spoke seems fine and nipple aswell

would it be worth me asking them to check tension in all spokes as some others seemed loose or should i just do it myself

Comments

  • rally200
    rally200 Posts: 646
    if you cant get the spoke end into the nipple it probably has broken. My LBS charges £11 labour for truing + £1.20 ish per spoke
  • Wallace1492
    Wallace1492 Posts: 3,707
    bust spoke the other week cost me less than a fiver to fix at LBS.
    God value,nice guys.
    "Encyclopaedia is a fetish for very small bicycles"
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    yes the end went in, just only problem is nipple seems to have gone through the hole now so is rattling around inside when wheel goes round


    thanks for reply
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    andy83 wrote:
    yes the end went in, just only problem is nipple seems to have gone through the hole now so is rattling around inside when wheel goes round


    A right PITA to get out too!
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    thought as much, hopefully the nice people at the lbs can sort it out, i did get my bike from there afterall lol

    annoyed that im at work tomo otherwise would have liked to try and sort it out myself

    would it just be poor tensioning causing this or could it be riding style??

    was meant to give bike a good clean yesterday but didnt get round to it, wish i had now as spoke would have been tightened
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    cjcp wrote:
    A right PITA to get out too!

    Yeah, I think one of my wheels has an extra bonus nipple stuck inside the rim somewhere, after I got bored of trying to fish it out.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    There was a discussion what causes the spoke to come loose. I don't think it's riding style. Think it's more to do with road vibration causing it to loosen or not tightened sufficiently. Don't take this as gospel though. Dark arts to me.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    lovely, so going to have a nice rattle in my wheel??

    ah well, this is a great excuse to save up for some new wheels :D
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    I stuck a pen through the valve hole and gradually turned the wheel so whatever it was that was rattling around - the nib of a Bic pen, I think - appeared. I then pulled it out using tweezers. That's the abridged version. There's a lot of swearing and toy-throwing in the full length feature version.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    andy83 wrote:
    lovely, so going to have a nice rattle in my wheel??

    The only reason I didn't get it out was because it had jammed in somewhere proper, getting it out would have involved some very careful poking inside the rim with garden wire or similar.

    When I had plenty of spares sitting next to me (I was building the wheel), I was just unwilling to exert that much effort.
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    fair enough

    well ill see what the lbs can do tomorrow, just want it sorted so i can ride back from work tomorrow. didnt feel safe riding back into work tonight with spoke only attached with good ol selotape (yes all i had time to use when i got home on my lunch break)
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    andy83 wrote:
    fair enough

    well ill see what the lbs can do tomorrow, just want it sorted so i can ride back from work tomorrow. didnt feel safe riding back into work tonight with spoke only attached with good ol selotape (yes all i had time to use when i got home on my lunch break)

    Should be fine unless it's a weirdo lacing pattern; I've known people to run 32 spoke 3-cross wheels with up to 4 spokes missing for 2 or 3 months without ill effect (have to love disc brakes for the acceptance of wheels of "interesting" trueness ;)).

    Important thing is to do as you've done - make sure the loose spoke is kept out of the way so that it doesn't interfere with anything else. Getting them wrapped around the cassette is bad (tm).
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Spokes come loose because of poor wheel tension and build - either uneven tension, or just low tension to start with. Of course if you bang the rim they can come loose too.

    They snap due to fatigue - again this is from poor build (not stressed relieved, or wrong spoke size for the hub, or a very loose spoke moving about). Often if they have bust at the elbow the wheel will need rebuilding with new spokes.
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  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    I was quoted about £15 at both Cycle Surgery and Condor to get a spoke replaced. One of my commuting bikes which my dad bought 2nd hand had very cheap wheels on and literally every couple of weeks a spoke would go. In the end I bought the spokes and my dad replaced them each time.

    One thing I would say though is make absolutely sure that you get the right sized spoke though, I went to both Cycle Surgery and Condor for 5 or6 spokes during this period. I took the bike with me to show them what size I needed and only ONE time at Condor did they actually manage to sell me the correct sized spoke! Cycle Surgery sold me the wrong size each time!
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • Roastie
    Roastie Posts: 1,968
    Last broken spoke I had cost me 40p for a plain gauge stainless spoke from Condor, and about half an hour with a spoke key (10 mins of which was spent fishing the old nipple out of the rim).

    Oh yes, and £1.85 for the double espresso I treated myself to in the 20 mins I had to kill for having missed my train.
    David
    Engineered Bicycles
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    When I broke the spoke on my Fulcrum 3s it actually made the wheel truer :shock:
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    Roastie wrote:
    Last broken spoke I had cost me 40p for a plain gauge stainless spoke from Condor, and about half an hour with a spoke key (10 mins of which was spent fishing the old nipple out of the rim).

    Oh yes, and £1.85 for the double espresso I treated myself to in the 20 mins I had to kill for having missed my train.

    The price at Condor for a spoke seems to vary depending on who you get. I paid between 50p and about 1 quid for the same spoke, but as I said, only once dud they get the size correct
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Headhuunter wrote:
    I was quoted about £15 at both Cycle Surgery and Condor to get a spoke replaced. One of my commuting bikes which my dad bought 2nd hand had very cheap wheels on and literally every couple of weeks a spoke would go. In the end I bought the spokes and my dad replaced them each time.

    One thing I would say though is make absolutely sure that you get the right sized spoke though, I went to both Cycle Surgery and Condor for 5 or6 spokes during this period. I took the bike with me to show them what size I needed and only ONE time at Condor did they actually manage to sell me the correct sized spoke! Cycle Surgery sold me the wrong size each time!

    Ah, a perfect example of what I was saying - sometimes you need to repalce the lot and get the wheel rebuilt (or all the spokes on one side)
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    Depends on the position of the spoke, last time I bust a spoke it was drivetrain rear, and my LBS wanted £15 including a spoke, any other side would have been cheaper as they wouldn't have had to spend a few extra minutes removing the cassette...
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

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  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    supersonic wrote:
    Headhuunter wrote:
    I was quoted about £15 at both Cycle Surgery and Condor to get a spoke replaced. One of my commuting bikes which my dad bought 2nd hand had very cheap wheels on and literally every couple of weeks a spoke would go. In the end I bought the spokes and my dad replaced them each time.

    One thing I would say though is make absolutely sure that you get the right sized spoke though, I went to both Cycle Surgery and Condor for 5 or6 spokes during this period. I took the bike with me to show them what size I needed and only ONE time at Condor did they actually manage to sell me the correct sized spoke! Cycle Surgery sold me the wrong size each time!

    Ah, a perfect example of what I was saying - sometimes you need to repalce the lot and get the wheel rebuilt (or all the spokes on one side)

    Yes, he bought the bike from a pawn shop, it's just a rubbishy Appolo TDF but it's fine to commute on. But I think some grease monkey had overtightened all the spokes on both wheels so 1 by 1 they were snapping as I used it. I just replaced the wheels with some old Mavics that my dad had kicking about.
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    Halfords gave me a spoke for free - no reason, just said I could take it as they had loads.

    Also got free brake cable end caps from evans when I asked for them.
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    supersonic wrote:
    Spokes come loose because of poor wheel tension and build - either uneven tension, or just low tension to start with. Of course if you bang the rim they can come loose too.

    They snap due to fatigue - again this is from poor build (not stressed relieved, or wrong spoke size for the hub, or a very loose spoke moving about). Often if they have bust at the elbow the wheel will need rebuilding with new spokes.

    the spoke actually snapped at the nipple. I have a feeling someone at work knocked it. I had it in the office, went out and then someone told me they had moved it, i was not happy to say the least
    I was quoted about £15 at both Cycle Surgery and Condor to get a spoke replaced. One of my commuting bikes which my dad bought 2nd hand had very cheap wheels on and literally every couple of weeks a spoke would go. In the end I bought the spokes and my dad replaced them each time.

    One thing I would say though is make absolutely sure that you get the right sized spoke though, I went to both Cycle Surgery and Condor for 5 or6 spokes during this period. I took the bike with me to show them what size I needed and only ONE time at Condor did they actually manage to sell me the correct sized spoke! Cycle Surgery sold me the wrong size each time!

    I feel quite glad now cos i only paid £8.63 and it was on the cassette side
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    andy83 wrote:
    the spoke actually snapped at the nipple. I have a feeling someone at work knocked it. I had it in the office, went out and then someone told me they had moved it, i was not happy to say the least

    If it makes you feel any better, it's highly unlikely that it's been caused by it being knocked. The impact you put through it by having all your weight on it and going over bumps is far greater than any casual knock it's likely to take.
  • andy83
    andy83 Posts: 1,558
    ah ok, can stop cursing said person now lol

    to be honest im surprised summin like this hasnt happened before due to my weight and riding style.

    day off today but knackered, need to motivate myself to get off ass and clean it
  • dmb101
    dmb101 Posts: 16
    my bust spoke cost 110 pounds!!!!!!!!!! the theives at campag made me by an entire set of spokes for my neutrons rather than just one
  • Aidy
    Aidy Posts: 2,015
    dmb101 wrote:
    my bust spoke cost 110 pounds!!!!!!!!!! the theives at campag made me by an entire set of spokes for my neutrons rather than just one

    Yet another reason why Shimano is better ;)

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