Ride with broken spoke?

sem69
sem69 Posts: 106
edited September 2009 in Commuting chat
I've got (yet another!) broken spoke on my rear wheel. Should I ride home on it (9 miles)? Or will that knacker the wheel more? It's quite out of true already.
(Can't fix it myself as it's drive side and I haven't got the tools, and can't get it fixed in the LBS until monday).

Cheers

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    how many spokes?

    Is it fouling the brakes?
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • sem69
    sem69 Posts: 106
    how many spokes? 1

    Is it fouling the brakes? yes, but I could probably straighten it out a bit with a spoke wrench
  • Headhuunter
    Headhuunter Posts: 6,494
    I've ridden with a single broken spoke before, it shouldn't be problem. If 2 go though the wheel may start to go quite wonky
    Do not write below this line. Office use only.
  • will3
    will3 Posts: 2,173
    I;ve ridden around with 5 or 6 broken spokes when I was a student. The handling was weird and eventually the rim did this:

    DSC00520.jpg

    I think one should be fine for that distance!

    I also rode a bike home when the frame had snapped at the rear dropout. Very carefully.
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    sorry by number of spokes i mean in the whole wheel!

    1 out of 24 is an issue, out of 40 i doubt you'd notice.


    I'd straighten and ride it home because i'm lazy like that. Or at least slacken off the brake and true the wheel as little as possible.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • nwallace
    nwallace Posts: 1,465
    I eventually discovered that the speed wobble I was getting on my MTB was due to the disc side spokes being loose, all of them.
    Do Nellyphants count?

    Commuter: FCN 9
    Cheapo Roadie: FCN 5
    Off Road: FCN 11

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  • tgotb
    tgotb Posts: 4,714
    I broke a spoke on NKR the other night, and the wheel immediately went 1/2" out of true. Luckily there's a LBS along there (Mend a Bike, I think) and they whipped my freewheel off there and then.
    My light fell off last night in exactly the same place (locknut obviously hadn't done its job). I stopped and then couldn't get my foot out of the pedal because one of the screws holding my cleat had fallen off.
    If this continues I am going to have to consider a different route...
    Pannier, 120rpm.

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