Poor wheels or just unlucky

andy83

Bought some new easton ea50 wheels at the start of June and have had a spoke snap on each wheel. The rear one popped when 30 miles from home, and today stopped off somewhere and when i was leaving saw the front wheel wobble a bit only to find a loose spoke, dont think its snapped but it just came out the nipple then out the hub

now ive done about 2200 miles on them. Could i just be unlcuky or could they just be poor wheels?

no noticable pot holes ive rode through to cause them to break

roger_merriman

Yes I'd say so I'd be fairly unimpressed. Unless your a very heavy rider either weight or ride.

andy83

well im 14 stone 12 and no i dont ride to heavy really

lbs are really good and its where i got them from but where do i stand on getting replaced or exchanged?

cougie

So you've had them for 8 weeks or so and done 2200 miles ? -thats almost 300 miles a week ? So about a 25 mile journey each way ? Thats some good miles !

I'd say 14 stone 12 is pretty hefty - so I wouldnt say that the wheels are poor, I've had spokes break on my wheels from time to time with probably less miles and a good few stone less weight. I wouldnt have thought a replacement wheel was needed.

It shouldnt be expensive to change a spoke either - if you can get the right length spoke - you can do it yourself - I'd buy a couple when you get this one fixed.

Are these 20/24 spoked wheels ? I'd probably have gone for a higher spoke count - thats what I've done on my cross bike.

andy83

cheers im trying to lose weight but that comment dont help I was 16 stone 3 at the start of the year

only kidding

yea thats what the spokes are 20 / 24

Ive been doing a ride for chairty to do 6000 miles from feb to august and i finished today so will be easing off the mileage a little, this week anyway to recover

Ill just drop the wheel off next week and get the shop to do it as they dont my last one for free as i aint had them long. I think i may get some spare spokes and do it myself next time

cougie

Good work on the miles and the weight - you've done more work on both of those than I have this year ! Pick up a spoke key, and you'll be sorted (unless its the gear side that goes and then you need to take the block off - grrr.

Good luck !

andy83

Thanks

I have started carrying a spoke key but the end of the actual wheel snapped in the nipple

jairaj

usually when you break a spoke the other spokes either side of the break have to compensate and can get damaged too. So you end up breaking them one by one. Next time a spoke breaks try and get a few replaced together. if it keeps happening maybe look into a re-build possibly?

andy83

theyve been on either wheel, first on back and today on the front

thanks anyway for the advice

rjsterry

jairaj wrote:

usually when you break a spoke the other spokes either side of the break have to compensate and can get damaged too. So you end up breaking them one by one. Next time a spoke breaks try and get a few replaced together. if it keeps happening maybe look into a re-build possibly?

Done this. Got to the point where I was getting a spoke replaced every couple of weeks, so got some new wheels. I'd be surprised if it's a weight thing - I'm about 10 stone, and have still broken spokes (always at the hub end, pulling the head off), and not low-spoke count wheels either, so I think it's more likely a weakness in one spoke. Snapping the spoke at the other end takes some doing as there shouldn't be any shear forces to speak of. Difficult o tell afterwards, but the nipple might have been misaligned in the rim.

andy83

Ok im now taking wheels back to shop and asking for a replacement set

Spoke went on saturday, rode a mile home, took wheel to shop to be repiared. I picked up the wheel on tuesday but didnt use it until today when i rode nice an easy in to work as was riding TT tonight

Got to TT, stood bike up on curb with pedal, putting number on and i hear a ping noise, yep a spoke snapped without me even touching the bike, not happy. Still got PB but think it was cos I was angry

Christophe3967

Over the past 18 months I have broken spokes on my Fulcrum Racing 3s - front and rear - and these are known for taking a bit of punishment. But I have also bent a pair of Halo Aerorage wheels, so I put it down to the state of the roads.

Gussio

andy83 wrote:

Bought some new easton ea50 wheels at the start of June and have had a spoke snap on each wheel. The rear one popped when 30 miles from home, and today stopped off somewhere and when i was leaving saw the front wheel wobble a bit only to find a loose spoke, dont think its snapped but it just came out the nipple then out the hub

now ive done about 2200 miles on them. Could i just be unlcuky or could they just be poor wheels?

no noticable pot holes ive rode through to cause them to break

Be surprised if you didn't get them replaced under warrantee.

andy83

Christophe3967 wrote:

Over the past 18 months I have broken spokes on my Fulcrum Racing 3s - front and rear - and these are known for taking a bit of punishment. But I have also bent a pair of Halo Aerorage wheels, so I put it down to the state of the roads.

Yea i thought that at first, but the fact i had rode 15 miles on the wheel since it was trued at the shop i didnt hit any potholes and rode easy. I then stood my bike up and a spoke popped, gutted as it was my first TT aswell

will3

cougie wrote:

I'd say 14 stone 12 is pretty hefty .

Cheeky sod.



Andy, did you check the spokes after the first 100 miles or so?

il_principe

Christophe3967 wrote:

Over the past 18 months I have broken spokes on my Fulcrum Racing 3s - front and rear - and these are known for taking a bit of punishment. But I have also bent a pair of Halo Aerorage wheels, so I put it down to the state of the roads.

You fat sod!

@ the OP - I'd defo take the wheels back, that is very very poor. I gonna suffer now I've said this but I've had zero wheel problems in 7 years or so. My Fulcrum 1's are 4 years old now and still as true as they day they came out of the box. IME Fulcrum 1's & 0's = Bombproof.

andy83

I went as far as checking the tension by just making sure none were loose but thats about it. The spoke last night went after 13 miles :shock:

I was speaking to my friend who i cycle with last night and work as a mechanic on a saturday said spoke shouldnt snap where mine have been, they have all snapped at the nipple

Just rang shop and they said to bring them both back and will hopefully replace them, i might get the fulcrums instead as just not too happy with these to be honest

I had less problem on my heavy standard bontrager wheels that came with the bike

SimonAH

This definitely doesn't sound right. Sounds more like a very poor batch of spokes or a very poor wheelbuild or both.

Relace the wheel yourself with good quality (DT Swiss are a safe bet) spokes, or have the lbs do it for you under warranty.

rmhodv

will3 wrote:

cougie wrote:

I'd say 14 stone 12 is pretty hefty .

Cheeky sod.

Cheeky sod indeed. Chris Hoy weighs 14 stone 7


In my humble, I would say that's pretty poor if spokes go that soon. I weigh 100kg (don't tell cougie ), and had a spoke go on my bike that I commute on so it was complete with rack and panniers after 6000 miles, and I wasn't too impressed. Did the LBS where you go the wheels from build them aswell?
Either way I'd get them to sort the problem.
BTW I ended up getting some wheels built by the well known and respected wheelbuilder Harry Rowland Fantasic wheels, great value and quick turnaround.

rjsterry

andy83 wrote:

I went as far as checking the tension by just making sure none were loose but thats about it. The spoke last night went after 13 miles :shock:

I was speaking to my friend who i cycle with last night and work as a mechanic on a saturday said spoke shouldnt snap where mine have been, they have all snapped at the nipple

Just rang shop and they said to bring them both back and will hopefully replace them, i might get the fulcrums instead as just not too happy with these to be honest

I had less problem on my heavy standard bontrager wheels that came with the bike

Your friend is right - there should be minimal shear forces on the spoke at the nipple, and the spoke should be in almost 'pure' tension. I don't have all the figures to hand, but I'm fairly sure that the load needed to snap a stainless steel spoke in tension is very high, so this suggests there are some shear forces coming into play, which the spoke isn't designed to take. Not sure how this would happen, but it sounds like something ios fundamentally wrong with the wheel.

will3

rjsterry wrote:

andy83 wrote:

I went as far as checking the tension by just making sure none were loose but thats about it. The spoke last night went after 13 miles :shock:

I was speaking to my friend who i cycle with last night and work as a mechanic on a saturday said spoke shouldnt snap where mine have been, they have all snapped at the nipple

Just rang shop and they said to bring them both back and will hopefully replace them, i might get the fulcrums instead as just not too happy with these to be honest

I had less problem on my heavy standard bontrager wheels that came with the bike

Your friend is right - there should be minimal shear forces on the spoke at the nipple, and the spoke should be in almost 'pure' tension. I don't have all the figures to hand, but I'm fairly sure that the load needed to snap a stainless steel spoke in tension is very high, so this suggests there are some shear forces coming into play, which the spoke isn't designed to take. Not sure how this would happen, but it sounds like something ios fundamentally wrong with the wheel.

Meh engineering fail.

Generally, spokes fail through fatigue (as do most parts on bikes -it's the cyclic loading you see)

Hence a spoke does not need to be loaded in tension to the point where it would "just snap", it just needs to be repeatedly loaded enough times to grow a crack accross it. If there is an imperfection, crack, sharp edge (for example the thread or the bend in the spoke) this will increase the chances of a crack starting to grow accross the part. When the crack has grown far enough accross the spoke, the rest will eventiall be stressed enough to "just break".


However, don't take my word for it, look up "high cycle fatigue" and readallabahdit.

rjsterry

will3 wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

andy83 wrote:

I went as far as checking the tension by just making sure none were loose but thats about it. The spoke last night went after 13 miles :shock:

I was speaking to my friend who i cycle with last night and work as a mechanic on a saturday said spoke shouldnt snap where mine have been, they have all snapped at the nipple

Just rang shop and they said to bring them both back and will hopefully replace them, i might get the fulcrums instead as just not too happy with these to be honest

I had less problem on my heavy standard bontrager wheels that came with the bike

Your friend is right - there should be minimal shear forces on the spoke at the nipple, and the spoke should be in almost 'pure' tension. I don't have all the figures to hand, but I'm fairly sure that the load needed to snap a stainless steel spoke in tension is very high, so this suggests there are some shear forces coming into play, which the spoke isn't designed to take. Not sure how this would happen, but it sounds like something ios fundamentally wrong with the wheel.

Meh engineering fail.

Generally, spokes fail through fatigue (as do most parts on bikes -it's the cyclic loading you see)

Hence a spoke does not need to be loaded in tension to the point where it would "just snap", it just needs to be repeatedly loaded enough times to grow a crack accross it. If there is an imperfection, crack, sharp edge (for example the thread or the bend in the spoke) this will increase the chances of a crack starting to grow accross the part. When the crack has grown far enough accross the spoke, the rest will eventiall be stressed enough to "just break".


However, don't take my word for it, look up "high cycle fatigue" and readallabahdit.

That's kind of what I was meaning to say, but got sidetracked when I started waffling about shear forces. Something is causing the spoke to fatigue very quickly (13 miles), as the likelihood of you 'just snapping' it by applying some enormous load is very small. As these spokes keep going at the nipple end, it would suggest that the a large number of the nipples have some malformation that is leading to the crack propagation you describe.

vorsprung

you weigh 94kg but according to official Easton info

http://www.eastoncycling.com/road/wheel-faqs/

5. Where can I find rider weight limits for your wheels?
None of our current (2008 and newer) wheels have rider weight limits

also

11. What is the warranty on Easton Wheels and what does it cover?
The warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two years. Crash damage and normal wear are not covered under the warranty.

So do a return. You've had the wheels since June, it's not "normal wear" to have two spokes break[/quote]

lost_in_thought

Careful, careful, the thought police will get you and lock you in the dull forum...

rjsterry

Oh do stop whining.

lost_in_thought

rjsterry wrote:

Oh do stop whining.

jonginge

rjsterry wrote:

Oh do stop whining.

I think the term used was flouncing

They've removed the announcement thread now

andy83

Cheeky sod indeed. Chris Hoy weighs 14 stone 7


In my humble, I would say that's pretty poor if spokes go that soon. I weigh 100kg (don't tell cougie ), and had a spoke go on my bike that I commute on so it was complete with rack and panniers after 6000 miles, and I wasn't too impressed. Did the LBS where you go the wheels from build them aswell?
Either way I'd get them to sort the problem.
BTW I ended up getting some wheels built by the well known and respected wheelbuilder Harry Rowland Fantasic wheels, great value and quick turnaround.

Well chris hoy is a little more built than me but ill take that

The bike shop didnt build them, just factory built ones, but to be hoenst they are being very good about it, last two replaced under warrenty and im dropping them up later to get them looked at.

you weigh 94kg but according to official Easton info

i read this and thought you was going to say i was too fat lol

So do a return. You've had the wheels since June, it's not "normal wear" to have two spokes break

I was just about bearing the fact that one went in each wheel and put it down to the odd bad spoke BUT when the third went last night when I wasnt even sitting on the bloody thing was the final straw

will3

Has there ever been a case of wheels falling apart that was definitely attributable to the rider being a fat git?

vorsprung

will3 wrote:

Has there ever been a case of wheels falling apart that was definitely attributable to the rider being a fat git?

Usually wheels have a "weight limit" of approx 85kg

I am 80kg and like to use 36 spoke hand made wheels. I've popped a bunch of spokes on a cheap 28 spoke wheel before.

cheap wheel + low spoke count + rider over 80kg = spokes go splat

Easton EA50 isn't a cheap wheel though

will3

vorsprung wrote:

will3 wrote:

Has there ever been a case of wheels falling apart that was definitely attributable to the rider being a fat git?

Usually wheels have a "weight limit" of approx 85kg

for example................................[coz I've never seen this]

vorsprung wrote:

cheap wheel + low spoke count + rider over 80kg = spokes go splat

but has that actually happened? Or is it just a rumour put about by people who think that 80kg is heavy (eat some pies for heaven's sake you're wasting away )