Why do my spokes keep breaking?

potters1863

Had my bike for 12 months and have suddenly started to get spokes breaking.

Over the last 2 months I have now had 1 on the front and 3 on the back broken.

The last 1 was replaced 2 weeks ago and I have done about 130 miles on 3 rides since and another rear spoke has broken today.

Don't know what the wheels are but the rims are Mavic CXP22 on a Specialized Secteur Elite.

Is this just normal wear and tear ? If you have a spoke replaced does this cause some issue with the existing spokes as being stronger new part to weaker older used part? Could it just be that the roads are crap and therefore the wheels are taking far more hammer than if the roads were kept in good condition?

Am I better off getting all the spokes done at the same time whilst I am at it or just upgrading the wheels to something better?

father_jack

I found when one breaks one after the other time to get the wheel built up again, got on my nerves, dangerous plus happens miles from home (had to ask people for wire cutters lol)

schweiz

when a spoke fails the rest of the spokes have to share the load. On low spoke count wheels then this can lead to a daisy chain effect in that the rest of the spokes are overstressed and the next one breaks and so on.

I don't know what spoke count you have on the CXP 22 rims but I'm guessing it's 36, 32 or 28 so the increased load of a broken spoke is not anything like what it would be for a 20 or 16 hole rim but still there.

There's nothing wrong with the rim but I don't know the hub and the spoke lacing pattern so can't comment on that but would suggest that if you are experiencing spoke breakages, have the whole wheel re-laced 3-cross with good quality (DT Swiss or Sapim) stainless steel spokes with brass nipples. Butted spokes are lighter but more expensive than plain gauge. There are differing theories on whether PG spokes are actually more robust than butted. I used DT Swiss PG on the SS just because they were cheaper.

potters1863

Thanks for the replies, looks like replacing all the old ones is the answer.

Have just checked and mine are the 32 spoke wheels, should be less load on the others with so many spokes but obviously there will be some strain on somewhere that wouldn't normally be when one is broken.

Jenks66

Got my wheels changed under waranty and got a better set, was a know issue with some Giant bikes so worth checking
My bike was over 12 months old at the time

crankycrank

Jenks66 wrote:

Got my wheels changed under waranty and got a better set, was a know issue with some Giant bikes so worth checking
My bike was over 12 months old at the time

My neighbor has one of the Giants with CXP22 rims laced to some cheap hubs and had the same problem of breakage. The spokes supplied with the wheels were junk. He had them re-laced with some good DT spokes and a different lace pattern (possibly cross 3x, but don't know for sure) and has been trouble free for about 800mi now which is twice as long as the original build. He's keeping his fingers crossed. I wouldn't be surprised if your Specialized wheels came from the same factory or at least have the same lousy spokes.

potters1863

As I am looking at getting a turbo trainer for the winter for when the conditions are not good, I have decided to ditch the wheels I have now and just use them to swap over for the turbo trainer and upgrade to some better ones.

Looks like the CXP22 wheels are not of sufficient quality to do the job they are supposed to do, even on a bike that is more of an entry level but a price where you would expect better.
Wasn't expecting to be looking at changing wheels after 12 months when I bought my first quality road bike?

Will be looking at upgrading bike to a carbon fibre model but I will be making sure that it will have the quality parts required to keep it on the road rather than sitting in the garage getting repairs done to make it road worthy. Not too impressed at the moment, have really enjoyed all the cycling and sportives but beginning to realise where some of the cost cutting/low quality parts fitted by the manufacturer take some of the fun out of cycling.

Thanks for the replies and information

Jordan93

Sorry to hijack, but I assume by your username you a fellow stokie? 8)

2alexcoo

potters1863 wrote:

As I am looking at getting a turbo trainer for the winter for when the conditions are not good, I have decided to ditch the wheels I have now and just use them to swap over for the turbo trainer and upgrade to some better ones.

Looks like the CXP22 wheels are not of sufficient quality to do the job they are supposed to do, even on a bike that is more of an entry level but a price where you would expect better.
Wasn't expecting to be looking at changing wheels after 12 months when I bought my first quality road bike?

Will be looking at upgrading bike to a carbon fibre model but I will be making sure that it will have the quality parts required to keep it on the road rather than sitting in the garage getting repairs done to make it road worthy. Not too impressed at the moment, have really enjoyed all the cycling and sportives but beginning to realise where some of the cost cutting/low quality parts fitted by the manufacturer take some of the fun out of cycling.

Thanks for the replies and information

If you're the original owner take it up with the selling dealer.

My dad bought an Allez a few years back, and had similar problems with spokes breaking. Apparently it was a know issue relating to a faulty batch of spokes. You may have a similar issue as a CXP22 built with 32 spokes should in theory build a strong wheel.

The upshot of it was he was given a pair of handbuilt wheels (Open Pro on Tiagra hubs) as a replacement, which was a good upgrade into the bargain.

Worth a shot...

Jenks66

I would try getting them replaced, when I had the same issue Local Shop were aware of an issue.
They contacted Giant who did not have any wheels in stock so they paid for a pair of Fulcrum wheels the store had in stock
Very happy with the new wheels and no problems with them at all

vorsprung

Is it just normal wear and tear?

Perhaps.

I've noticed that on some wheels some of the spokes shake loose after a few thousand km
Under tensioned spokes are likely to break

Now I check the wheels myself on a regular basis.
This is easy to do. "ping" the spokes like a guitar. All the spokes on one side of a wheel should sound pretty similar. If one is very very flat sounding then it is loose and should be tightened
Another way of spotting this problem is to look for brake rub

Usually it is just one spoke that goes loose and it isn't a skilled retruing process that is required, just half a turn with a spoke key

potters1863

Jordan93 wrote:

Sorry to hijack, but I assume by your username you a fellow stokie? 8)

Yep that's right mate

sir-flats-alot

I have had the same problem with my wheels on my Giant TCR. They are the PSL1's and I have broken a few spokes now. The last one, this past Saturday, caused my wheel to lock up and someone in the group rear ended me. No one was hurt, but wholly crap that wasn't fun. I have loaners on it, from the bike shop, for now. Buying a set of Hawk Racing Talon Aero 2.0's from a friend this week. I have been hearing bad things about Giant's wheels, and breaking spokes. And now it caused me my first road bike crash? Not a fan. I did get over 2,000 miles on the wheels before the trouble began though.

Mikey23

If its a known issue then shouldnt the manufacturer being doing something about it other than carrying on selling? Or do we have to wait until folks get killed out there? My mate had a similar prob and one went while we were out on a long ride.. We had to limp back about 20 miles which wasnt fun. Fortunately for him it pinged uphill rather than downhill. No idea what wheels they were but clear.y rubbish. Annoying that the solution seems to be to upgrade to better wheels that are fit for purpose...

ugo.santalucia

Mikey23 wrote:

If its a known issue then shouldnt the manufacturer being doing something about it other than carrying on selling? Or do we have to wait until folks get killed out there? My mate had a similar prob and one went while we were out on a long ride.. We had to limp back about 20 miles which wasnt fun. Fortunately for him it pinged uphill rather than downhill. No idea what wheels they were but clear.y rubbish. Annoying that the solution seems to be to upgrade to better wheels that are fit for purpose...

Bikes are sold to meet a price point... 499, 699, 899, 999 etc... given everyone can tell a Sora derailleur from a 105, they prefer to give you a 105 and scrimp on the quality of other components you can't tell... spokes are ideal as nobody knows/gives a fuxk about spokes these days... so you think you are getting a great deal with Shimano 105 at 899, but in reality you are getting a rat...