Broken spoke again

iDad

Broken spoke again!!

A few weeks ago I managed to put a slight (3-5mm) buckle in my rear wheel following a blast around Sherwood pines single track. Having straightened out buckles in wheels in the past I added a little tension to a couple of spokes on one side to pull the wheel straight and un-tensioned the opposite spokes as you should do.
Anyway another blast around the pines a few days later resulted in a broken spoke which I got repaired by an LBS.
I’ve had a week or so off riding through illness and last night did just 15miles around local trails near home, pulled the rear brake on sharp in to a bit of a gravel bend and heard the unmissable “ping/twang” of the spoke again. Looking at the wheel running the buckle seems to be the same so I’m guessing I’ve way too much tension in the spokes pulling at the buckle than I ought to have.

Q. Based on this should I be asking the LBS to put stronger spokes in? or should I just look at buying a new stronger rear wheel and spoke set?

Anyone have any suggestions for less than £100.00?

I mainly ride XC with some single track thrown in and am doing a MTB Marathon in July I’m a “big’ish lad” at 6’2” and 242lbs so I’m guessing i need a stronger rear wheel set up than I have.

Current bike is 2007 Spesh FSR XC, rear wheel is an Alex RHD rim on Shim M475hub the spokes do look a little “flimsy” for an off road bike.

The Rookie

If the rim is bent rather than just pulled out of shape,it's new rim time (I've just re-rimmed my wheels and it was much easier than I thought, no harder than truing out a minor buckle), if it's just a spoke snapped, then replace it which is easy DIY job.

Spokes operate in tension, a 1.7mm (butted section) spoke works perfectly on an XC bike (or trail as well) if built properly.

So to summarise, if the rim is bent, new rim or wheel, if it's just a spoke, replace it and make sure the spokes are sorted correctly, for example when correcting the buckle why did you loosen any spokes, if the rim was pulled back to where it should be then the spokes would have been at the right tension, you were probably running them loose!

estampida

yup new rim, if you were the edinburgh way I could do the build....... (if I can do it its not that difficult)

quite frankly those spoke wil have had it as well, so wider rim and new spokes (are the spokes straight, single or double butted?) - sapim are making a super spoke but the price is very prohibitive.... and cheap wheels normally have straight gauge spokes

for a little more than rim, spokes and a build from a bike shop you could go for a hope hoop (lifetime warranty) so just mail it back and get a new wheel If it brakes

rim wise......... if you're going down that route

30mm width or somthing that end of the size range and pinned, not welded

(I am not that heavy but can break a wheel easy, my full sus has 34mm and the hard tail is 31mm, bombproof...) - and they are sun rims

iDad

The Beginner wrote:

So to summarise, if the rim is bent, new rim or wheel, if it's just a spoke, replace it and make sure the spokes are sorted correctly, for example when correcting the buckle why did you loosen any spokes, if the rim was pulled back to where it should be then the spokes would have been at the right tension, you were probably running them loose!

When I originally tried to true the wheel up by tightening the spoke to pull it back to true it wasn’t having it which is why I let the opposite spokes release a fraction.

Anyway I’m assuming that the LBS mechanic should’ve trued it and tensioned the spokes correctly.

I assume that having a buckled wheel means there is a bend in the rim anyway does it not?

i think its time for a stronger ring and hub for the sort of abuse i'm gonna be giving it over the coming months / years as my enthusiasm contiunes to out weight my skills lol

The Rookie

Buckled doens't mean bent, no, it can be pulled out of true by spoke tension and then spring back, if you paid the LBS to replace the spoke, that is what they would have done, if you paid them to true up and check spoke tension (£15-20) that is what they would have done.

Chunkers1980

Hopefully!

Merlin have some cheap new sets in the sales wheels section