Damaged rear wheel spoke

curium

One of my rear wheel spokes seems to have pulled off the nipple - possibly over-tensioned when I was trying to true the wheel after a slight prang.



As a result the rear wheel is out of true but I've been continuing to use it for my 25 mile a day commute but only using the front brake - should I stop?

I planned to keep using it until I can get a replacement spoke - I'm doubtful Evans/Cyclesurgery, etc. will stock white spokes. Once I got the spoke I planned to have the wheel laterally trued and all the spokes correctly tensioned.

The wheels are Easton EA30 Aero Custom that came with my Cube Peloton Race.

I saw some DT Swiss Competition spokes in white on Tweeks Cycles. Can I just order a few of those as spares or is it critical that spokes be matched.

How do you measure spoke lengths? Do I need to remove it from the wheel to measure it accurately? Any help with ordering the correct replacement spoke would be welcomed.

The wheels are only 2 months old so would rather keep them going before looking at a complete replacement.

Cheers!

Monty Dog

You may have stripped the thread on the nipple rather than the spokes as they are made from softer material.
You may be able to find your spoke length online - try googling, also for how to measure a spoke.

Ride hard

Yep, you've just stripped the spoke nipple. Depending on where you get them from, the black ones are sometimes made out of softer metal than the silver ones, so you should always treat them more carefully. Try and get ones made out of brass as they are tougher.

Is it the drive or non-drive side spoke you're replacing? I replaced a drive side radially laced white spoke on my EA30 rear wheel last year and the 288mm fit perfectly.

If you're planning to do it yourself make sure you unscrew the nipple from the rim with a screwdriver. Whatever you do, don't use pliers to cut the spoke as you will warp the rim meaning you'll need a new one! :shock:

ugo.santalucia

If they are J spokes, then yes, you can order a spare of the correct length

curium

How can I tell if they are J-spokes? I guess they look like they make a J-shape as they do a 90 degree swoop just before they connect with the hub - would this make them J-spokes? (I'm really basic with wheel building so bear with me)

Turns out the nipple just came completely loose! Probably from me getting confused when truing and loosening when I should of tightened.

I still would like to pick up some spare nipples and spokes so this is all good.

It is a non-drive-drive side spoke.

I'll ask the mechanic in Cyclesurgery what type of spare I should order when I drop it in for truing on Monday.

ugo.santalucia

curium wrote:

How can I tell if they are J-spokes? I guess they look like they make a J-shape as they do a 90 degree swoop just before they connect with the hub - would this make them J-spokes? (I'm really basic with wheel building so bear with me)

Turns out the nipple just came completely loose! Probably from me getting confused when truing and loosening when I should have tightened.

I still would like to pick up some spare nipples and spokes so this is all good.

It is a non-drive-drive side spoke.

I'll ask the mechanic in Cyclesurgery what type of spare I should order when I drop it in for truing on Monday.

Yes it is a J spoke... if Richmond SW London is handy for you, I can sort you out in 10 minutes. I have also half a bag of mixed nipples I can happily dispose of

cycleclinic

If you are not local to Richmond and decent shop should be able to sort this out for less than £10 (it will take minutes as ugo said). It only a nipple after all. Also a decent mechanic will check the tension on the rest of the spokes and even out, that won't take long either unless the tensions are all over the place.

curium

Cheers guys. I'm in SE3, so quite a distance from Richmond although I will have to visit at some point to put a marker on the 'Laps of Richmond Park' scoreboard.

Nice to know that it's a fairly simple problem.