Rear spoke issues

SteveDoe

Hi

I bought my first second hand road bike in May (2007 Giant SCR1.0) and have done 1500 miles, Things have generally been fine, but today near the end of a ride, two rear spokes broke simultaneously. 180 miles ago I had one go, and 680 miles before that I had one go.

Is this a common thing or is it due to my bulk (14 stone) on a 24 spoke rear wheel?

Not sure if this is unlucky and I should replace the spokes again, or I should bite the bullet and buy a new wheel?

If I need a new one, what would you recommend. Currently have a Full Speed Ahead RD80 which I think was an upgrade by the previous owner. Also, does buying a new rear wheel mean I need a new front wheel?

Thanks for taking the time to read this - any advice/ info gratefully received ...

mattv

You may well find that replacing spokes just chases a weakness around the wheel until every spoke is new. It's 6 or 7 years old potentially. A new basic but reasonable quality rear wheel is around £65. Cheaper than 4 spoke replacements at most shops!

Gizmodo

It is not that common, but then again it is not unique. I've not had a spoke break in 2 years and quite a lot of miles. However, I am told that if 1 spoke goes then it will weaken the others around it. So if 1 was weak when you bought it, then further problems don't seem unreasonable.

I personally would go for a new wheel, and I would speak to ugo.santalucia of this forum who hand builds some great wheels. Start with how much can you afford to spend on a new wheel.

Dmak

Replace the spokes around the broken ones too. 1 each side maybe 2 if you're feeling wild.

If that fails then ditch the wheel and no, you do not 'need' to replace the front if there's nothing wrong with it.

If you're local to me, I can lend you a 32 spoke rear that takes some beating. I was nearly 15 stone in the spring.

SteveDoe

Thanks all for getting back.

Think I'm gonna go for the new wheel option, as like mattv & gizmodo allude to, one more breakage after this one, and it'll be more money down the drain - may as well get a brand new wheel. £65 doesn't seem too bad for new wheel, so will see what I can get for around that. Assume that rules out hand built ones ...

Dmak - Thanks for the offer, am based in Aylesbury though. New to forums as well as road bikes, so didn't realise I could add location, but see some have ...

SteveDoe

Have gone for a Mavic Aksium wheel £120 fitted with a new tyre thrown in, so I'm calling it £65 for the wheel, £25 labour and £30 for the tyre! Doesn't sound too bad when you say it quickly. Will pick it up at 5.30 and go for a test ride ...

paulorg

Being the proud 15 stone owner of wheels attached to a Giant bike I can tell it's not a rare thing (assuming yours have a lacing pattern like mine with straight pull on the none drive side) mine go about once a year but I have had 2 go at the same time before now. Before splashing out on a new wheel you could check with your LBS about whether they can re-lace the wheel in a different pattern(apparently the straight pull spoke are only used to save a bit of weight because they are shorter than the standard pattern spoke), mine said they could do it for about £65 including the price of the spokes. But then that would stop you buying shiny new kit. Decisions, decisions

keef66

paulorg wrote:

Being the proud 15 stone owner of wheels attached to a Giant bike I can tell it's not a rare thing (assuming yours have a lacing pattern like mine with straight pull on the none drive side) mine go about once a year but I have had 2 go at the same time before now. Before splashing out on a new wheel you could check with your LBS about whether they can re-lace the wheel in a different pattern(apparently the straight pull spoke are only used to save a bit of weight because they are shorter than the standard pattern spoke), mine said they could do it for about £65 including the price of the spokes. But then that would stop you buying shiny new kit. Decisions, decisions

Colleague of mine also has a Giant and started pinging rear spokes. He wandered past my desk as I was unpacking a parcel from Ribble. Pair of R501's for £63. Next thing I know he's ordered himself a pair too, so when they arrived I brought my tools in to work and swapped the cassette for him

ugo.santalucia

keef66 wrote:

Pair of R501's for £63.

Gosh, they're worth buying just for the box...

keef66

ugo.santalucia wrote:

keef66 wrote:

Pair of R501's for £63.

Gosh, they're worth buying just for the box...

To be fair, it's a very nice box. They are going on my winter build where the extra spokes will be a bit of pothole insurance, and the RS10's are now on the summer bike. I'll let you know how they work out and whether it was false economy...