Spoke Advice

Secteur

Hello all, I hope you're all well and getting some good riding done!

This morning (in the garage) I noticed one of the rear drive-side bladed spokes on my 4000 mile Fulcrum Racing 3's was broken.

I wasnt aware of when this might have happened.

The spoke has sheared off where it fixes to the drive side hub assembly - presumably "just one of those things".

My questions;

1) The LBS replaced the broken bladed spoke with a non-bladed one (which they had in stock). Other than the 0.001Watts I might lose (arf!) and the cosmetic difference, will this make any difference? I am thinking safety issues primarily.

2) How often do you replace wheels? Given this wheelset is relatively inexpensive now, I wondered about just buying a new set? I expect I should get another 15,000 miles out of these, but if spokes are going to start going I'd sooner not have the hassle of missed rides etc.

Many thanks

wishitwasallflat

1) Provided the replacement spoke was fitted correctly and the tensions on the original spokes, with the new one, are balanced across the wheel no reason why there should be any issues.

2) I've never had a wheel last beyond 5/6 k miles - the rims wear at the brake track. Are you really expecting another 15k on a 4k mile wheel!? I think I am hard on equipment (all weather riding, rim brakes and heavy weight) but I have never heard of anyone getting 19k. Most wheels need replaced due to brake track wear before then.

Secteur

wishitwasallflat wrote:

Are you really expecting another 15k on a 4k mile wheel!?

Honestly I have no idea... I said it mainly so I didn't sound too daft as I half expected everyone to tell me it'll last for another 15k miles!

Thanks for the advice!

term1te

A well maintained wheel should easily last 15k. I've got a pair of Open Pros on old Shimano 600 hubs that must have covered 30 - 40k over the last 10 years on my commuting bike. I clean and re-grease the hubs once a year and regularly clean the brake pads and rims. That said, do watch how thin the rim side walls are becoming, I've blown one rim right off after it wore too thin. Fortunately I wasn't on the bike at the time. Pumped it up on a very cold morning and left it in the sun. A good 5 inches of rim blown off sometime during the day.

wishitwasallflat

term1te wrote:

A well maintained wheel should easily last 15k. I've got a pair of Open Pros on old Shimano 600 hubs that must have covered 30 - 40k over the last 10 years on my commuting bike. I clean and re-grease the hubs once a year and regularly clean the brake pads and rims. That said, do watch how thin the rim side walls are becoming, I've blown one rim right off after it wore too thin. Fortunately I wasn't on the bike at the time. Pumped it up on a very cold morning and left it in the sun. A good 5 inches of rim blown off sometime during the day.

Wow! I'm amazed would be interested to hear what the norm is for rim braked wheels that are used all year round. As I said IME after 5-6k miles my front rims are dangerously concave and <1mm thickness (Open Pros too Term1te); e.g. I checked once one by pumping up to 150psi when it had done 5.5k and I thought it looked cracked and it popped. I too maintain hubs regularly and clean rims and pads. I reckoned my longevity was probably on the low side of normal mileage (for the reasons written in my first reply) but not that low!

Apologies Secteur if I'm wrong but I was replying on the basis of my own experience and what I've gleaned as normal mileage from others :oops:

Bozman

4 - 5k out of a wheel? Wow, so if I cycle 5K a year I know what I should get for Christmas then.
My last set of Mavic Ksyrium SLs did nearly 20k miles around Derbyshire, the rims and hubs were still fine and they were passed on, I believe that they're still in use and doing fine.

ugo.santalucia

Bozman wrote:

4 - 5k out of a wheel? Wow, so if I cycle 5K a year I know what I should get for Christmas then.
My last set of Mavic Ksyrium SLs did nearly 20k miles around Derbyshire, the rims and hubs were still fine and they were passed on, I believe that they're still in use and doing fine.

Mileage varies a lot depending on roads/weather, rider weight, maintenance and braking habits. In continental Europe it is pretty normal to get 15-20 K miles out of a rim, as they bother to build concrete barriers at the side of the roads to prevent the verges collapsing onto the tarmac, which is what happens over here as a result of rain and traffic. The result is a lot more dirt on the roads, which you pick up and it grinds your rims.
I find up north roads are cleaner than down south, but this is a generalisation, of course. There is also more rain up north, which might compensato for that to an extent.

Rims are rims, made of alloys with very similar hardness and wear resistance, none of them is harder than the particles of dirt you pick up, so I don't think brand and model make a significant enough difference and all the talk about this rim wearing better than the other rim is mostly nonsense, in the same league as "oiling the spokes" as a remedy for noisy hubs.

wishitwasallflat

Bozman wrote:

4 - 5k out of a wheel? Wow, so if I cycle 5K a year I know what I should get for Christmas then.
My last set of Mavic Ksyrium SLs did nearly 20k miles around Derbyshire, the rims and hubs were still fine and they were passed on, I believe that they're still in use and doing fine.

Yes I do 5-6k miles per year and have replaced wheels annually for the reasons stated. I live in the NE and roads are frequently dirty and wet! Most of my mileage is commuting so maybe I'm particularly unlucky with my route. I'm also very heavy for a cyclist.

Secteur it seems you may indeed get 19k miles from your wheels so my apologies for implying that was very unlikely.

Rightarmbad

I have nearly 17000 KM on my Zipp carbon clinchers, if I wiped them down you would be hard pressed to tell that they were not new.
The biggest give away would be the small tears and nicks in the stickers and the cog marks on the freehub.

What the hell do you do to your wheels?

wishitwasallflat

Rightarmbad wrote:

I have nearly 17000 KM on my Zipp carbon clinchers, if I wiped them down you would be hard pressed to tell that they were not new.
The biggest give away would be the small tears and nicks in the stickers and the cog marks on the freehub.

What the hell do you do to your wheels?

Apparently not cleaning the rims and pads as often as I should - thanks to this thread though I will now be able to wash them in salty years as I think of the money others save compared to me!

Joking aside I now suspect my commuting route (main source of miles) which includes a country road used by lorries accessing a quarry and recycling centre and a big roundabout for access to a Billingham (Teesside) Industrial Estate complex may well include dirtier roads than average.

noodleman

5500 miles on a pair of Reynolds Assaults. Ridden all year round and no rim wear visible at all. I am only just over 10 stone though, so this may help a bit.

wishitwasallflat

noodleman wrote:

5500 miles on a pair of Reynolds Assaults. Ridden all year round and no rim wear visible at all. I am only just over 10 stone though, so this may help a bit.

Thanks now I've got two reasons to be envious

Secteur

Thanks everyone!

I live in a very hilly area, and I am a cautious descender, so lots of braking! And I ride in all weather condtions. Therefore I guess my rims do take a beating - have just checked and my 4000 mile Fulcrum 3's are slightly concave on the braking surface already.

Have decided to just replace them.