Spokes broken today...

stuarttunstall

Well all started out so well.... Out on the Scott Sub Cross 10 this morning, 3 miles from home, loud bang from my bike ,,, Only to find two spokes in the rear wheel have snapped.... Not even on a rough road... made hell of a noise..

Thought I could put them out the way and ride home but the wheel has a bad buckle now... not sure if that was caused by the spokes snapping or that cause the spokes to snap...

Oh well.... trip to bike shop in a while

When I went out I was riding up a hill and heard a "crack" so stopped and all seemed OK... almost in the same place on the way back as I do part of the route twice, I had a real loud bang and then found the two spokes... the rim looks OK...

One of the spokes was almost perfect length still and would still push into the nipple... the other one was about an inch short so I suspect the first noise was the longer snapping but stayed in the nipple... When the other went and the wheel went out of true it may have pulled out...

Dropped it off as I was passing Evans and they are going to sort it on Wednesday, no problem as I will not be out again until next weekend.. £18.00 not bad plus a £1.00 for each spoke...

Why would they decide to snap on a 12 month old bike that's done 600 miles? I know the roads are not the best I use, country lanes with rough sections and badly filled potholes so a bit uneven in places, but I have done the same route for the last 12 months...

At one time I was about 15KG heaver than Scott recommended for the bike, now I am below the 120KG they stated.. ... Not bad in 12 months of diet, exercise and riding at weekends and lost 3 stone, but I would think I would have had issues when I was at my heaviest

Should I be paranoid now that more will break or am I worrying about nothing lol...I am a worrier lol... I use the same routes every weekend for the last 12 months and this is the first issue, never even had issues when I was at my biggest weight .. I was 3 stone heavier 12 months ago when I got the bike..

Stuart

robertpb

Because of your, in the past, heavier weight the spokes probably needed adjustment. The more stress you put on the wheels the more you have to be mindfull of checking them.
I've only broken two spokes in the last 12 years on full sussers, but I keep an eye on the spoke tension, then again I'm only 61kg.

stuarttunstall

Thanks for the reply... that does sound possible.. I will make sure the shop check all the spokes when they true the wheel and replace the missing spokes....

I suspect what happened today was a "chain reaction" ... I think the "crack" I heard on the way out was the first spoke snapping but this stayed inside the nipple so when I looked/checked by eye it looked like nothing... then after 11 miles on the bumps of the road I use, the spoke 2 away from it gave up with a bang and lost about 25mm in length, the wheel went out of true and pulled the other out the nipple...

Does that sound possible?

billycool

Can't be sure on your exact chain of events, but it sounds plausible.

I've snapped some fairly average spokes on some expensive rims and after replacing 3 or 4 at £10 a time over a 6 month period, I got the whole wheel rebuilt for £65 with better spokes. Been fine since and a better use of my money.

When you snap a couple and the wheel goes out of true, you can stress other spokes and they can fail over time, hence my rebuild.

The fact they have snapped could be an issue over time weakening them and/or a more recent sudden impact. Either way, it would make me a little paranoid.

stuarttunstall

Thank you for all the replies, I do appreciate them..

I should be collection the wheel tomorrow after work, and I have asked that they check all the spokes, hub and rims just to be safe...

It will be a worrying ride out on Saturday lol... I am paranoid lol

stuarttunstall

Well the wheel is back in the bike now scared stiff to go out on it Saturday just in case lol.... PANIC! ... They replace 3 spokes rather than just the two that broke as another broke as he tested the tension... better to be safe...

Only problem the spoke protector is loose now, but as it is raining I have not looked too hard how it fixes ... Any idea how these lock in place? looks odd as it is not centred on the wheel lol

Job for Friday when I clean and lube it up... Trying some "MucOff C3 Ceramic Dry Lube"

The Rookie

They are cheap brittle plastic and just hook on the spokes, its possible a clip has snapped.

Most people just bin the 'dork ring', so called because it makes the rider look.......

stuarttunstall

Lol... Well that suits me then better leave it on

I will have a look tomorrow when the rain stops and it is drier plus I am off work, maybe the shop just did not clip it in right after they replaced the spokes and trued the wheel up... If not I will let them put it right, it was OK when it went in

I know they will if I ask them, Evans in York (UK) are fantastic, not cheap but really helpful, so they will put it right if I ask but if easy it is better than a 40 mile round trip with the wheel..

Stuart

stuarttunstall

The plastic spoke protector sorted, just needed twisting to lock it... must have just removed it to do the spokes

Chunkers1980

The Rookie wrote:

They are cheap brittle plastic and just hook on the spokes, its possible a clip has snapped.

Most people just bin the 'dork ring', so called because it makes the rider look.......

It's actually called a Rookie Ring but Simon couldn't say that.

keef66

They'd have taken it off along with the cassette to replace spokes if they were drive-side ones, and they often are.

Spokes do go with quite a bang don't they. First time I snapped a rear drive side spoke I thought I'd been shot. Only 20 spokes so the wheel went immediately pringle shaped.

On closer inspection it seemed the broken spoke had been chewed by the chain when it over-shot the biggest sprocket, and that in turn caused by a bent mech hanger probably sustained in my first, comically slow motion sideways clipped-in fall.

Another couple of spokes also have scars from tangling with the chain, but touch wood, they've survived another 6 years.

So refitting the spoke protector is good insurance really

stuarttunstall

I did twist the protector and it has stayed in place OK since doing so I will leave it on, does not bother me really and the added protection is a bonus..

My spokes went at the nipple end, in fact one actually snapped and stayed in place until the second one went then the wheel went well out of shape and pulled it out...

mattyfez

They call them pie dishes round my way.
Ideal for putting a pork pie on

kirkymtb

I know it's not everyone's idea of fun but it's worth learning to replace spokes or even rebuild wheels yourself. I first built a wheel (in the good old days when brake blocks wore your rim out) using a guide in a mag., probably MBUK. After that I'd often retain the spokes and just shift them over to a new rim one at a time. With a bit of trial and error it's not as hard as you may think. I changed the rim on my son's Trek EX8 when he pringled it. I recently got a rim, Hope hub and various spokes delivered by my lad's mate and earned 3 bottles of ale for building it! You could look up guides on line, there must be plenty but I take no responsibility if it all goes, literally, pear shaped.