Broke a spoke today!

GBR1
GBR1 Posts: 97
edited April 2013 in Road general
A right pain and will take the wheel to the LBS this afternoon..

I was at a junction, put the power down and heard a ping noise then realised the rear wheel was rubbing..

I took the broken spoke off and cycled home slowly.. Wheel was buckled enough that I had to release the rear brake so this made me bail out of the ride..

Luckily I was only 10 miles from home, so what can you do if/when you break a spoke??

Any tricks to keep you riding or is it an early shower??

GBR1

Comments

  • cookeeemonster
    cookeeemonster Posts: 1,991
    you can tie it to another spoke to get you home if the wheel isn't buckled...and if you have a spoke wrench maybe you can unbuckle the wheel...possibly

    last time my wheel was like that I had to get a new one. Depends on how bad it is really and how good you are fixing things?
  • Barteos
    Barteos Posts: 657
    Get wheels with more spokes... ?
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    If you are handy with a spoke key then you can carry a fibre spoke. I've got one but never used it.
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  • diy
    diy Posts: 6,473
    Personally I would say its a really bad idea to try and true a wheel when you have a broken spoke. You'll end up spending twice as long trying to true it back. You may also brake the other spokes too or make you wheel egg shaped.

    Broken spoke should not be a LBS job.
    1. Remove tyre and rim strip and refit wheel
    2. fit new spoke
    3. adjust tension to match others using a spoke key (or screw driver)
    4. use the brakes or a pen to mark out the wobble and tighten/loosen the opposite spoke 1/4 turn at a time until its straight again.

    plenty of youtubes show you how.
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  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,237
    diy wrote:
    Personally I would say its a really bad idea to try and true a wheel when you have a broken spoke. You'll end up spending twice as long trying to true it back. You may also brake the other spokes too or make you wheel egg shaped.

    Broken spoke should not be a LBS job.
    1. Remove tyre and rim strip and refit wheel
    2. fit new spoke
    3. adjust tension to match others using a spoke key (or screw driver)
    4. use the brakes or a pen to mark out the wobble and tighten/loosen the opposite spoke 1/4 turn at a time until its straight again.

    plenty of youtubes show you how.

    Unfortunately most wheels these days have proprietary parts, which means even just sourcing a spoke can be a bit of a struggle... Shimano, Mavic... they all use proprietary parts.

    To the OP: which wheels are we talking about? Do you have J bend spokes?
    left the forum March 2023
  • GBR1
    GBR1 Posts: 97
    The wheels are Mavic Cosmic Elite.. The broken spoke sheared about 3cm from the hub.. I have only done 1500ish miles on them!
  • Bar Shaker
    Bar Shaker Posts: 2,313
    How much do you weigh?

    Elites are the benchmark. Mine have been bullet proof.
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  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    GBR1 wrote:
    The wheels are Mavic Cosmic Elite.. The broken spoke sheared about 3cm from the hub.. I have only done 1500ish miles on them!

    I'm saying nothing! :wink:
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • GBR1
    GBR1 Posts: 97
    Bar Shaker wrote:
    How much do you weigh?

    Elites are the benchmark. Mine have been bullet proof.

    83kg.. Surly that's not to heavy??
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    At 83kg (although not immense) you would do well to have a higher spoke count wheelset. Someything like 28/32 perhaps.

    If a spoke snaps on a higher spoke count wheel it tends to be less of an issue and you will invariably get home without too much drama.

    My training wheels are 32/32 (and I am only 75kg) as for the sake of a few grams I would prefer to get home.
    Yellow is the new Black.

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