Wheel Woes

[thecyclingeconomist]

If you are regularly breaking spokes, then the tensions are too low for the load and or riding style. I don’t care what the LBS says. It’s just the facts. The reason that spokes break is either impact by a foreign object (something hitting the wheel, or the wheel hitting something else), or the spoke becomes de-tensioned while riding, causing it to break. There aren’t any other options; other than the wheel is simply aged and has so many miles on it that they really need replacing (on clinchers, this is an immense amount of miles: 20K+ depending on the wheel).

I hope you find the issue. It’s not a fun one!

Raising a glass to your wheel woes; and hoping you have no more.

[ShawnoftheDread]

With that thought in mind, I added a quarter turn to every spoke.

[SilverSpring]

Okay, so this is me asking out of complete ignorance. I have a broken spoke on my (relatively new, probably less than 1.5K) rear wheel. I can’t fix it myself. I can’t get to the shop tonight, and my LBS isn’t open until 10am tomorrow. How far can I bike with the spoke as-is (perhaps a new word in German…brospoken?) before becoming a danger to myself or others?

[mstone]

@SilverSpring 47941 wrote:

Okay, so this is me asking out of complete ignorance. I have a broken spoke on my (relatively new, probably less than 1.5K) rear wheel. I can’t fix it myself. I can’t get to the shop tonight, and my LBS isn’t open until 10am tomorrow. How far can I bike with the spoke as-is (perhaps a new word in German…brospoken?) before becoming a danger to myself or others?

How many other spokes do you have? More than 30 and you’re probably ok for a bit if you take it easy. The further under 30, the more likely you’ll cause more damage, maybe irreparably much. Under 20 and it’s probably not going anywhere. If you’re rubbing on the frame, just stop.

[Rod Smith]

Reduce the wobble by loosening the two spokes closest to the broken one (these will be connected to the opposite side of the hub) and tightening the two spokes on the same side of the wheel as the broken one that are closest to the broken one. If it’s still a little wobbly (rim rubbing on brake pad), you can loosen the brake a little. It’s not dangerous to ride with a broken spoke but the odds of breaking another are increased.

[Author]

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