Jump to content

Spoke Broke


bikeperson45

Recommended Posts

Your need a fresh wheel build. There really isn't a fix for it. Now that spoke has gone, the stress is taken upon the other spokes, so even if you replace that spoke another spoke next to it will blow. It'll keep happening..

New spokes and new build. If you can't afford it, then don't bother trying to faff about with it yourself if you don't know what your doing. If your running a super light rim like a DOB i'd get it rebuilt sooner rather than later. If it's a rear Echo 07 or something you'll be fine. Heavier rims can support themselves a bit better, even though a wheel is mainly down to the spokes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i replace spokes here and there on my wheels all the time because sometimes they are too long so i cant true it, it depends how much of the spoke comes through the hole or how close it is just get a spoke of similar length and put it in if you can get the nipple to tighten on it and get tension back then it should be alright.

EDIT: if you cant get a nipple on the spoke just loosen some of the others off there would be no need to taotaly rebuild it

Edited by Chris Woodhouse
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Make sure the wheel builder stress relieves the wheel after building. If you've owned the wheel for a while (And it's still pretty straight, so that spoke was under a similar load to the others) it's likely there are a lot more spokes waiting to break on that wheel. A rebuild with new spokes and stress relieving will give you a durable wheel. Stress relieving is where you load the spokes after building the wheel to force them to bed in. When the extra load you put on is removed the peak stress in each spoke will actually be lower than before because you've caused some plastic deformation where the spoke contacts the hub, spreading sharp contact loads over a bigger area.

I apply the stress relieving load by squeezing parallel pairs of spokes together with my hands until they start to dig in painfully - Even wearing leather work gloves my hands are still sore by the time I've gone around a whole wheel. The fatigue life of a spoke reduces exponentially as peak tensile stress increases, so for example a 50% reduction in stress leads to a 10 fold increase in life before the spoke fails.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your need a fresh wheel build. There really isn't a fix for it. Now that spoke has gone, the stress is taken upon the other spokes, so even if you replace that spoke another spoke next to it will blow. It'll keep happening..

That's only the case if the spokes are fatigued. Fatigue isn't the only reason why spokes snap.

I'd replace the missing spoke, if others start to snap within a next week or two, get a new wheelbuild.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's only the case if the spokes are fatigued. Fatigue isn't the only reason why spokes snap.

I'd replace the missing spoke, if others start to snap within a next week or two, get a new wheelbuild.

i broke one of my spokes weekend before last and then another a day after :giggle:

then today 3 more snaped :o

but im still riding till either they all snap or i get the money to rebuild it :S

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just replace snapped spokes, its not hard (thread it through the hub following the pattern of the others) and tighten it up to true the wheel.

Never had any problems doing this, using old spokes that don't fit, whatever.

If they keep snapping though, you may need to loosen them all and start again, or pay for a rebuild.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I apply the stress relieving load by squeezing parallel pairs of spokes together with my hands until they start to dig in painfully

I also slap the wheel while it's spinning in a pair of forks. Standing on it also helps. :)

Thanks for help.

SO your saying you don't need to take a wheel apart and lace it again?

Wouldn't you bend the spoke like Revolver said?

Thanks again

Like i said before, replacing that spoke really isn't going to help. But if you need to true the wheel urgent then i guess your going to have to put one in. If your wheel lasts long enough, save up for new spokes, fresh build and new rim.

That's my input though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I can only remember snapping one spoke (in my front wheel) and I just replaced it and its been fine for at least 6 months. I'd say just stick a new one in, true the wheel up, release the stresses in it. I'll try and explain how I do this but will probably fail so I'll explain the method I used to use which is sticking the wheel on the bike, riding along and trying to lay the bike as flat as I can. Doing this, you can usually hear the spokes pinging which sholud settle them. Then check the wheel is still true - if so, go ride - if not, retrue and repeat the process.

D521 should be very durable and a snapped spoke shouldn't affect the rim too much.

Re-spoking/rebuild is probably in the region of £15 and new spokes are probably £12/15.

I'd go for sticking in one spoke first, if it/one near fails rapidly again, look at getting the wheel redone.

Cheers,

Jamie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I can only remember snapping one spoke (in my front wheel) and I just replaced it and its been fine for at least 6 months. I'd say just stick a new one in, true the wheel up, release the stresses in it. I'll try and explain how I do this but will probably fail so I'll explain the method I used to use which is sticking the wheel on the bike, riding along and trying to lay the bike as flat as I can. Doing this, you can usually hear the spokes pinging which should settle them.

What you describe will not put anything like enough stress on the spokes to stress relieve them. The pinging you hear is wind up in the spokes from friction between the spokes and nipples causing the spoke to twist as you tension the wheel rather than causing the nipple to thread further onto the spoke and the twist releasing as the wheel is rolled. When adjusting spokes it's best to turn the nipple about 1/8 to 1/4 turn further than you intend to adjust it to and backing off the extra to reduce/eliminate twist during building.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stress relieving takes all of 2 minutes after the wheel is built - often it doesn't even affect the trueness of the wheel either. Since I started building and stress relieving my wheels in 2002 I've have one spoke break and it broke at the threads in the spoke nipple rather than at the bend which is guaranteed the highest stress area on the spoke before you stress relieve. Modern components are well enough made that you can get a couple of years out of spokes even when they're not stress relieved though it will be a lot more if you do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...