Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
"2 adjacent gear side rear spokes". You didn't mention what kind of tandem or how many spokes. You almost surely have some kind of hub or rim issue going on. I wouldn't replace just the two broken spokes unless I had a tandem experienced wheel builder look at it.
Tandem rear wheels, by the way are often built quite a lot differently than are found on single bikes. 145 mm or even 160 mm rear dropout spacing is common. Replacing the rim and spokes is much more likely to be cost effective than replacing the entire wheel as is common for a single bike.
Thanks for pointing out that finding a replacement wheel may not be as simple as I thought!
Details: It's a 36 spoke wheel with a 26"x1.5" slick tire currently installed on it. It was part of a cheap tandem bike with twist grip shifters that has probably scene ~200 miles, 99% on paved roads. There is a slight wobble of the thru axle when I hold the wheel and spin the axle. Measuring the exterior width of the frame dropouts, it is 145 mm. It's hard to measure the length of the thru axle (until the tools to remove the freewheel arrive), but it looks around 170 mm.
Current approach: I will try replacing the spokes and bringing spare spokes on the vacation, which will have one ride of 25 mi (and the other days just cruising around town). However, in case I find I am unable to true the wheel adequately when the tools arrive, I'd like to be able to quickly order a replacement wheel.
Can anyone point me to a replacement wheel? Nashbar's Statru Alloy rear wheel only has a 135mm threaded axle. EBay's Wheel Master 5-6-7-speed freewheel 26 x 1.5 silver rear wheel seems like it could work --can anyone verify? (Sorry, my account doesn't seem to allow posting links )