DaveLeeNC

I was maybe 85 miles into a difficult local Century Ride when I realized that I had a (rear wheel) broken spoke. The wheel was a Bontrager RXL Race Lite (20 spokes in the rear). I am not heavy rider (155 pounds).

I just decided to ride it in but did ride cautiously - no out of the saddle stuff, hard accelerations, etc. This is not a difficult limitation 85 miles into a hard ride :-) What was I risking here by continuing the ride? LBS has the wheel right now, but best as I can tell there was no damage done.

Thanks.

dave

Spoonrobot 

Nobody can give you a concrete answer.

With modern wire and aluminum production techniques, you most likely did no damage to the spokes or the rim.

It's a very remote possibility that your one broken spoke was from a run of less than reliable wire and riding as you did will push the other spokes to start breaking later on. This would be extremely rare, but something to be aware of.

With modern wheels 1 broken spoke is just a broken spoke. You start breaking 1-2-3 in a short succession and it's time for a re-spoke of the wheel. 1 spoke every 5-6-7000 miles? Just how it goes at times and replace as they break.

If you break another spoke within the next 1000 miles/50 hours I'd consider it an issue.

When you get the wheel back, give the spokes a good squeeze, if none break just ride and don't worry about it. I've found weak spokes this way, wear gloves and safety glasses. It's not dangerous but similar to popping a balloon, just surprising. Here's a good post explaining:

https://www.wheelfanatyk.com/blog/wh...ss-your-wheel/

CliffordK

It depends....

Was it a "drive-side", or a "non-drive-side" spoke?

Was the wheel rubbing the frame?
Did you have a carbon fiber frame?

Was the wheel rubbing the brakes? I've on occasion removed brake pads if necessary. Open brakes up with the release?

Riding the 19 spoke wheel may add stress to the other spokes a bit, but they may already have been stressed if you're breaking spokes.

3alarmer 

...in my personal experience, the risks in riding a wheel with one broken spoke are minimal. Assuming you can open a brake caliper so the brake does not drag, or that you have disc brakes, it's done all the time. I've even ridden home on a wheel that was crashed and bent more than a little bit. The wire spoked wheel is a remarkably resilient construction.

DaveLeeNC

Thanks for the prompt input.

In case there are other responders, I will add some relevant information as answers WRT previous posts and just some other stuff.

1) I am the first owner of these wheels (purchased in 2014)

2) They are kind of my "race wheels" but I don't race much. 1000 miles would be a good guess.

3) I don't remember if they were drive side or not

4) These (rim brake) wheel rims are just very slightly narrower than what they replaced (I did not do a brake adjustment). There is pretty good clearance in this bike with its 25mm tires. There was no rubbing.

5) I was riding a Trek Emonda (relatively new so a carbon frame).

6) If there was 'an event' that caused this I was unaware of it. I just heard a clicking sound that was new to me. The broken spoke seemed to naturally find a safe home.

dave

3alarmer 

...they usually do, but there is a percentage chance that a broken spoke (depending on its location and where it breaks) might protrude and end up interfering at the fork or stays. For this reason, and this reason only, I usually remove the spoke (they usually break at the hub elbow) by simply unscrewing the remaining shaft. If you can't do this, and you have concerns, it's easy enough to tie the remains to another spoke using tape, a twist tie, a rubber band, or whatever you can come up with on the road.

pdlamb

Or just bend the broken spoke (pieces) around adjacent spokes so they're secure and the end is on the inside of the wheel.