Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Bicycle Mechanics
Reload this Page >

Popped a Spoke

Notices
Bicycle Mechanics Broken bottom bracket? Tacoed wheel? If you're having problems with your bicycle, or just need help fixing a flat, drop in here for the latest on bicycle mechanics & bicycle maintenance.

Popped a Spoke

Old 03-08-20, 04:00 PM
  #1  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
Thread Starter
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,843

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
Popped a Spoke

Along my ride today I had not one, but two, black cats cross my path. I thought "I'm not worried, I'm not the superstitious type."
Not too long after that, I stood up to accelerate at an intersection and heard that tell tale twang. No big deal. I wrapped it around its neighbor and made it home fine.

I can do most things to a bike. Wheels are out of the question. I am going to take it to the shop to have the spoke replaced and the wheel trued. Is it SOP that all spokes are properly tensioned when a wheel is trued, or should I ask for that? The last time I popped a spoke may years ago, I took the wheel in. Not too long after I got it back, I broke another. Is breaking one indicative that others may be in danger of breaking?
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 04:22 PM
  #2  
CliffordK
Senior Member
 
CliffordK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eugene, Oregon, USA
Posts: 27,600
Mentioned: 217 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18319 Post(s)
Liked 4,487 Times in 3,337 Posts
Lots of reasons and places spokes break.

Dropped chain into the spokes.
Broken nipples
Fatigue
Bad Angles at nipple
etc.

If you break, I'd simply replace and true. Perhaps look for other underlying causes.

If you break 2 or 3, then it is time to relace.

Wheel work can be done at home.
CliffordK is online now  
Likes For CliffordK:
Old 03-08-20, 04:22 PM
  #3  
Unca_Sam
The dropped
 
Unca_Sam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 2,406

Bikes: Pake C'Mute Touring/Commuter Build, 1989 Kona Cinder Cone, 1995 Trek 5200, 1973 Raleigh Super Course FG, 1960/61 Montgomery Ward Hawthorne "thrift" 3 speed, by Hercules (sold) : 1966 Schwinn Deluxe Racer (sold)

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1739 Post(s)
Liked 1,014 Times in 696 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
Along my ride today I had not one, but two, black cats cross my path. I thought "I'm not worried, I'm not the superstitious type."
Not too long after that, I stood up to accelerate at an intersection and heard that tell tale twang. No big deal. I wrapped it around its neighbor and made it home fine.

I can do most things to a bike. Wheels are out of the question. I am going to take it to the shop to have the spoke replaced and the wheel trued. Is it SOP that all spokes are properly tensioned when a wheel is trued, or should I ask for that? The last time I popped a spoke may years ago, I took the wheel in. Not too long after I got it back, I broke another. Is breaking one indicative that others may be in danger of breaking?
I'm going to assume you broke the spoke at the nipple, since it's easy enough to unscrew a spoke broken at the head.
You'll have to ask for tensions to be checked, because its not typical with a broken spoke replacement. Most shops will have that done while you wait. They might balk at the request, and how would they prove it to you?
As far as breaking other spokes, the only answer is "maybe". Unless you damaged the rim to break the spokes, it's hard to tell. I think it's Jobst Brandt that suggested that 'lazy' spokes that lose tension at the bottom of the wheel are the ones to break first because of fatigue, and lazy spokes have lots of causes.
Unca_Sam is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 04:34 PM
  #4  
tFUnK
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 3,652

Bikes: Too many bikes, too little time to ride

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 424 Post(s)
Liked 442 Times in 303 Posts
Good advice already presented above, I'll add a few additional thoughts. It really depends on where the spoke broke (at the rim vs at the hub), how many spokes are on the wheel (24h vs 36h, etc), the condition of the hub and rim spoke hole, etc.
tFUnK is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 05:53 PM
  #5  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
Thread Starter
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,843

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
They are 32H rims. The spoke broke at the nipple. Doing a squeeze tension test, there is some obvious disparity in tension in various places. I'll ask that the be re-tensioned. The wheels are BWW builds. DT Swiss rims and their house label hubs. They were very true prior to the break. I haven't abused them at all. They have maybe 1200 miles on them.
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 06:01 PM
  #6  
Bill Kapaun
Really Old Senior Member
 
Bill Kapaun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Mid Willamette Valley, Orygun
Posts: 13,822

Bikes: 87 RockHopper,2008 Specialized Globe. Both upgraded to 9 speeds.

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1774 Post(s)
Liked 1,230 Times in 851 Posts
On a rear wheel, DS spokes will have higher tension than the NDS spokes.
That's how you put dish in a wheel.
However, the spokes on each side should match each other on a properly tensioned wheel.
One broken spoke can be a fluke. More than one, expect the popcorn effect.

You might give the spokes a good squeeze test. Take adjacent pairs and squeeze them together hard. IF that pops another spoke......
Bill Kapaun is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 06:18 PM
  #7  
HillRider
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 33,656

Bikes: '96 Litespeed Catalyst, '05 Litespeed Firenze, '06 Litespeed Tuscany, '20 Surly Midnight Special, All are 3x10. It is hilly around here!

Mentioned: 39 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2026 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,095 Times in 741 Posts
A broken spoke in 1200 miles is not a good sign. Either the spoke was defective (or damaged) or the tension was badly off leading to rapid fatigue failure.

As a basis for comparison, I have a front wheel (32H, 3X, Wheelsmith 2/1.8/2 spokes, Mavic CXP33 rim and Campy Chorus hub) built by Wheelsmith that has 52,000 miles (yes 52 Thousand) on it. It is in routine use, still runs perfectly true and has never been touched by a spoke wrench. I also have a pair of Shimano WH-R560 prebuilt wheels. Front is16H radial lacing, bladed straight pull spokes, Shimano 24 mm deep alloy rim and a 105 level hub. Rear is 20H radial DS, 1X NDS, same spokes and rim, 105 level freehub. These both have 34,000 miles with no truing needed and are still in routine use.

My point? Spoke breakage a 1200 miles is WAY too soon and means there was some underlying defect.
HillRider is offline  
Likes For HillRider:
Old 03-08-20, 08:43 PM
  #8  
Andrew R Stewart 
Senior Member
 
Andrew R Stewart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,003

Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4171 Post(s)
Liked 3,791 Times in 2,270 Posts
Originally Posted by HillRider
A broken spoke in 1200 miles is not a good sign. Either the spoke was defective (or damaged) or the tension was badly off leading to rapid fatigue failure.

As a basis for comparison, I have a front wheel (32H, 3X, Wheelsmith 2/1.8/2 spokes, Mavic CXP33 rim and Campy Chorus hub) built by Wheelsmith that has 52,000 miles (yes 52 Thousand) on it. It is in routine use, still runs perfectly true and has never been touched by a spoke wrench. I also have a pair of Shimano WH-R560 prebuilt wheels. Front is16H radial lacing, bladed straight pull spokes, Shimano 24 mm deep alloy rim and a 105 level hub. Rear is 20H radial DS, 1X NDS, same spokes and rim, 105 level freehub. These both have 34,000 miles with no truing needed and are still in routine use.

My point? Spoke breakage a 1200 miles is WAY too soon and means there was some underlying defect.
Like a rim that's no longer flat or round whern there's no spoke tension prodding it to look true. Or maybe the Op is one of "those" riders who don't ride smoothly, weighs a lot and or causes their bike to receive more stress then typical.

To tangent to a rant- There seems to be this idea that a wheel should last for tens of thousands of miles, anything less and the wheel was miss built or just faulty. As wheels have moved from a wear item to a component, sometimes costing more then the rest of the bike, it's easy to understand this view. Yet the way a bike is ridden and the surfaces it's on hasn't changed for decades. I take issue with this wishful hope. It only takes one slight hop, one thumb sized rock, one ripple (not even a pothole) of the roads surface when the rider's weight placement is not "correct" to cause the rim to become deformed. Many times we don't attribute a riding incident as the root of the problem. So I usually look past claims of mileage and instead focus on the rim's condition. When the wheel is laced up, tensioned and trued The rim will look fine. That's what spokes can get you (and generally the more the spoke count the less a rim condition will be noticed (until...) Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
Andrew R Stewart is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 09:31 PM
  #9  
HillRider
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Posts: 33,656

Bikes: '96 Litespeed Catalyst, '05 Litespeed Firenze, '06 Litespeed Tuscany, '20 Surly Midnight Special, All are 3x10. It is hilly around here!

Mentioned: 39 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2026 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,095 Times in 741 Posts
Originally Posted by Andrew R Stewart
Like a rim that's no longer flat or round when there's no spoke tension prodding it to look true. Or maybe the Op is one of "those" riders who don't ride smoothly, weighs a lot and or causes their bike to receive more stress then typical.

Yet the way a bike is ridden and the surfaces it's on hasn't changed for decades. I take issue with this wishful hope. It only takes one slight hop, one thumb sized rock, one ripple (not even a pothole) of the roads surface when the rider's weight placement is not "correct" to cause the rim to become deformed. Many times we don't attribute a riding incident as the root of the problem.
Andy, I understand what you are saying and agree to a point. However, the wheels I reported above have been ridden in the Pittsburgh area on the finest roads PennDot has to offer. The roads I ride daily often look like mine fields and there is no avoiding the potholes and cracks. You ride over and through them or you don't ride. If a small rock or ripple could have damaged those rims they would have been toast after five miles.

My rims are all "semi-deep" (24 mm) so their rigidity and abuse tolerance are pretty good and they have proved very durable. Neither my bike nor I are very heavy which helps. Also, while i run 700-23 tires (larger ones won't clear my frames or forks), I do keep the tire pressure up and reinflate before every ride and that probably helps.

I still thing a broken spoke at 1200 miles indicates and underlying construction problem or a very hard hit that had to damage the rim.
HillRider is offline  
Old 03-08-20, 10:34 PM
  #10  
Andrew R Stewart 
Senior Member
 
Andrew R Stewart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,003

Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4171 Post(s)
Liked 3,791 Times in 2,270 Posts
Dave- We share much the same understandings about wheels. Unlike you I haven't run wheels much past 20K but I've built wheels for others that have gone 3-4x that amount. I think your last line said what I was trying to bring out. "underlying construction problem or a very hard hit that had to damage the rim" This is why I suggest to check out the rim's untensioned condition before making final choices.

I would be interested to know if the OP's spoke breakage was about the rim's seam. The seam is one area that has always challenged both rim makers and wheel builders. Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
Andrew R Stewart is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 08:56 AM
  #11  
pdlamb
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,844

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2575 Post(s)
Liked 1,900 Times in 1,192 Posts
I'm going to stop contributing to spoke breakage threads. I piped up last week on such a thread, and found a broken spoke Saturday morning. FWIW, I started keep a maintenance log some 35,000 miles ago on this bike, and this was the first broken spoked I logged. (Replaced it and rode Sunday afternoon, all is well.)

OP's wheel sounds undertensioned to me. I say that as someone who has had to start replacing spokes on three wheels between 500 and 1,500 miles, and after the machine built wheels were properly tensioned and stress-relieved, the frequency of breaking spokes dropped dramatically. The under-stressed spokes have likely fatigued, and may be at risk of breaking in the near future (again, based on experience).

You're really at the mercy of the shop and mechanic if you don't do your own wheel work. By all means ask them to re-tension all the other spokes, balance the tension, and stress-relieve them all. If they do that as a matter of course, you'll get the "OK, we'll do that" head nod -- the same response as you'll get if they don't have a clue what you just asked them to do.
pdlamb is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 09:26 AM
  #12  
trailangel
Senior Member
 
trailangel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Pasadena, CA
Posts: 4,847

Bikes: Schwinn Varsity

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1931 Post(s)
Liked 741 Times in 421 Posts
Might help if you said which DTSwiss rim, what nipples and spokes.
trailangel is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 11:14 AM
  #13  
cpach
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Mt Shasta, CA, USA
Posts: 2,140

Bikes: Too many. Giant Trance X 29, Surly Midnight Special get the most time.

Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 530 Post(s)
Liked 311 Times in 235 Posts
For a single broken spoke, it really can just be bad luck, and there are manufacturing tolerances to the wire steel itself that the spokes are made from. If you keep breaking more it means that the wheel has been overloaded repeatedly and the spokes have all undergone excessive fatigue from being detensioned and retensioned during use.

If you brought your wheel to me at the shop I work at and just told me to replace the spoke, I'd replace the spoke and bring the wheel into good true while improving the overall wheel tension balance, and would check to see if any spokes were significantly above or below the average tension and correct them if possible (assuming a relatively straight rim). My tolerance for this kind of work is a lot looser than my (very tight) tolerance for a new wheel build unless otherwise requested. If the overall wheel tension was way off I'd hopefully catch that when initially service writing, otherwise I'd give you a call and advise bringing the tension closer to optimal and charge for an additional 10-15 minutes of labor.

I'm a little more detail oriented with wheel work than some mechanics, so if you have any specific requests for service do just state them explicitly. Find a shop that does higher end custom wheel builds on a regular basis if possible.
cpach is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 01:02 PM
  #14  
davidad
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,660
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 582 Post(s)
Liked 171 Times in 138 Posts
The few spokes I have seen broken at the nipples were because of too low tension.
davidad is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 04:28 PM
  #15  
madpogue 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Madison, WI USA
Posts: 6,872
Mentioned: 50 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2350 Post(s)
Liked 1,727 Times in 1,179 Posts
Originally Posted by pdlamb
I'm going to stop contributing to spoke breakage threads. I piped up last week on such a thread, and found a broken spoke Saturday morning.
Maybe I should stop reading this thread....
madpogue is offline  
Old 03-09-20, 08:42 PM
  #16  
Mad Honk 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Bloomington, IN
Posts: 2,936

Bikes: Paramount, Faggin, Ochsner, Ciocc, Basso

Mentioned: 114 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1283 Post(s)
Liked 1,835 Times in 1,109 Posts
m-pogue,
You are underestimating the the values of the marzelvanes in the spoke tension equation! When taken into account the spoke life is efficiently calculated. Smiles, MH
Mad Honk is offline  
Likes For Mad Honk:
Old 03-10-20, 01:03 PM
  #17  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,527

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5218 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
stood up to accelerate at an intersection and heard that tell tale twang. No big deal. I wrapped it around its neighbor and made it home fine.Is it SOP that all spokes are properly tensioned when a wheel is trued, or should I ask for that? The last time I popped a spoke may years ago, I took the wheel in. Not too long after I got it back, I broke another. Is breaking one indicative that others may be in danger of breaking?
seems to be my specialty. always the rear. & the wheel always go far enough out of true, that I can't ride it home. hoping the last tech, that did the replacement & truing, reviewed all the spokes
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 03-10-20, 01:24 PM
  #18  
UniChris
Senior Member
 
UniChris's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Northampton, MA
Posts: 1,909

Bikes: 36" Unicycle, winter knock-around hybrid bike

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 930 Post(s)
Liked 393 Times in 282 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
Not too long after that, I stood up to accelerate at an intersection and heard that tell tale twang. No big deal. I wrapped it around its neighbor and made it home fine
Few weeks back put my last spare spoke into the wheel then a week later had one more break literally within sight of the end of the trail on a 50 mile Sunday.

Monday the previously ordered package from Yojimbo's Garage arrived with more than enough custom extra long spokes to build a new wheel, tear down the existing one and rebuild it with all new spokes and nipples, and have plenty of spares on hand.

Worth learning to do work on your own wheels, it's really not that hard (granted mine are a little simpler with no dish)

First few times I had one break (always at the elbow) I'd take it out of the wheel and tape it to the frame, last time it suddenly hit me that they bend quite easily so simply rolled it into a loop and stuck in my little frame bag. My rim is stiff enough I didn't hesitate to ride some of the tamer road sections on the way from the trail back to the train station. But after breaking five spokes over two years and a lot of the factory nipples going round I felt better about completely starting the fatigue life over with quality parts, good tension, and enough spares in case I got it wrong.

Last edited by UniChris; 03-10-20 at 01:28 PM.
UniChris is offline  
Old 03-10-20, 02:47 PM
  #19  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
Thread Starter
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,843

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
Originally Posted by UniChris

Worth learning to do work on your own wheels, it's really not that hard (granted mine are a little simpler with no dish)
I have built a number of bikes, but I know that wheel building is not something I'd ever be patient enough to do well at. It took a while in this life, but I have come to terms with my shortcomings, and they are many!
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 03-10-20, 03:01 PM
  #20  
UniChris
Senior Member
 
UniChris's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Northampton, MA
Posts: 1,909

Bikes: 36" Unicycle, winter knock-around hybrid bike

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 930 Post(s)
Liked 393 Times in 282 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
I have built a number of bikes, but I know that wheel building is not something I'd ever be patient enough to do well at.
Of course you get to make your own decisions.

But what helped for me the first time was to stop when it got frustrating and come back to it another day. I think I laced it up one evening. Trued it some more the next, and the next, etc, over several days until I actually rode it.

As for your actual question, hopefully if you are paying for them to tune and tension the wheel they are considering every spoke and not just installing a replacement for one. Have a conversation about what you want, go around plucking them when you get it back.

Not too long after I got it back, I broke another. Is breaking one indicative that others may be in danger of breaking?

Yes. Both because on a lighter wheel having one broken means the tension balance is now off, and because the likely cause of the first one breaking - looseness causing it to come out of tension each rotation - has probably been shared by others too. Plus they're all getting up there in their fatigue life. That's why I ultimately decided to replace all of my spokes rather than just replace all the nipples while leaving a mix of new spokes with those heavily used during a history when I (and perhaps the previous owner) was not paying as much attention to them.

Granted, that was after five broke, not one. But spokes aren't supposed to break in a healthy wheel.

Last edited by UniChris; 03-10-20 at 03:07 PM.
UniChris is offline  
Old 03-10-20, 04:09 PM
  #21  
Drew Eckhardt 
Senior Member
 
Drew Eckhardt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mountain View, CA USA and Golden, CO USA
Posts: 6,341

Bikes: 97 Litespeed, 50-39-30x13-26 10 cogs, Campagnolo Ultrashift, retroreflective rims on SON28/PowerTap hubs

Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 550 Post(s)
Liked 325 Times in 226 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
seems to be my specialty. always the rear. & the wheel always go far enough out of true, that I can't ride it home. hoping the last tech, that did the replacement & truing, reviewed all the spokes
That's why you bring a spoke wrench.

Last week I helped out a cyclist who stopped because a spoke broke 7.5 miles from home resulting in his rear tire rubbing on his frame.
Drew Eckhardt is offline  
Old 03-10-20, 04:23 PM
  #22  
Unca_Sam
The dropped
 
Unca_Sam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 2,406

Bikes: Pake C'Mute Touring/Commuter Build, 1989 Kona Cinder Cone, 1995 Trek 5200, 1973 Raleigh Super Course FG, 1960/61 Montgomery Ward Hawthorne "thrift" 3 speed, by Hercules (sold) : 1966 Schwinn Deluxe Racer (sold)

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1739 Post(s)
Liked 1,014 Times in 696 Posts
Originally Posted by Drew Eckhardt
That's why you bring a spoke wrench.

Last week I helped out a cyclist who stopped because a spoke broke 7.5 miles from home resulting in his rear tire rubbing on his frame.
Park Tool's IB-3 multi tool includes those on the tire lever/ chain breaker handle. They suck for anything other than sn emergency though.
Unca_Sam is offline  
Old 03-11-20, 08:03 AM
  #23  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,527

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5218 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by Drew Eckhardt
That's why you bring a spoke wrench.Last week I helped out a cyclist who stopped because a spoke broke 7.5 miles from home resulting in his rear tire rubbing on his frame.
I do! ashamed to say, when I am roadside, I am timid about trying to correct the situation. need to get over that I guess, huh?
rumrunn6 is offline  
Old 03-11-20, 08:24 AM
  #24  
Unca_Sam
The dropped
 
Unca_Sam's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 2,406

Bikes: Pake C'Mute Touring/Commuter Build, 1989 Kona Cinder Cone, 1995 Trek 5200, 1973 Raleigh Super Course FG, 1960/61 Montgomery Ward Hawthorne "thrift" 3 speed, by Hercules (sold) : 1966 Schwinn Deluxe Racer (sold)

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1739 Post(s)
Liked 1,014 Times in 696 Posts
Originally Posted by rumrunn6
I do! ashamed to say, when I am roadside, I am timid about trying to correct the situation. need to get over that I guess, huh?
If the difference is between getting home and not getting home, crank away on the nearest opposing nipples to pull in the slack! Higher spoke counts help too. I can imagine that a 24 or 28 spoke rear wheel would take more adjustment than the 32 and 36 spoke wheels I ride on. The other tip is to open the brake's QR, but that doesn't help if the wheel is rubbing the frame!
Unca_Sam is offline  
Likes For Unca_Sam:
Old 03-11-20, 08:28 AM
  #25  
rumrunn6
Senior Member
 
rumrunn6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,527

Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0

Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5218 Post(s)
Liked 3,564 Times in 2,331 Posts
Originally Posted by Unca_Sam
If the difference is between getting home and not getting home, crank away on the nearest opposing nipples to pull in the slack!
thank you. I've tweaked my kids bikes' wheels, a little, when they weren't perfect. so I've done it, at home, a little, but the cpl times I've "felt" stranded I had bail out options ..
rumrunn6 is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.