Funktopus

Hi all. I was just replacing a chain ring, and while I was down in the general area I noticed a spoke in my front wheel has a bend in it. I knew my wheel needed truing, but I didn't realise a spoke was actually in need of replacement.

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It will take me a while to get a replacement spoke. Not sure right now what size I even need.

So my question is: can I ride this weekend, or should all use of the bike be postponed until this spoke is replaced? I was planning 50, maybe a hundred miles this weekend. Is that asking for further expenses? Hopefully I can get at least a sneaky 10 mile ride in!

Cheers

FastJake

First of all, make sure your brake pads are not contacting the tire in any way. They look dangerously close.

Is the spoke loose or tight? If it's tight, it's probably fine. Does the wheel spin straight? The spoke looks like it got smashed with something. Even when spokes go totally slack, they don't bend into shapes like that on their own.

HillRider

If that spoke is still tight and the wheel runs adequately true it should be safe to ride for quite a while. If the spoke is very loose and/or the wheel wobbles badly when spun, then no, wait until it's been repaired.

Funktopus

I thought the exact same thing about the brake pads in that photo, but they should be fine. Will have another look at the bike in person, might just be the angle the photo was taken at.

The spoke seems tight. No wobble, and the nipple doesn't spin. I got thrown off my bike from a pothole yesterday and snapped my seatpost, I'm thinking the spoke was dinged then.

Funktopus

Thanks! Wheel is definitely true enough, and the spoke seems tight.

FastJake

The spoke doesn't look happy but it should be safe to ride. Loose is much more of a concern than bent.

cpach

Those kinds of bends aren't usually a death knell for the spoke, assuming tension is fine. I might loosen the spoke, straighten it by hand, and bring it back to tension, but I like to build wheels.

79pmooney

Potholes don't bend spokes (well not until you have destroyed the rim). Now, that is an odd bend. I'm guessing it didn't happen while the bike was being ridden. It's bent back at the top of the wheel so if you were riding, the stick or whatever that bent it was 2' off the ground when it happened. I'm guessing this happened in the garage.

Do your brake shoes clear the tire when you squeeze hard? Are you going to remember to lower the pads as they wear? Centerpull, sidepull and dual pivot brake pad contact points move up as the calipers are being squeezed and pads wear. (V-brake and cantilevers move down. If those were cantilevers, I'd say your pad position was right on.)

Biggest worry I would have re: the spoke doing its job is the nipple threads stripping. If the threads hold up, the spoke should go on just looking funky a good long while. This is a front wheel. Even if it does break, it should not be a ride ended. (I'd stash a spoke wrench in the tool bag just to keep Murphy (of Murphy;s Law) happy,

Ben

Amt0571

If the wheel isn't badly bent, I'd ride it until I could replace the spoke. I'd try to replace it ASAP though,

Iride01 

One spoke on a wheel with that spoke count isn't going to be an issue unless you ride at max weight and/or do things that stress it to the max like jumping off ramps in the x-games. However, get it fixed as soon as possible. Until then, if going down a bumpy hill at 50 mph you need to increase your pucker factor.

How does that spoke hole look on the rim? Any bulges or cracks around it?

bldegle2

Since you don't have a replacement spoke yet and you want to ride I would do this, take tire off, rim tape, etc. Remove spoke and nipple, carefully straighten spoke best as possible, reinstall, true wheel. While at it, check for mushrooming at the rim. It could have happened when you dumped from an inadvertent foot, helmet, or surrounding debris. That bend was made by quick blunt force trauma, not by just leaning against something...

The main thing to worry about is the possible mushroom at the rim, even if no cracks are showing, it could lead to failure down the road. Hope it goes well.

Funktopus

Actually finding this bend made me think more about the cause of the crash. I agree it wasn't the pothole I was trying to steer around at the time - I found a hooked metal rod stuck in the spokes after I got up. At the time I assumed it had found its way in there when I hit the ground, but looking at the evidence I think this is what threw me off the bike.

I probably rolled past the rod, it got hooked on the spoke at ground level and travelled up to the forks, violently locking up the front wheel, throwing me over the handlebars and snapping the seatpost.

That's where my forensic investigations have got to so far. The pothole was a red herring.

Oneder

Individual spokes cost like a dollar so no reason not to have already replaced it since you made the post.

Funktopus

Putting tyres back on is my most hated job, but what you're saying makes a lot of sense. Will check it out tonight. What would mushrooming look like? A wider interior width?

Funktopus

I never said price was an issue!

HillRider

That must have been a very impressive crash no matter what later investigation found was the cause.

Funktopus

I'm lucky there was a grassy verge tbh. All I got was a scraped arm and tired thighs from having to cycle standing up for a prolonged period of time.

bldegle2

Take a look at the hole when the nipple and spoke are removed for straightening, check for visible mushrooming, ie; a raised lip on one side as the nipple looks a bit askew from your pic, and visually check the hole to make sure it is not elongated looking, make sure the nipple per say does not have stripped threads. If all checks out, it will function fine when you get it back together.

Just to make you feel better, I ate a rear derailleur late last summer, broke a spoke and ripped the derailleur hanger almost in two. I had spare spokes, replaced spoke, trued wheel, new hanger and new derailleur (old one worked but was wonky). Everything is fine 3000 miles down the road since rear wheel fix...

Amt0571

If this is what actually happened, look for damage on the fork where the metal rod hit.

I'd be way more concerned about fork damage than a broken spoke.

Funktopus

So I can't actually get the spoke off... The nipple is stripping when I use a spoke tool on it. I have a replacement spoke on the way. Am I right thinking the spoke will just slide out of the rim without needing to be unwound if I just cut it?

bldegle2

The nipple threads stripped with the hit. You need a new nipple too...

You can remove the spoke with wire cutters when you get ready to install the new spoke.

Funktopus

Yeah I thought I'd get a few spokes and nipples while I was making an order, so the new nipple doesn't slow anything down. Decided to cut the spoke now so if there is any mushrooming or cracking I can get ahead of the problem. It all looks OK! Thanks for your help with this, it's good to know the spoke and nipple are the last post crash repair I'll need.

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Funktopus

Sorry, never replied to this, but good point. Fork looks fine!

Mr. 66

The brake pad riding high on the rim could be you did damage the fork, does the wheel still sit centered when installed?

Funktopus

I won't be able to check the bike again until this evening, but I'm pretty certain it was centered. Think I checked to see how badly the bent the spoke had untrued it, I would have noticed then if anything was wildly astray.
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