mattscq

I'm not sure when this happened. I've never had a crash with this wheelset but I guess I rolled over a big-ish pothole a few days ago but other than a spook, I thought it was nothing. I noticed this just as I was taking the wheel off today. Ideally this would be fixed, but given the current situation with bike stores swamped and service times being questionable, I wonder if this is a priority. Will it get worse? Can I fix it myself? Will a mechanic likely just swap out the 2-3 bent spokes or could they be bent back?

Just wanted to get some ideas.

Thanks

Unca_Sam

Stainless Steel spokes, right? Do the spokes have the same tone as the rest when plucked? Wheel still true?

illdrag0n

Yep looks like the aerolites have bent. You'll have a weak spot there that may compromise strength of the spoke and will pop at some point or another.

I'd be checking the wheel is true (hold a plastic tyre lever 1mm from the rim, use the seat stay for stability, and spin). It should wobble side to side, but it may not (i had ER1600 that was missing 1 spoke and still span <1mm tolerance).

There's also a minor risk the rim is buckled, maybe tiny ovalisation of the rim shape itself.

You're best off having a wheel builder replace the spokes and check tolerances accross the wheel. Also avoiding pot holes helps haha

mattscq

Yeah, they should be stainless. I'll probably just call a shop tomorrow to see if they can take a look. I wonder how it happened. It's interesting that nothing else seemed to have broken and I didn't even noticed it until now.

Russ Roth

If the wheel is straight and true and the spokes don't have any physical cuts or similar damage then it isn't something to worry about. With those spokes it looks more like you caught a branch or something rather then hit a pothole. I'd actually be seriously worried about a rim if the impact with a pothole could bend the spokes as they'll simply move into the rim rather then bend with enough compression at the rim. I suspect these can't be due to that. But unless they're creased or the metal is somehow damaged the elbow is still typically the weakest point and a minor bend isn't much to worry about.

mattscq

Thanks for that reply. You make a good point Russ Roth . I'll just try to get them swapped out as soon as I can since I think it's a relatively inexpensive fix.

I have noticed that every since getting more into road cycling, and getting my first actual road bike, it's been a bunch of little costs here and there. I wonder if I'm just worrying more about things or if I'm just riding more, or both?

How often do you guys find that you have little issues come up now and again?

illdrag0n

A lot at first. After learning very quickly how to fix things myself and perform preventative maintenance, it's been a lot less.

big john

I had a guy stick his handle bar into my rear wheel while at a stoplight and it bent a couple spokes. It's a bike I don't use much but they're still on there years later. I'll just leave them until the wheel breaks, they all do eventually.

Russ Roth

I find my bikes to be largely trouble and maintenance free on the whole, doesn't mean there isn't the occasional need to use an adjuster barrel to tweak how far I have to pull the brake lever till the brakes work or a light turn of the der adjusters to keep it shifting smoothly but nothing serious for thousands of miles.
People do fret about road bike equipment thinking its all delicate but as long as you don't try to just plow on through bad situations the stuff won't break.

Unca_Sam

I agree with this. It's easy to bend spokes this way. I've only ever done it with straight gauge round spokes.

mattscq

So is the general consensus (at least amongst you two) that barring any damage to the rim or actually snapped spokes, I likely caught a branch or something being kicked up from the road (I vaguely recall hearing a loud snag once now), that these 2 bent spokes is mostly cosmetic and I should be fine to ride it until I can get them replaced (probably between now and a few weeks)?

SethAZ 

There are consumables in cycling. Chains wear out and need replacing when they've "stretched" enough (which is actually due to wear, not physical stretching), cassettes and chainrings wear out, tires wear out, tubes get patched until you say "eff it" and just use a new tube, at some point you may feel inspired to replace your bar tape, etc.

Many folks believe you just buy a bike and that's it, but those people either don't ride enough to notice things wearing out, or just ride until something finally breaks, and that's when they learn. In my case, I never knew growing up that bike chains wear out to a point where they should be replaced even though they haven't broken. I learned this after I actually snapped a heavily worn chain on my mountain bike (many thousands of road miles on it), and by then the cassette and large chainring were gone too. Did some reading, learned my lesson, etc.

Yeah, you buy a bike, it may or may not cost a lot, but if you ride it enough there will be expenses.

I think this spoke issue is a perfect opportunity for you to figure out what spokes you have and what length they are, buy a couple replacements, some replacement rim tape, etc. and figure out how to do it yourself. Depending on your personality, it can be very satisfying doing the mechanic work yourself. I enjoy it. Just this week I replaced my 50t chainring with a 46t and upgraded my Ultegra bushing jockey wheels with Dura Ace ball bearing jockey wheels. I've got parts on order for a new wheel build (just the front this time, not a full set), and I've got a new handlebar and am just waiting on a couple parts that will go on it before I swap that out. I enjoy it.

dabac

I’d bend them back to straight best as I could, touch up the spoke tension as required. Then ride. Possibly source replacements to have at hand when/if failure eventually occurs. It might be a long wait.

Sy Reene

Really tall wheels or his handlebars were really low?

big john

Thanks for the laugh! He was falling over, actually.

popeye

Dito.

eduskator

I'd simply replace this spoke. If you know how to do it, do it. Just make sure you that the end result is your wheel straight & strong. You don't want to mess with structural integrity.