arimajol

I bought a wheelset from a forum member back in August. They looked and felt fine and I wasn't unsatisfied. However, a spoke broke on the front wheel in October. Then one on the back in November, now another one today. I don't want to call the person out, but anything like this ever happen to anyone? Is this just the buyer beware part of buying used wheels? I'm not so worried about replacing spokes, I'm more concerned over whether the rim is at the end of its life.

Also, any idea why a spoke would pop when turning a corner? I didn't lean into it really hard or hit anything. It just popped.
Thanks

clubman 

Yes. No one should have to guarantee a vintage wheelset. If you wanted daily riders, it's on you to rebuild it with new spokes.

chi-james

spokes can break even in brand new wheels. maybe tension imbalance, maybe bad spokes, maybe bad luck. did you get a great deal on the wheels? what are they? caveat emptor?

TampaRaleigh

+1 I built up a set of rims years ago, nice bladed spokes and Araya ADX rims... rode them for several hundred miles with no problems. Sold them to a guy who outweighed me by at least 75 lbs, but he insisted on having them. The spokes didn't last long.

frantik

unless you think the seller maliciously sold you a wheelset they knew was bad, I'd say it's just one of the risks of buying old used stuff

stevenc

Spokes brake without a pattern, usually. So unless the seller built the wheels him/herself, you cannot blame him/her. After one spoke brakes on a wheel, it need to be replaced. You cannot definitely blame anyone when a second spoke brakes.

roadrunner2012

Sounds like uneven tension.

jimmuller 

Yeah, what they said. I don't think you can blame the seller if you couldn't find anything wrong with them when you first started riding them. So de-tension them and start over. That's probably the best way to minimize the chance of another broken spoke.

TiHabanero

The OP did not say they were vintage wheels. I would like to know brand/model of rim, hub, spoke and rider weight. This will give us more info to go on.
I have seen new wheels blow spokes due to rider weight/strength. Also seen it from inferior materials and bad builds. Help us narrow it down by providing the above mentioned.

Puget Pounder

+1 for most things said here

- It's on you if you buy used wheels
- The tension is probably all wonky, especially if it was true and round before all the spokes popping. That means it takes considerable tension in some spots to bring the wheel in true/round while not so much in other spots. Makes me think the rim is warped.

gomango

Agreed.

I buy wheels and sell wheels.

Sometimes I buy good ones and sometimes I don't get quite so lucky.

I always try to sell only high quality items, but wheels are something one shouldn't guarantee.

All part of buying used parts.

treebound 

Where are the spokes breaking? At the nipple or at the head bend? Or elsewhere? If they are not pulling out of the rim or hub then it is probably not the rim or hub unless the rim was taco'd at some point.

What size are they? I might be able to pick them up on the way home during the week and look them over if you need a second set of eyes looking at them.

At this point though I'd say the seller is clear.

cyclotoine

yeah this really depends on what the history was of the wheels and what the seller knew about them. Lots of us buy and sell and flip parts without ever using them. Old wheels are a huge unknown. If the seller tensioned and trued them and rode them without a problem, then we must assume different rider/style/weight is the culprit. If the seller simply sold them from a bike they stripped with no notion of condition of rim and spoke tension then the gamble was all yours. If you are going to ride a vintage wheel much you should really relace. All my vintage wheels have been relaced and with one I used used spokes and ended up breaking a few. I know I need to relace the wheels with new spokes but I don't ride the bike much so I haven't bothered.

roadrunner2012

Last time I went to look at a set of used wheels, I took my Park truing stand. They were nice Campy Record hubs. The wheels had a bad hop and were out of true. I passed, but offered him the price of the nubs minus my labor for disassembly.

arimajol

I'm not trying to blame the seller, just frustrated that I got these wheels because my old rims were shot and breaking spokes and now these are, too. Also disappointed in myself because I paid a little more than I wanted and wasn't strong enough to walk away.

The spokes have all broken at the rim, inside the nipple. They rims are 700c MA40's. The tension seemed goofy a few weeks ago, not long after having a spoke replaced. I laterally trued it up and some of the non-drive side were still really loose, so I tightened every spoke up 1/4 turn.

While I can laterally true pretty well, I don't have a tension meter. Is the best thing to untension the wheel to see if the rim is deformed?

Puget Pounder

I generally don't use a tension meter. If you can true and round, you would know if your rim is warped if there is a huge difference between spoke tensions on the same side of the hub (test by feeling). That, or you have weird spoke lengths... If you popped a spoke, I would do some detensioning so you don't further warp the rim.

mainstreetexile 

+1, there are a lot of variables here, rider weight and riding style being two very important ones.

Have you ever broken any spokes before this wheelset?

repechage

Not the seller's fault you agreed to a price you later regret.

The goofy tension, then re-tension is the flag for me, add to that only turning the wheel laterally. There is no specified mechanic on these wheels who did the repair. Truing wheels is becoming a lost art in observing many shop mechanics, the new rims are very strong, (and heavy) and most come built up to the shop. No need to learn the zen of wheel building and repair.

A wheel with under tensioned spokes that have work hardened with load, unload over time is a stage for breaking spokes.

Some guys just ride "heavy" which does not have anything to do with their mass. Not saying this is you, but I could tell on the club rides who was going to be a frequent shop wheel work customer.

Unlace the wheel, new spokes and when the rim is loose inspect for deformation, lateral and concentric (you will only see the worst of lows or highs). If you need to do both, I would consider swapping the front / rear if they pass the test. I will reuse rims for myself, but I have also torn wheels apart when 1/3 of the way into it the used rim is too far out of whack for that stage of the build. I could have finished it but it was not going to be a good wheel.

Lastly, if you are not a confident wheel builder, start with fresh rims. Your hair and blood pressure is worth more.

arimajol

Only once on a wheelset that was original to my 1987 miyata last summer. I broke one spoke and the LBS said the rim was pretty beat up. Other than that I had never had any spoke problems. I think the seller got these wheels in a trove of vintage parts he unearthed somewhere and they hadn't been used in a while.

TiHabanero

MA 40 is an old rim, so I suppose the hubs are same vintage along with the spokes. Breakage inside the nipple is a sure sign of spoke fatigue, especially if it is doing it on the front wheel!
Assuming the hubs are good quality and the spoke holes are still round and tight, I would re-lace wheels with DT Champion 2.0. Reminder: check the roundness and true of the rims after dis-assembly If they are not round or true you will have to settle for uneven spoke tensions and a lot of extra work.

canyoneagle

+1

I'd do a rebuild with either champion or competition 2.0/1.8 and new nipples. Might need to pay attention to the lacing on the original hubs and follow the same pattern, and/or use spoke washers.