MattInFla

Did a slow, easy ride this morning with the wifester. In the tunnel underpass on the way back, on flat, smooth pavement, gently spinning when I hear a loud "plink".

Yup - broke a spoke on the rear wheel. Poo.

Headed to the shop tomorrow to have it replaced. If this becomes a habit, I guess I'll have to look at having a sturdier rear wheel built.

Argh!

Bluish Green

It happens, and it's even more of a concern if you are a Clyde who rides potholed city streets like I am. The best thing I did was to find a good wheelbuilder at a great little bike shop here in town and have him rebuild my rear wheel with good spokes. Since then, I have only had to take it in once for being a little out of true, but having a properly tensioned wheel does wonders for durability. And I ride a lot of daily commute miles on some really rough paved streets. Good luck, I hope your wheel guy gets you rolling again soon.

tim24k

Have your LBS check the spoke tension also?

MattInFla

Yeah, I'm going to have them tension the wheel when they replace the spoke. Going to talk to them about upgrading all the spokes and see what they think.

genejockey 

Professionally built wheels can be amazingly durable, even for us Clydes. Proper tension is key, as is proper pre-stressing. I've had two sets of wheels built for me (others came with the bike or were bought as a set). One needed re-truing after 100 miles, and started popping spokes by about 2000 miles. The other, properly made by a professional wheelbuilder, have over 2000 miles on them, have NEVER been trued, and no broken spokes, either. If they do it RIGHT, it lasts a lot longer!