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

One Loose 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.

One Loose Spoke

Old 04-10-21, 05:36 PM
  #1  
sasa_ke
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Toronto
Posts: 7

Bikes: Fuji Track 2020

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Liked 10 Times in 3 Posts
One Loose Spoke

Hey everyone,

I wanted to ask some advice about this one loose/loud spoke on my bike. I'm just starting to learn about bikes so apologies for any wrong terminology.

I bought a Fuji Track at a local store. I love the bike and have already upgraded a couple of things on it but there's an issue... one spoke on the rear wheel is loose and makes a loud sound where it rubs. I took it back in for the free included tuneup and mentioned this issue and specifically showed the guy how loose the one spoke is. He said he'd make sure to true the wheel carefully and I said that the wheel was true, the issue was just this one loose spoke making noise and probably getting slowly damaged. So he said that he'd make sure to look into it.

Anyway I went and picked it up today and after about ten minutes of riding the sound and looseness came back! I'm pretty disappointed... and not sure what to do next. The bike store guys are very nice but don't really seem like they know what I'm talking about when I go in there. I don't want to just tighten the spoke myself because so many people have told me that if you don't know what you're doing, you can crack your rim doing this.

I'm wondering if this wheel just has an undiagnosed issue or if, being a 28H track wheel, it's just not quite up to the abuse I'm putting it through on my commute as a 180lb guy going over pretty bad city streets.

So, the question is, what do I do? Go back to the original LBS? Go to a different one? Try something at home? Get a new wheel? I'm lost.

Thank you!
sasa_ke is offline  
Old 04-10-21, 06:20 PM
  #2  
Moe Zhoost
Half way there
 
Moe Zhoost's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,955

Bikes: Many, and the list changes frequently

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 985 Post(s)
Liked 879 Times in 526 Posts
I assume that by loose you mean that the spoke has little tension in relation to the other spokes, right? How loose is it, e.g, can you wobble it a few cms side to side, or does it just sound an octave below the others when you pluck it? What is it rubbing on? Perhaps another spoke?

I'll also assume that the bike shop guy did check it and tightened it up. This would explain the noise free short ride after picking it up.

So here's my wild guess: I think the nipple on this spoke is stripped to the point that it slips after tightening. Do you happen to have 13 gauge spokes? If so it is likely that they used a 14 gauge nipple in the build. This will thread on fine but won't hold tension for long.

I recommend that you try to tighten it yourself - just get it close to the others by feel. Make sure that you mark this spoke for identification so that you can monitor it. If it loosens quickly, take it back to the shop and have them replace the nipple.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Moe Zhoost is offline  
Likes For Moe Zhoost:
Old 04-10-21, 06:20 PM
  #3  
Crankycrank
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3,651
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 835 Post(s)
Liked 1,056 Times in 741 Posts
The store should take care of it if the bike is still under warrantee, which it sounds like it is. At some point learning to do this yourself will save you lots of time, headaches and $$$$'s. For this though let the store figure out if something is wrong or it's just the spoke/spokes need going through. If they see you have been working on it yourself and something is defective with the wheel they can claim it's your fault. Lot's of info on YouTube and the net on how to true, build and find problems with spoked wheels. Working on your wheels isn't all that difficult but you just need to understand the basics and have plenty of patience in the beginning.
Crankycrank is offline  
Likes For Crankycrank:
Old 04-10-21, 07:04 PM
  #4  
sasa_ke
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Toronto
Posts: 7

Bikes: Fuji Track 2020

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Liked 10 Times in 3 Posts
Thanks for the responses

Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
I assume that by loose you mean that the spoke has little tension in relation to the other spokes, right? How loose is it, e.g, can you wobble it a few cms side to side, or does it just sound an octave below the others when you pluck it? What is it rubbing on? Perhaps another spoke?

I'll also assume that the bike shop guy did check it and tightened it up. This would explain the noise free short ride after picking it up.

So here's my wild guess: I think the nipple on this spoke is stripped to the point that it slips after tightening. Do you happen to have 13 gauge spokes? If so it is likely that they used a 14 gauge nipple in the build. This will thread on fine but won't hold tension for long.

I recommend that you try to tighten it yourself - just get it close to the others by feel. Make sure that you mark this spoke for identification so that you can monitor it. If it loosens quickly, take it back to the shop and have them replace the nipple.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Yes, it has less tension than the other spokes. I can move it a few centimetres with my finger. I think it's rubbing on the spoke it crosses; I can see where the black paint has been abraded away at the crossover. I think you're right that the guy at the shop did tighten it and then it loosened back up. I just tried to spin the nipple and it was finger-loose.

I don't have calipers to measure spokes with, but from what I read online these wheels are not the best, so maybe there was some kind of manufacturing error. I'm going to just give it a couple of quarter turns with the spoke wrench and then see if it goes back to finger-loose tomorrow when I ride it.

Originally Posted by Crankycrank
The store should take care of it if the bike is still under warrantee, which it sounds like it is. At some point learning to do this yourself will save you lots of time, headaches and $$$$'s. For this though let the store figure out if something is wrong or it's just the spoke/spokes need going through. If they see you have been working on it yourself and something is defective with the wheel they can claim it's your fault. Lot's of info on YouTube and the net on how to true, build and find problems with spoked wheels. Working on your wheels isn't all that difficult but you just need to understand the basics and have plenty of patience in the beginning.
Yep, I'm just going to take it back to the store if it persists another day.

I'm in the process of watching lots of bike youtube and reading the whole Sheldon Brown website, I love how many things on a bicycle you can fix or tune yourself with simple tools and enough knowledge!
sasa_ke is offline  
Old 04-10-21, 08:11 PM
  #5  
cxwrench
Senior Member
 
cxwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767

Bikes: lots

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times in 1,489 Posts
Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
I assume that by loose you mean that the spoke has little tension in relation to the other spokes, right? How loose is it, e.g, can you wobble it a few cms side to side, or does it just sound an octave below the others when you pluck it? What is it rubbing on? Perhaps another spoke?

I'll also assume that the bike shop guy did check it and tightened it up. This would explain the noise free short ride after picking it up.

So here's my wild guess: I think the nipple on this spoke is stripped to the point that it slips after tightening. Do you happen to have 13 gauge spokes? If so it is likely that they used a 14 gauge nipple in the build. This will thread on fine but won't hold tension for long.

I recommend that you try to tighten it yourself - just get it close to the others by feel. Make sure that you mark this spoke for identification so that you can monitor it. If it loosens quickly, take it back to the shop and have them replace the nipple.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.
You don't actually think the shop built those wheels do you? At that level they come right out of the box, the rear is almost certainly already installed.
cxwrench is offline  
Old 04-11-21, 10:57 AM
  #6  
Moe Zhoost
Half way there
 
Moe Zhoost's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,955

Bikes: Many, and the list changes frequently

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 985 Post(s)
Liked 879 Times in 526 Posts
Originally Posted by cxwrench
You don't actually think the shop built those wheels do you? At that level they come right out of the box, the rear is almost certainly already installed.
I never said nor implied that the shop built the wheels nor do I feel that the shop made the error, which likely occurred during during the wheel build.
Moe Zhoost is offline  
Old 04-11-21, 11:16 AM
  #7  
berner
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, R. I.
Posts: 4,340

Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot

Mentioned: 20 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 663 Post(s)
Liked 496 Times in 299 Posts
I've had good experiences with maintenance by the dealers shop and some poor experiences. These days I keep a supply of extra spokes and nipples, do my own truing and rely on shop monkeys to mess with my bike to the least extent possible.
berner is offline  
Old 04-11-21, 07:03 PM
  #8  
cxwrench
Senior Member
 
cxwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767

Bikes: lots

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times in 1,489 Posts
Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost
I never said nor implied that the shop built the wheels nor do I feel that the shop made the error, which likely occurred during during the wheel build.
My point is there would be basically zero chance of a single nipple of the wrong gauge ending up on the wheel in a production line environment.
cxwrench is offline  
Old 04-12-21, 12:37 AM
  #9  
Geepig
Senior Member
 
Geepig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Eastern Poland
Posts: 743

Bikes: Romet Jubilat x 4, Wigry x 1, Turing x 1

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 194 Post(s)
Liked 204 Times in 151 Posts
Originally Posted by cxwrench
My point is there would be basically zero chance of a single nipple of the wrong gauge ending up on the wheel in a production line environment.
OMG, that is SO funny, I nearly fell off my chair laughing!

As a mechanic I remember many odd things on new cars from the factory, as an engineer I saw many a strange thing happen on a production line, and today editing translated production issue reports in our international manufacturing world it sometimes seems remarkable that so much we build is actually so right.
Geepig is offline  
Likes For Geepig:
Old 04-12-21, 10:58 AM
  #10  
cxwrench
Senior Member
 
cxwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767

Bikes: lots

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times in 1,489 Posts
Originally Posted by Geepig
OMG, that is SO funny, I nearly fell off my chair laughing!

As a mechanic I remember many odd things on new cars from the factory, as an engineer I saw many a strange thing happen on a production line, and today editing translated production issue reports in our international manufacturing world it sometimes seems remarkable that so much we build is actually so right.
I was thinking that in a production line scenario there would be thousands of the correct size nipples on hand and it would be pretty hard for a small number of incorrect ones to make their way into the mix, guess I'm wrong.
cxwrench is offline  
Likes For cxwrench:
Old 04-12-21, 11:58 PM
  #11  
Geepig
Senior Member
 
Geepig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Eastern Poland
Posts: 743

Bikes: Romet Jubilat x 4, Wigry x 1, Turing x 1

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 194 Post(s)
Liked 204 Times in 151 Posts
Originally Posted by cxwrench
I was thinking that in a production line scenario there would be thousands of the correct size nipples on hand and it would be pretty hard for a small number of incorrect ones to make their way into the mix, guess I'm wrong.
There are many, many things that go wrong - someone adjusts the spec and/or the design of the nipple and fails to inform those downstream, the nipple making machine starts to fail or an error is made during machine servicing and out of spec nipples are sent out before quality control picks up the error, the wheel assembly machine is not cleaned sufficiently well when switched to a different wheel type - so there is one old nipple left in the barrel, etc. etc. etc. Every time you get the production or quality system smoothed out, someone realizes that now you can manufacture something even more complicated.

If you can imagine something going wrong in a production environment, then somewhere it already is.
Geepig is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


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.