FRC928

Broke my first spoke! Not sure when it happened, but the last time I rode, Monday, I heard a clunking noise when pedaling. This was right at the end of my ride, and thought I'd research what it might be, and check before I rode again. Go out this afternoon, and the first thing I did was lightly squeezing the spokes. Get to the third pair, and bingo! Broken spoke! Of course it's on the rear wheel to.

I ended up mowing the lawn instead of riding, then took the bike into the LBS. When I purchased the Jamis Renegade I left my old road bike with them on consignment. I found out it hadn't sold yet, so I decided to take it back and have it as a backup. At least now I can ride tomorrow while the other one is being fixed.

jimmyj726

Broke my first spoke ever yesterday also. Was 20 miles into a 26 mile ride. Heard it when it popped. Checked that it would not damage my rear derailleur and rode it home. Took it to the LBS this morning to repair. Decided to go for a full tune up while it is there.

Aahzz

Seems to have been the day for broken spokes - I took yesterday off, went to ride this morning and discovered I'd broken 2 of them.

FRC928

I was kinda surprised I didn't break one earlier. My normal loop takes me over some railroad tracks at least twice during the ride, and I've logged at least 400 miles on this bike so far.

Aahzz

I love my LBS so much - my bike is already fixed and ready to go

jimmyj726

I hope to have mine back today.

ill.clyde

Did they rebuild the wheel, or just replace the spokes that were broken?

Bear in mind, if you break one, and then no more, you're good.

If you break two, and then in your case, three, all of the other spokes on your wheel have been compromised and will be prone to breakage unless you rebuild and replace all the spokes.

Milton Keynes

I was down that road a month or two ago. I had broken one spoke right at the bend where it fits into the hub. I would have just replaced it but had no way to get the freewheel off. Rode it like that for week when I had spokes on order, ended up hearing a "ping!" while in the middle of a long ride. Checked the spokes, didn't find anything amiss, though. Rode a ways longer and noticed that the rear wheel seemed to have a definite wobble to it. I reached a good stopping place, checked the spokes again and found a second one had broken. Made it home OK through that ride but grounded my bike until I took my wheel to the LBS. He removed the freewheel a lot easier than a friend of mine and I tried to do (turns out we didn't need a chain whip after all) and replaced the spokes and adjusted the hub. Once I got the wheel home I trued it up, been in business ever since. Now I have a freewheel tool ready as well as spare spokes in case it happens again. But more importantly, I have the knowledge of how the darn freewheel comes off.

I guess that's what I get for being a 230# Clyde riding a bike with 32 spoke wheels.

Aahzz

For now they replaced the spokes, but told me they'd order me a new wheel if it happens again.

FRC928

Mine isn't ready yet, so I took my old road bike out. I had forgotten how twitchy that thing is compared to my gravel bike. It took about 5 miles to get used to the way it handled, but at least I was able to get a ride in.

Milton Keynes

The good thing is that the Roadmaster BSO I was given and turned into a gravel bike has 36 spokes per wheel, so I won't feel too bad abusing it on gravel roads. With 26X2" tires it should hold up somewhat well, even for a BSO. I'll feel more confident riding gravel with it than I would my 32-spoke skinny tire hybrid.

jimmyj726

Got my bike back from LBS. Rode it 30 miles this morning. Rode like I stole it.

Aahzz

I did, as predicted, break another spoke today. LBS ordered me a new wheel under warranty. If that doesn't hold me I'll buy a 36 spoke wheel.

JDinTulsa

Had the same thing happen with my Priority Continuum. Broke 2 spokes on the rear wheel after about 250 miles and had the LBS replace them. Broke another one a couple of weeks later. LBS recommended rebuilding the wheel if another one broke. Sure enough, a week later another one went "PING". The LBS rebuilt the wheel and said when they cut the old spokes, it was "like cutting thru butter!" I could tell the difference in how it rode before I went 1 block! Haven't had a problem since! (sound of knocking on wood-type particles formed into slab and overlaid with printed wood veneer ... aka, my desk)

cyccommute 

Everyone seems to be under the mistaken impression that spoke breakage has something to do with impacts. That is seldom the case. I've seen wheels where the rim has a deep V aiming at the hub bent into it and spokes that would make most wire jewelry makers jealous but the spokes weren't broken.

Spoke breakage is usually due to tension issues and flexing of the head of the spoke. A wheel with 400 miles on it that has popped spokes says that the tension was too low which allows the spoke to flex on each revolution. Too much flexing and the spoke breaks like a paper clip that has been bent back and forth too much.

donalson

the reason spokes break is work hardening of the material... just like if you want to break a wire hanger you bend it back and forth, if the spoke isn't tight enough it is allowed to bend ever so much with every rotation... eventually PING.

I broke my first spoke (well first NOT from an accident/crash) about 10 miles into a 100k (62ish mile) ride... I'd spent alot of time prepping for it and wasn't going to not finish... I twisted it in and went on riding... I broke the next at around 50-55 miles as I recall... "i'll just finish this thing out"... another 2 miles and a 3rd went... thankfully this was on a bike with disc brakes on a MTB frame running 42c tires so lots of clearance... I had to keep the bike over 14 mph to smooth out the wobble and keep a lot of weight on the front wheel to finish which included a small climb in the form of a bridge... akk...

i've since then bought a fiber spoke... it's simple to use and can buy some more time for a wheelset... I know those other 2 spokes would have made the full ride had they not been taking up for another and then 2 other missing spokes... it's small and fits into my "tool kit" fairly easily and weighs next to nothing...

cyccommute 

Don't just order a 36 spoke wheel. Order (or build) the proper 36 spoke wheel. Ignore the rim. Ignore the hub. Concentrate on the problem which is spokes that are too weak for the job at hand. That includes the spokes that most people are going to suggest, i.e. double butted or straight gauge spokes. You should be using with 2.3mm heads. This article from Wheel Fanatyk does a very good job of explaining why.

This article from them links to a wheel building methods that I've been using since 1986 to build hundreds of wheels. It's fairly simple to build your own and, honestly, the only reason you should build your own is to build something you can't get someone else to build.

I've been building with triple butted spokes since about 2000. The first wheel I built with them lasted through more than 10 years of mountain biking and only meet their demise because someone I loaned the bike to managed to over shift into the spokes. I have other wheels that have 15,000 Clyde miles on them and are still going strong.

MePoocho

cyccomute,

Once again you have provided avenues for my transition from motorcycle dirt riding to this 'fragile' world of road bicycling.

The two links for wheel lacing and spokes for bicycles are enlightening for me during this transition. I'm finding that there are some parallels with the two cycles, but the bicycle requires more refined finesse.

Thanks.....

Milton Keynes

I broke another spoke recently. I notice my rear wheel had quite a lot of wobble in it, and when I went to true it I found a broken spoke. Didn't even know it happened, never heard it break.

At least with the freewheel tool I bought I was able to pull off the freewheel and replace the spoke and true the wheel without too much hassle. I might need to have someone professionally adjust the spokes to make sure they're not loose or something. Otherwise can't figure out why I keep popping them. Of course being 230 lbs on 32 spoke wheels doesn't help, I'm sure.

rumrunn6

ChuckD6421 

Of course you don't want to hear this, but I'm 230 nekkid and have several thousand miles on tubular wheels, 18 spoke front and 24 spoke rear.
Point being (aside from how awesome I am), it's more about how you ride. Learn to be light on the saddle which means when the road gets bumpy instinctively get your carcass off the saddle and shift your weight to your peddles (light grip on the bars) which are connected to one of the strongest points of the frame, the bottom bracket, which also happens to give you a lower center of gravity making you and the bike more stable and better distributes your weight between the wheels.
There's no reason you can't do bunny-hops up curbs or over speed bumps on those wheels with practice learning how to move your body with the bike.

ill.clyde

So much THIS!

I'm 290 nekkid (enjoy that visual) and have been at least 23 pounds heavier, if not more, and I ride Fulcrum Racing 7s and they're 24 spokes on the rear. After more than 5K miles I popped a couple of spokes, but so far (knock on wood) that's been it.

As for the saddle ... don't think of it as a seat, think of it as a perch. You have to "learn to ride light" in general, but as a Clyde even more so.

The good news is as we get stronger, and lose weight, we're less likely to support all our weight on our butts.

Milton Keynes

I do that already.

ChuckD6421 

I don't think you're doing it right.

cyclist2000

I agree with the others, it may not be your weight or the number of spokes, I range from 225 - 240 lbs over the years and have bike that have 20 spokes to ones that have 36 spokes. I rarely break spokes . It may be the quality of the wheel build.


I did have a rear spoke break this year but that is on used bike that I got this year, how the former owner rode will always be a question mark.