Another broken spoke thread. :)
11-23-21, 02:11 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Another broken spoke thread. :)
I've put together a lot of wheels over the years and NEVER have I had a spoke break on a wheel I built. Until now. 
Customer came in with some broken spokes and I suggested a respoke of the wheel, and that was done. He came back in last week needing some more service and to replace some more broken spokes. Hmm. All 3 were "outside" of the hub. installed under the crossing spoke and on the brake side.
Drop bar road bike with disk brakes.
I thought spokes only broke on the drive side.
Commence theorizing. I'll comment back as time allows.
-SP
Customer came in with some broken spokes and I suggested a respoke of the wheel, and that was done. He came back in last week needing some more service and to replace some more broken spokes. Hmm. All 3 were "outside" of the hub. installed under the crossing spoke and on the brake side.
Drop bar road bike with disk brakes.
I thought spokes only broke on the drive side.
Commence theorizing. I'll comment back as time allows.
-SP
11-23-21, 02:18 PM
#3
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i had a few broken spokes recently on my cargo bike with disc brakes . one at a time over some weeks both drive side and non drive side on the rear wheel . my symptom was also spokes breaking mid spoke . i also had never experienced a broken spoke in many years of cycling . i did some research and found it could be de-tensioned spokes / spokes losing tension over the 7 years i had been riding this bike. i re-tensioned all the spokes and so far it's fixed the problem
11-23-21, 02:25 PM
#4
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I've put together a lot of wheels over the years and NEVER have I had a spoke break on a wheel I built. Until now.
Customer came in with some broken spokes and I suggested a respoke of the wheel, and that was done. He came back in last week needing some more service and to replace some more broken spokes. Hmm. All 3 were "outside" of the hub. installed under the crossing spoke and on the brake side.
Drop bar road bike with disk brakes.
I thought spokes only broke on the drive side.
Commence theorizing. I'll comment back as time allows.
-SP
Customer came in with some broken spokes and I suggested a respoke of the wheel, and that was done. He came back in last week needing some more service and to replace some more broken spokes. Hmm. All 3 were "outside" of the hub. installed under the crossing spoke and on the brake side.
Drop bar road bike with disk brakes.
I thought spokes only broke on the drive side.
Commence theorizing. I'll comment back as time allows.
-SP
Would any of: double-butted spokes, tensioned up to the max of the rim, and stress-relief by squeezing pairs of spokes be incorrect assumptions?
11-23-21, 02:50 PM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Ooops! I forgot where the broke- It was on the hub end. I'll do an edit.
Scott- Not double butted. Tensioned like I always do, and I do give those crossings a squeeze.
I have had similar experience like Brooklyn where a loosely spoked wheel broke some spokes. I retensioned after replacement of 2. So far customer is happy.
In the past I have pondered people destroying freshly spoked wheels and wondered if they were too tight or too loose, but since it didnt happen to me until now I had no real data.
-SP
Scott- Not double butted. Tensioned like I always do, and I do give those crossings a squeeze.
I have had similar experience like Brooklyn where a loosely spoked wheel broke some spokes. I retensioned after replacement of 2. So far customer is happy.
In the past I have pondered people destroying freshly spoked wheels and wondered if they were too tight or too loose, but since it didnt happen to me until now I had no real data.
-SP
11-24-21, 09:49 AM
#6
Senior Member
What brand of spokes and hub?
Maybe the hub has sharp edges on it?
I have heard of "bad batches" of spokes over the years. Also some with longer than normal elbows.
I trust DT more than any other brand.
Maybe the hub has sharp edges on it?
I have heard of "bad batches" of spokes over the years. Also some with longer than normal elbows.
I trust DT more than any other brand.
11-24-21, 06:59 PM
#7
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My conjecture is that they have low tension. The tension is lower on the non-drive side for a dished wheel anyway. If it is too low that it can go to zero when hitting potholes, accelerating or braking the spoke will fatigue and break.
Are these leading or trailing spokes?
Are these leading or trailing spokes?
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11-29-21, 12:24 PM
#8
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without a picture, based on the info provided, I would suspect that the hub holes were not properly countersunk or something related to that.
normally a stainless spoke will "bed" into the alloy hub flange, but a sharp edge will wear thru the elbow causing a break
more info please
/markp
normally a stainless spoke will "bed" into the alloy hub flange, but a sharp edge will wear thru the elbow causing a break
more info please
/markp
