pepperbelly

I have a post in bicycle mechanics about a broken spoke.
I am thinking that I may just be too heavy for the bike. It’s a 2012 Specialized Roubaix and I weigh about 275.
The rear rim and hub ar least need to be replaced due to not having enough spokes.
Should I maybe look for a different bike? Maybe a mountain bike?

badger1

I would say 'no'. If your bike is otherwise fine/you are happy with it, and if that is the only issue -- and it is not uncommon -- then all you need, really, is a good, strong new wheelset, especially the rear wheel, built for you with a 36-spoke rear hub/rim. FWIW, I'd suggest just consulting with a good wheelbuilder, at your lbs or whatever, and settling on a specification.

pepperbelly

I will be taking the wheel to a local shop probably tomorrow.

70sSanO

Some of it depends on how much tire clearance your 2012 has. I saw a spec that it came with 25’s, but I’m guessing you might fit 28mm or 30mm.

This doesn’t directly impact the spokes, but at your weight if you are running skinny tires, you probably have the pressure pretty high. I’m thinking those rock hard tires are probably not treating you or the wheels very well.

I’m guessing that running 38mm or 40mm might be a better way to go, which means a new bike. Your LBS can verify or disagree with this.

John

pepperbelly

I think my tires are 28mm if I remember right. I will have to check.

Wildwood 

28s would be a minimum width on the road, IMHO, at your weight.
Sure, you could ride 25s pumped hard. 23s would be adequate on good pavement. 19/20s would work on an indoor wooden track.
Where do you ride?
On chipseal or rough pavement, I would recommend 30mm.
If you don't rise off th saddle for bumps & pavement irregularities then start at 33-35mm.

Here's a road clincher 30mm, also 36.
Challenge Strada Bianca 260 TPI Clincher Road Tire | ProBikeKit.com

here's a link to bunch of tires offering 30mm road size
Road Bike Tyres | Free Delivery Available | Merlin Cycles


70sSanO is also correct about 120+psi tires being tougher on spokes/rims, than say 95-105.

pepperbelly

I double checked and mine are 28mm.
I ride on asphalt-a little smoother than chipseal but some stretches are not maintained to be as smooth. There are some seams at concrete aprons for drainage that cross the street but nothing really rough.
I plan on riding some concrete trails near me but i really want to be sure it won’t break several miles from my car.
I don’t think 30mm tires will clear my frame.

Wildwood 

Stronger wheels and 27-28mm pumped hard, should be good in the conditions you describe. You've got a great bike, you can make it work. Better specific tire advice in the Clydesdale Forum.

edit:
pepperbelly - I forgot to add, I run Schwalbe 32s on a 40lb tandem that has easily transported 380 lbs of humans over a hardpacked rocky & gravel trail. Wheels are 40spokes on a tandem rim. Never a problem, tandem has only 2-3,000 miles and had 2 sets of 28s before the Schwalbe.
Life is an adventure

oh well, old pic is most handy. This shows the new Schwalbe 32s on front, but still had 'pavement only' Conti 28mm on rear.

Milton Keynes

Yes, you need a new bike, and send your old one to me for proper disposal.

pepperbelly

I may have been born at night but I wasn’t born last night.
Thanks for the offer though.

Juan Foote

Actually, according to the model you are on, you could be overweight for the bike altogether.

I have a '13 Roubaix SL4 IIRC and the weight limit for rider and gear is 250. That concern tends to center around several components such as the seat post and spokes, as well as frame. There is certainly some built in safety variance but that comes down to how bad you want to (possibly) unexpectedly chew some asphalt.

Look to your owners manual or Spec support as it will tell you. Keep in mind that if you were first purchaser of the bike with warranties that riding over max weight will void that. Spec did (don't know if they still do) offer "lifetime" warranty on frame and fork. One of the reasons I purchased mine after a less than glowing warranty experience with Felt.

cyclezen

'spokes do get tired and break, especially if the wheel hasn't been maintained to well balanced spoke tension.
Get the spoke replaced and have the wheel 'tuned' by a wheel expert - not every nosepicker in a shop is capable...
a new, cheap, heavy wheelset is not any stronger than a decent wheelset which is well-maintained.
a great, worthwhile riding skill is to be able to lighten the saddle just a touch when going over sharp road transitions, like concrete joints, driveway ramps, large cracks etc.
having it become 2nd nature goes along way to wheel longevity and performance. at 275, that skill can have very beneficial affects.
Ride On
Yuri

VegasTriker

You might ask your bike shop about relacing the wheels with stronger spokes if you continue to have spokes break after you replace the one that broke. With the advent of e-assist and the increased stress on spokes there are some much stronger spokes available than you might find in the past. Sapim is one brand that offers heavy duty spokes. That's likely to be far cheaper than buying a new set of wheels. If you are not bending the rims out of true already, the rims are probably suitable to be reused.

Maelochs

Okay .... I am a member of the "Eighth of a Ton Club" and I read these threads avidly ... so I can see people tell me I cannot do what I have been doing since I gained all this mass.

I have no issue with 28-spoke rear wheels, 24 front ..... 28s or even 23s, and yes I need to run a lot of pressure to keep the tires from deforming. The big thing is to maintain your wheels .... loose spokes tend to break. And spokes can loosen. You can tap them with a finger or a tool to hear them ring, and anything which is deeper or flatter than normal, tighten it up a little (and of course, make other adjustments to keep the wheel round and straight.) or, take your wheels to the shop if they ever seem a little wobbly (I mean more than a couple mms side to side) or you get loose spokes.

What I find can happen is that a spoke gets a little loose, and if ignored, it gets worse, and then that one pothole you didn't see pops it, and another breaks on the way home because it is overloaded, and it seems like a disaster, but it had been building for a month or two, unnoticed. No big deal. The bike is fine, the wheels are fine, they just need more attention because you are approaching the upper limit of the force they can handle.

If you Must get new wheels, go ahead, but don't go crazy. You don't need 36 spokes unless you weigh as much as I do and do loaded touring. (Well, obviously, do whatever you want or what makes you feel good ... it is your life, not trying to dictate here.) But I find wheels change the character of a bike a lot, and boat-anchor wheels make riding seem more like a chore.

By the way, I ride a pair of China Bombs---small-manufacturer Chinese CF frames which together weighed about 1700 grams (pre-fork) Everyone assured me they would disintegrate under even an average rider, and I would be on my butt bleeding after just a few miles .... and five and seven years later I love and ride both bikes (24/28 spokes with hard 23s on one of them, 28s with 28/24 on the the other.) Trek or Spec or whoever lists max weights for their bikes are looking to avoid lawsuits .... and like "Best Used By" dates there is a ton of leeway (at leas an eighth of a ton .... )

Big riders can enjoy nice bikes. This guy gets it. Any well-built wheel can hold a lot of weight. And how you ride can limit the sharp shocks which are bad for the whole bike. As Mr. Cyclezen says, it soon becomes an unconscious reaction---when you see cracks, holes, etc you take a little weight off the saddle, and bounce a little with the impact instead of getting slammed .... let the bike bounce a little and you will be less fatigued and so will the bike.

Of course the real answer is ----- Of course you should get a new bike .... probably two of them. Get a good gravel frame with clearance for really wide tires and then a new endurance-geometry bike, so the '13 Roubaix can serve as back-up. Buy a mountain bike, too, they can be fun. You are worth it.

Liam616thompson

Always check craigslist, good deals pop up periodically

Pratt

Absolutely! Even casual reading of these forums (fora?) will tell you that you need a new bike, even if there is nothing wrong with the old one.