Spoke Problem: A little help? - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

The Borg · 07-24-2006, 01:30 PM

Ok...so, I swap out a new front tire this weekend, and decide to give my bike a bath (just got caught in a ripping rain storm a few day prior).

So, I'm cleaning my rear wheel, and notice that it's not spinning true...it's kind of wobbling as I rotate it.

I notice that a spoke has broken away down near the hub. This is at the same place that up near my brakes that the wheel is 'wobbling'.

How serious of a problem is this? How in the world do I repair a broken spoke? As I look at this, I don't know how I would get another one in down by the hub.

If any of you have a little insight, I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance

MikeWaters · 07-24-2006, 02:36 PM

I've replaced all the spokes in my wheels once.

Trust me, once one spoke goes, they will all go. You don't want to be out on a ride and have spokes breaking.

I would take your wheel to the bikeshop and either 1) ask them to put new spokes in or 2) get the right sized spokes for the job and do it yourself. I think you have to buy spoke nipples also.

THen you follow the correct pattern (pattern also determines length of spoke), and redo it. YOu will also need that tape for inside your rim.

I had a book that guided me through it. I would also recommend taking a picture of your wheel before you start. for documentation of how it was before.

When you are done, you will have to retrue it.

Of course you could replace just the one spoke, and cross your fingers. Also retrue. But don't be surprised to hear a "SPROING" sometime soon.

The Borg · 07-24-2006, 02:44 PM

I had hoped not to hear that kind of a report. I don't trust myself fixing that just yet...hope it's not too expensive of a fix.

Quisqueyano · 07-24-2006, 02:45 PM

Take the wheel to a good shop. The spoke will cost $2 and they will probably charge yo $15 to put it on.
1 bad spoke can cause the entire wheel to pancake.

MikeWaters · 07-24-2006, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quisqueyano

Take the wheel to a good shop. The spoke will cost $2 and they will probably charge yo $15 to put it on.
1 bad spoke can cause the entire wheel to pancake.

then you are out $20, and you are starting to approach the price of a complete new set of spokes you could put on yourself.

of course the best suggestion is to use this as an opportunity to get an expensive wheel set. "hon, it's cheaper in the long run to spend $440 now on these wheels because...."

The Borg · 07-24-2006, 03:31 PM

...seems the bike shops are closed today for pioneer day...I guess.

I would love to do it myself...swap them all out I guess...but I don't have any clues to how tight the tension should be, etc....

I'd probably end up pancaking the wheel myeslf in the attempt to fix it!!!

creekster · 07-24-2006, 04:28 PM

Let me just say that even though I am pretty comnfortable working on bikes, I never build my own wheels. I will replace a spoke as needed in a pinch, but if the rim is out of true it may be unsaveable. IMO, I would take it to a shop I trust and see if the rim is worht re-using (it probabyl is) and if so, make sure the hub is worth having for a while and if this is all correct have an experienced wheel-builder build yuour wheel with your weight and the anticiaptqaed use of the bike in mind. You will be much happier in the long run this way. On my touring frame, for example, I had a guy hand build my rear wheel and in over three years of riding for many thousands of miules, including around a thoussand of loaded or semi loaded touring, the wheel has never needed even a single adjustment and it has stayed completely true.

I will echo the ocmments that once spokes start going others will follow should you fail to address it.

Wheelbuilding is an art, however, so even though you can repair it yourself (and it really isn't very hard in the sense of putting a spoke on there) getting it tensioned correctly is hard. If getting a wheel built by someone with wheelbuilding experience is too expensive, do it yourself and keep a close watch on the wheel, adjsuting it frequently as needed. Also, look on the web for articles about wheel building by jobst brandt, who is sort of a wheel guru (look, everybody needs to do something, right?)

MikeWaters · 07-24-2006, 04:34 PM

hey, if some high school kid can do it in a bike shop, trust me, it's not rocket science.

If I can do it, anyone can do it.

I'm guessing this is a pretty cheap wheel. Nothing fancy. I wonder if you can quickly get to the pricepoint of the wheel, when you have a mechanic do it.

Get yourself a truing stand, a spoke tightener and do it yourself. You'll learn a lot. and for the price of the repair shop fix, you will have your own equipment.

The Borg · 07-24-2006, 04:36 PM

I'm trying to locate a shop that doesn't take a week or more to get me in for this.

I appreciate the insights.

creekster · 07-24-2006, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

hey, if some high school kid can do it in a bike shop, trust me, it's not rocket science.

If I can do it, anyone can do it.

I'm guessing this is a pretty cheap wheel. Nothing fancy. I wonder if you can quickly get to the pricepoint of the wheel, when you have a mechanic do it.

Get yourself a truing stand, a spoke tightener and do it yourself. You'll learn a lot. and for the price of the repair shop fix, you will have your own equipment.

With all due respect, I would be very skeptical that you could do it as well as an experienced builder. You;ll note that I didn;t suggest you get some local HS kid with a part time job to build it. You need an EXPERIENCED wheel builder. This is especially true for a wheel that will carry a haevy load (rider or items or both).

Plus, unless you are replacing a hub or rim or both (which you would need to do anyway) getting a decent ruing stand and wrnch and other items would not save much if any money, expecially if you value your time. Check out Brandt's stuff, which is all over the web and decide if you want to do this yourself or not.

BTW, how big is the wobble? IOW, how far out of true is the deviation in the rim? You alos didn't say what sort of wheel it is. Radially laced, three over two over, etc. Some are eeasier than others to fix.

Mike's approach isn't worng, and I used to ahve the same attitude, but now, many years and many replaced spokes later, I think it is simply more cost and teime effective to have somebody really good build my wheel so I am very unlikely to have nay problems with it.

07-24-2006, 01:30 PM	#1
The Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 533	Spoke Problem: A little help? Ok...so, I swap out a new front tire this weekend, and decide to give my bike a bath (just got caught in a ripping rain storm a few day prior). So, I'm cleaning my rear wheel, and notice that it's not spinning true...it's kind of wobbling as I rotate it. I notice that a spoke has broken away down near the hub. This is at the same place that up near my brakes that the wheel is 'wobbling'. How serious of a problem is this? How in the world do I repair a broken spoke? As I look at this, I don't know how I would get another one in down by the hub. If any of you have a little insight, I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance

07-24-2006, 02:44 PM	#3
The Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 533	That's not good news I had hoped not to hear that kind of a report. I don't trust myself fixing that just yet...hope it's not too expensive of a fix.

07-24-2006, 03:31 PM	#6
The Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 533	How $$ to do the entire set of spokes? ...seems the bike shops are closed today for pioneer day...I guess. I would love to do it myself...swap them all out I guess...but I don't have any clues to how tight the tension should be, etc.... I'd probably end up pancaking the wheel myeslf in the attempt to fix it!!!

07-24-2006, 04:28 PM	#7
creekster Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: the far corner of my mind Posts: 8,711	Let me just say that even though I am pretty comnfortable working on bikes, I never build my own wheels. I will replace a spoke as needed in a pinch, but if the rim is out of true it may be unsaveable. IMO, I would take it to a shop I trust and see if the rim is worht re-using (it probabyl is) and if so, make sure the hub is worth having for a while and if this is all correct have an experienced wheel-builder build yuour wheel with your weight and the anticiaptqaed use of the bike in mind. You will be much happier in the long run this way. On my touring frame, for example, I had a guy hand build my rear wheel and in over three years of riding for many thousands of miules, including around a thoussand of loaded or semi loaded touring, the wheel has never needed even a single adjustment and it has stayed completely true. I will echo the ocmments that once spokes start going others will follow should you fail to address it. Wheelbuilding is an art, however, so even though you can repair it yourself (and it really isn't very hard in the sense of putting a spoke on there) getting it tensioned correctly is hard. If getting a wheel built by someone with wheelbuilding experience is too expensive, do it yourself and keep a close watch on the wheel, adjsuting it frequently as needed. Also, look on the web for articles about wheel building by jobst brandt, who is sort of a wheel guru (look, everybody needs to do something, right?) __________________ Sorry for th e tpyos. Last edited by creekster; 07-24-2006 at 05:15 PM.

07-24-2006, 04:36 PM	#9
The Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 533	Thanks everyone I'm trying to locate a shop that doesn't take a week or more to get me in for this. I appreciate the insights.

07-24-2006, 02:36 PM	#2
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	I've replaced all the spokes in my wheels once. Trust me, once one spoke goes, they will all go. You don't want to be out on a ride and have spokes breaking. I would take your wheel to the bikeshop and either 1) ask them to put new spokes in or 2) get the right sized spokes for the job and do it yourself. I think you have to buy spoke nipples also. THen you follow the correct pattern (pattern also determines length of spoke), and redo it. YOu will also need that tape for inside your rim. I had a book that guided me through it. I would also recommend taking a picture of your wheel before you start. for documentation of how it was before. When you are done, you will have to retrue it. Of course you could replace just the one spoke, and cross your fingers. Also retrue. But don't be surprised to hear a "SPROING" sometime soon.

07-24-2006, 02:45 PM	#4
Quisqueyano Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lehi Utah Posts: 320	Take the wheel to a good shop. The spoke will cost $2 and they will probably charge yo $15 to put it on. 1 bad spoke can cause the entire wheel to pancake.

07-24-2006, 04:34 PM	#8
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	hey, if some high school kid can do it in a bike shop, trust me, it's not rocket science. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I'm guessing this is a pretty cheap wheel. Nothing fancy. I wonder if you can quickly get to the pricepoint of the wheel, when you have a mechanic do it. Get yourself a truing stand, a spoke tightener and do it yourself. You'll learn a lot. and for the price of the repair shop fix, you will have your own equipment.