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#1
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Broke three spokes and now I'm worried!
So on Friday I went for a long ride with a large group of folks here in
Brooklyn. The pace was slow and the vibe was good. That is until I heard a TWONK TWONK PING! The broken spokes allowed my wheel to warp to the point that it jammed in my frame. Down I went and I hit the ground pretty hard. After an hour of work I managed to get my wheel to turn in the frame and I limped 10 miles home. When this happened I was going about 8 mph on a flat. No bumps or trauma to the wheel for the whole ride up to that point -- which had been about 15 miles. I took the bike in to my LBS and asked (based on some googling and reading online) for them to rebuild my rear wheel. It is a stock wheel on a cheap bike and my feeling was that I'd like a hand-built, hand-tensioned rear wheel. I also asked after thicker spokes since I'm a big guy (235lbs and dropping.) I very regularly ride this bike quite far from home and don't want a repeat. Also, the bike is relatively new, bought in May and I've done about 175 miles a week on it since then. They *refused* to rebuild my wheel saying that it was unneeded. They were snobby and rude about it, too. I finally relented and they are replacing the spokes and trueing the wheel. Their final word: "If the new spokes break too then we'll know we have a problem." I don't *want* the new spokes to break. I rode 8000 miles on my last set of wheels and never had a single spoke break. So I have two questions: 1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke? The LBS guy said that I had some grit on my hub and that was the likely cause -- that the dirt and grit had ground away at the spokes. 2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? I'm planning on riding a century on this bike on September 12th and it would really make me mad if I had some spoke problems that took me out. |
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#2
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robb- I took the bike in to my LBS and asked (based on some googling and
reading online) for them to rebuild my rear wheel. BRBR They *refused* to rebuild my wheel saying that it was unneeded. BRBR Dopes. One spoke and perhaps I'd give it a try. Three spokes and it's new rim, perhaps new spokes and a good build. Find a new shop that has a wheel 'guru'. Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302 (303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene" |
#3
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Robb Monn wrote:
1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke? The LBS guy said that I had some grit on my hub and that was the likely cause -- that the dirt and grit had ground away at the spokes. That's utter rubbish. If dirt on hubs broke spokes, I'd have none left. :-) -- David Damerell Distortion Field! |
#4
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1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke?
Probably a machine-built wheel, spokes not properly tensioned and/or stress relieved. This is most likely to affect drive-side spokes on the rear wheel, with the spoke breaking at the bend where it goes through the hub flange. 2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? Yes. A well built and properly tensioned wheel should hold up for a VERY long time. (Individual random spoke failures are rare, but they do occur. This spring I replaced a DS spoke that broke after ~10k miles on a rear wheel that I built, and have continued riding that wheel uneventfully several thousand miles.) Yours is not this situation. You have a poorly built wheel, and in all likelihood will continue breaking spokes until it is relaced with ALL NEW spokes, properly tensioned and stress-relieved -- or replaced with a new wheel. grit on my hub... was the likely cause... ground away at the spokes This is lame bull****. Is that what your LBS stands for? Ask the manager. If he defends that hypothesis, take your business elsewhere. Mike Yankee (Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".) |
#5
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Robb Monn wrote:
2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? I'm planning on riding a century on this bike on September 12th and it would really make me mad if I had some spoke problems that took me out. I wouldn't even bother with them again. Even if they're the only ones around that's within an hours driving distance. If I were you I'd learn to build wheels. If you can't be bothered with that and money is no problem there are a bunch of folks here on this board who would be more than happy to make you a bomb-proof wheel. Kenny Lee |
#6
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Speaking as a wheel builder with 15 year experiences, I'd say RUN!
3 spokes breaking on a flat while you're just cruising along? I'd say the wheel was unevenly tensioned to begin with. Sounds like the shop mech would pulled it from the box and assembled it didn't check the wheels for tension from the factory. It was an accident waiting to happen. Be glad you weren't decending or something more... As a side note I really like using butted spokes and always recommend (despite being a little harder to build with), especially for big guys like you. They tend to stretch more than break. "Robb Monn" wrote in message ... So on Friday I went for a long ride with a large group of folks here in Brooklyn. The pace was slow and the vibe was good. That is until I heard a TWONK TWONK PING! The broken spokes allowed my wheel to warp to the point that it jammed in my frame. Down I went and I hit the ground pretty hard. After an hour of work I managed to get my wheel to turn in the frame and I limped 10 miles home. When this happened I was going about 8 mph on a flat. No bumps or trauma to the wheel for the whole ride up to that point -- which had been about 15 miles. I took the bike in to my LBS and asked (based on some googling and reading online) for them to rebuild my rear wheel. It is a stock wheel on a cheap bike and my feeling was that I'd like a hand-built, hand-tensioned rear wheel. I also asked after thicker spokes since I'm a big guy (235lbs and dropping.) I very regularly ride this bike quite far from home and don't want a repeat. Also, the bike is relatively new, bought in May and I've done about 175 miles a week on it since then. They *refused* to rebuild my wheel saying that it was unneeded. They were snobby and rude about it, too. I finally relented and they are replacing the spokes and trueing the wheel. Their final word: "If the new spokes break too then we'll know we have a problem." I don't *want* the new spokes to break. I rode 8000 miles on my last set of wheels and never had a single spoke break. So I have two questions: 1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke? The LBS guy said that I had some grit on my hub and that was the likely cause -- that the dirt and grit had ground away at the spokes. 2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? I'm planning on riding a century on this bike on September 12th and it would really make me mad if I had some spoke problems that took me out. |
#7
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thank you thank you.
I called the shop and spoke to the manager. He felt that his mechaninc would have done the right thing in any case -- never allowing a bad wheel to leave the shop and it was just a matter of the clerk trying to be helpful. In any case it hurts a little to go in to a shop without a lot bike mech knowledge and ask for the right thing and have people tell you you're crazy. I'm letting this shop do the job since my bike is already there, but I'm considering moving on. Anyone have a good suggestion for a shop in downtown Brooklyn? |
#8
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On 16 Aug 2004 05:47:22 -0700, "Robb Monn"
wrote: So I have two questions: 1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke? The LBS guy said that I had some grit on my hub and that was the likely cause -- that the dirt and grit had ground away at the spokes. The symptomology is consistent with a lack of stress-relief in the assembly process, though it's unusual to have three fail at the same time. I find their analysis potentially questionable; I'd likely find it even more questionable if I had the chance to examine the hub, as "dirt and grit grinding away at the spokes" is not a cause I find credible at all. 2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? I'm planning on riding a century on this bike on September 12th and it would really make me mad if I had some spoke problems that took me out. Frankly, my impression of the situation is that the wheel is probably not in the right hands...but what to do will depend on a lot of things. If it were me, I'd buy five spokes, lace three in, stress-relieve *all* of the spokes (with the expectation that one or two might pop in doing so), and then finish tensioning and truing the wheel. In your situation, I'd ask them to stress-relieve all of the spokes after replacing the broken ones. If you get a blank stare or an argument, I'd say that it's best to take the wheel somewhere else. The front wheel probably needs stress-relieving as well. -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
#10
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In article ,
"Robb Monn" wrote: So on Friday I went for a long ride with a large group of folks here in Brooklyn. The pace was slow and the vibe was good. That is until I heard a TWONK TWONK PING! The broken spokes allowed my wheel to warp to the point that it jammed in my frame. Down I went and I hit the ground pretty hard. After an hour of work I managed to get my wheel to turn in the frame and I limped 10 miles home. When this happened I was going about 8 mph on a flat. No bumps or trauma to the wheel for the whole ride up to that point -- which had been about 15 miles. I took the bike in to my LBS and asked (based on some googling and reading online) for them to rebuild my rear wheel. It is a stock wheel on a cheap bike and my feeling was that I'd like a hand-built, hand-tensioned rear wheel. I also asked after thicker spokes since I'm a big guy (235lbs and dropping.) I very regularly ride this bike quite far from home and don't want a repeat. Also, the bike is relatively new, bought in May and I've done about 175 miles a week on it since then. They *refused* to rebuild my wheel saying that it was unneeded. They were snobby and rude about it, too. I finally relented and they are replacing the spokes and trueing the wheel. Their final word: "If the new spokes break too then we'll know we have a problem." I don't *want* the new spokes to break. I rode 8000 miles on my last set of wheels and never had a single spoke break. So I have two questions: 1.) Any ideas on why my spokes broke? The LBS guy said that I had some grit on my hub and that was the likely cause -- that the dirt and grit had ground away at the spokes. 2.) Should I call them and insist on a rebuild or is it really not needed? I'm planning on riding a century on this bike on September 12th and it would really make me mad if I had some spoke problems that took me out. Here's what you need to do. After the spokes are replaced, stand on the wheel while it is tilted at 30 degrees. Also form the bend of each spoke where it touches another spoke, as the normally tensioned spoke won't be sufficiently straight. And don't forget to use linseed oil on the spoke threads, ordinary oil just isn't good enough. If you don't believe me, just ask Trevor Jeffrey. |
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