Broken spoke on old wheel.....

[Starchivore]

Right, it was probably doomed to happen.

A spoke broke on my dear old Ribble, rear wheel, near the hub.

It's an old wheel, not the prettiest and a bit rusty in spots- not my fault as it came out of a shed as I needed something that would work with this bike. It's been fine since I put it on about 18 months ago, but a spoke has now broke. I may be somewhat at fault for this with my lack of maintenance skills and neglecting to fettle as I should.

I'm wondering what to do. I know you can get a new spoke put on for around £20-25 (right>), but I'm wondering if it's worth it.... the other spokes could be on the way out themselves, I've no idea how old they are and as I said the wheel isn't in perfect condition by any means.

Would it be better just to get an entire new wheel, do you think? I have serious budget-restrictions so would be looking to limit my spend to £30ish, which I know is peanuts for a wheel, but I would go second hand if there are options in okay condition.

I just don't want to pay for a repair and then another spoke breaks next month on it! This is my wet-weather bike so I don't need it absolutely urgently but will definitely need it every week this winter when the weather is bad and I don't want to use my other bike to commute.

Do advise me.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Don't castigate yourself like that. It is not your fault. No amount of maintenance and fettling can prevent metal fatigue in a spoke. You mention rust. If the spokes genuinely have rust, then abandon the wheel. The spokes should be made from stainless steel. Rust would indicate a very, very cheap, rubbish wheel.
Does a spoke replacement really cost £20-25? Anyway, that's beside the point.
Thus, if your spokes are rusty, toss the wheel. If it isn't, then replace the spoke and see if any other spokes break soon after. If another one goes, you don't have an anomaly but a trend, let the wheel go.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

I have had odd spokes snap over the years. Sometimes that is it; no more follow but others it has marked the beginning of a snappy pattern!

Is it a cassette or freehub? Cassettes are usually easy to remove at home. Buy a spoke or two and a spoke key and put a new one in copying the under/over pattern on the rest of the wheel. Use rubber bands to hold a couple of pencils to act as a guide for basic truing.

What's to lose?

 

[Starchivore]

Don't castigate yourself like that. It is not your fault. No amount of maintenance and fettling can prevent metal fatigue in a spoke. You mention rust. If the spokes genuinely have rust, then abandon the wheel. The spokes should be made from stainless steel. Rust would indicate a very, very cheap, rubbish wheel.

Hmmm. Maybe it isn't rust, maybe just some discoloration and grime. I haven't had a close look to be honest- I will do when home this evening. It is an old wheel but I don't think it would have been really cheap and rubbish so maybe it isn't rust.

Is it a cassette or freehub? Cassettes are usually easy to remove at home. Buy a spoke or two and a spoke key and put a new one in copying the under/over pattern on the rest of the wheel. Use rubber bands to hold a couple of pencils to act as a guide for basic truing.

What's to lose?

I'm fairly sure it's a cassette.

I'm not very practical. Is it hard to replace a spoke? I'd be willing to give it a good go. You have to remove the cassette first?

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I have had odd spokes snap over the years. Sometimes that is it; no more follow but others it has marked the beginning of a snappy pattern!

Is it a cassette or freehub? Cassettes are usually easy to remove at home. Buy a spoke or two and a spoke key and put a new one in copying the under/over pattern on the rest of the wheel. Use rubber bands to hold a couple of pencils to act as a guide for basic truing.

What's to lose?

The problem is getting the right length, but the advice is sound. OP, measure the old one from the tip of the threaded end to the inside of the elbow bend. Buy one like that and a spoke spanner and off you go.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Take the wheel, with tyre and rim tape removed, to your LBS. They will tell you whether it's a freehub and cassette, or a freewheel and sell you the correct splined locking tool (not expensive). They'll probably take the cassette/freewheel off for you as well (using their vice for brutish force/leverage if the latter, and saves you needing a chainwhip if the former). And sell you (less than a pound) the correct length spoke (see YS advice above). And a spoke spanner (?£5) and you're good to go. Lots of vids on truing a wheel available, but if you fit the the spoke (like its fellows for crossovers) and tighten it to the same 'plucking' tension as the similarly orientated spokes, then you should be close enough to achieve a 'true' wheel. AASHTA: "Replacing the broken spoke will often bring a wheel back into true - start by leaving the [other] spokes as they are, as a guide." and "Trueing a wheel after replacing a broken spoke is the easiest wheel-trueing job, because you often only have to adjust the one new spoke. Mark the new spoke somehow so you can identify it. Once the spoke is getting tight, continue to tighten it bit by bit, spinning the wheel to check for true. If your skills are limited, the best is the enemy of the good [ie 90% OK is good enough]."

 

[si_c]

I had two spokes replaced by a LBS a week or so ago, cost me a tenner all in and he did so without removing the cassette, although I did remove the tire and tube, leaving just the rim tape in place.

Unless the rim is buckled, then replacing the spokes should mean the wheel is perfectly rideable again. If you start getting more broken spokes or the rim is warped or something, that's the time to consider replacing the wheel.

 

[Starchivore]

Your shared confidence about this is quite encouraging, thank you.

I checked last night and no, it isn't rust- that must have been my imagination.

I will give it a go. I'll try to get the cassette off this weekend and measure the spoke so that I can get a new one (and maybe another as spare), and a spoke spanner, and then I'll give it my best attempt. Some of the other spokes need tightening too.

How difficult is it to get a cassette off? And do I definitely need to take it off for this?

Thanks everyone

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Good for you for trying. I admire that. If your wheel was true before the spoke break, resist the urge to randomly tighten spokes. Not all spokes should be in the same tension for a wheel to be true. Focus in just replacing that one spoke and getting it's position at the rim to run true.

 

[si_c]

How difficult is it to get a cassette off? And do I definitely need to take it off for this?

A cassette is not difficult to remove at all, but you do need both a chain whip and a cassette removal tool to do so. Plenty of videos show you what to do

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05WxxDo4CvY

It's worth getting the tools anyway if you don't already have them and are wanting to keep your bike maintained yourself.

No idea if you need to remove the cassette or not, but it will probably make the process easier as you won't be worried about scraping your fingers or knuckles on it.

 

[Starchivore]

A cassette is not difficult to remove at all, but you do need both a chain whip and a cassette removal tool to do so. Plenty of videos show you what to do

It's worth getting the tools anyway if you don't already have them and are wanting to keep your bike maintained yourself.

No idea if you need to remove the cassette or not, but it will probably make the process easier as you won't be worried about scraping your fingers or knuckles on it.

Ah. In that case I think I'll give it a go without first, and see how it goes.

 

[ColinJ]

If you don't have any joy with replacing the spoke, I may have an old (tatty!) wheel which you could have free, gratis, and for nothing! I have some old bike bits and pieces in my cellar. I think there were usable rear wheels, one with a Shimano hub and one with a Campagnolo hub, but I would have to check. I will have a look later. Which type would you need?

 

[Ajax Bay]

I had two spokes replaced by a LBS a week or so ago

No idea if you need to remove the cassette or not, but it will probably make the process easier

@si_c - you give this advice but yet get your LBS to replace a couple of spokes and (presumably) retrue the wheel. If the OP's broken spoke is on the right side of the rear hub (probably is), do you think you could replace it without removing the cassette/freewheel? And if it's on the left side, there's (obviously) no need (and would make the process no easier).
Generous (local offer) @ColinJ (recovered from your Scottish 'tour', with self loosening (but clean) cassette?)

 

[si_c]

@si_c - you give this advice but yet get your LBS to replace a couple of spokes and (presumably) retrue the wheel. If the OP's broken spoke is on the right side of the rear hub (probably is), do you think you could replace it without removing the cassette/freewheel?

Nope, that's why I got my LBS to replace it rather than doing it myself. My post was related more to the removal of the cassette than replacing the spokes.

 

[Starchivore]

If you don't have any joy with replacing the spoke, I may have an old (tatty!) wheel which you could have free, gratis, and for nothing! I have some old bike bits and pieces in my cellar. I think there were usable rear wheels, one with a Shimano hub and one with a Campagnolo hub, but I would have to check. I will have a look later. Which type would you need?

Wow, thanks a lot Colin that's really nice of you. I might need to take you up on that.... I'm going to measure the spoke this weekend and order a new one and the spoke tool, and then give it a go without taking the cassette off.

I'm a bit of a nonce so removing the cassette would be a bit of a last resort. I'll let you all know how it goes!