Broken Spoke

[roadiewill]

Broke a spoke on my rear wheel today on my SCR3 today. My question is will I need a new wheel or just a new spoke? I asked the guy at the LBS and he said that fingers crossed it should just be a new spoke, however, there is a fair bit of 'wobble' when I spin the wheel.. which cant be good. What do you guys do when you break a spoke?

 

[Dayvo]

It looks so easy!

http://bicycletutor.com

and search for 'spokes'.

Good luck!

 

[4F]

Depends on how much the wheel is out of true. With just the 1 spoke gone you should be OK.

 

[skwerl]

on an SCR3 wheel it should just be a case of replacing spoke and trueing wheel. That's assuming the spoke 'just went' and didn't break following an almighty collision with a kerb or pothole

 

[k-dog]

You only need a spoke. It will be fairly out of true even with just one missing.

If, after you have it replaced, you keep breaking spokes then you should just have the wheel rebuilt - again you won't need a new wheel just it stripped down and rebuilt with new spokes.

 

[Christopher]

You can re-true the wheel enough to get you home if you break a spoke on a ride. That's why I carry a spoke key along with my house keys when on the road.
I use DT double-butted stainless spokes, haven't broken one yet but have shredded wheels with weaker spokes.

 

[PatrickPending]

totally agree with k-dog, have had a couple of rear wheels rebuilt with stainless steel double butted spokes - and theyve done many tens of thousands of kilometers without a single breakage.

 

[Blue]

I broke a front wheel spoke months back and had a wheel that was well out of true by the time I got home.

My LBS replaced the single spoke and trued the wheel. I've done a few thousand miles since without further problem.

The spoke 'just went' and the LBS warned that others may follow - but they haven't - yet!!

 

[goo_mason]

I found that if it was just one spoke that went, usually replacing it and bringing the spoke up to tension will put the wheel pretty much back into true.

I had problems with the rear wheel on my new SCR2, which began breaking spokes after a week and kept doing so. It's been back at Halfrauds' HO to be completely rebuilt for well over a month and a half. They promised me a quick turnaround.... Now the Bike2Work team aren't even answering my emails asking for an update on progress !!

But I digress - you may be lucky and you'll replace the one spoke and all will be well. You may be unlucky and another may go in a few days' time, then another and another.

I went out and bought myself some Aksiums in anticipation of Halfrauds being frugal with the truth of their repair timescales, and I'm so glad I did. It feels like a completely different bike, and a much smoother ride.