Can you ride on a broken spoke?

[jnb]

I have a broken spoke on my bike, OK no big problem I'm sure I can fix it. Now the last time this happened and this time a well as soon as it broke it deformed the wheel enough that it would constantly touch the brake once every rotation. Also no problem as your changing one side of a balanced system so I would expect some deformation.

Now while reading on how to change the spokes I read Sheldon Brown's site in which he makes the comment that if a wheel has too few spokes then when a spoke breaks the wheel can become instantly unridable. The wheels on my bike have 36 spokes which doesn't strike me as too few so should my bike's wheels be more able to withstand a broken spoke than they appear to be.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

It seems to me then that the tension in your wheel is not balanced. In other words, the spoke that broke probably had more tension that the spokes in the immediate neighbourhood.

As a temporary measure you can try loosening up the spoke directly opposite to the spoke that broke.

The wheel needs to have the tension balance and true.

 

[srw]

On a 36-spoke wheel you should have no problems. The wheel wobble will mean your braking will be a little sketchier, and you run an elevated risk of breaking more spokes, but it ought to run cleanly for a while. Replace it as soon as you can - and if this isn't the first spoke that's gone you may want to start from scratch.

 

[jnb]

So two broken spokes in 400 miles suggests a dodgy wheel and / or spoke installation? Is fixing that an easy task or do I replace the whole wheel and use the dodgy one for practicing maintenance. This is a reatively cheap bike so it's not worth asking someone to rebuild the wheel and it's beyond my skills to do a full rebuild of a wheel.

 

[jnb]

OK so I've bought http://www.amazon.co.uk/cnSpoke-289...d=1378289379&sr=1-7&keywords=spoke+repair+kit and a freewheel cassette chain whip, anything else I need or have I bought the wrong stuff?

The spoke repair set looked like a good idea as it had a range of spoke sizes and getting the right size was my first concern. Also last time I broke a spoke I took the wheel to the LBS which cost me £15 plus the time of driving there and back and whatever the diesel cost for those miles was so bheing able to fix this myself is definitely something I should be able to do.

So why do some spoke seem to cost £50 for a box of 50 and I've just bought a box of 500 for £40. Is this just a bargain or have I bought the wrong thing?

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I admit that I have no idea what you bought but when it comes to buying spokes it pays to buy good quality, dt swiss, sapim, etc.

You certainly fix it yourself, there is plenty of information on the net.

 

[HLaB]

I have before (ridden a bike with a broken spoke that is), it depends on you, weight, how hard you ride, where you ride, the quality of the rim etc.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Lots of people have ridden with broken spokes it seems, me included. Front wheels can take it much better than rear wheels and if it is a 36 spoke wheel then more so.

 

[I like Skol]

I broke a rear spoke about 20 miles into a 100 mile forum ride a year or two ago. The wheel did deform a little but luckily it was a bike with disc brakes so no problem and I completed the ride including bunny hopping over a fallen tree branches along the way. It was a 32 spoke wheel that was problematic from the word go and snapped a few more spokes before I gave up on warranty and just built my own wheels that have since done over 4k miles without a glitch.

I also broke a rear spoke on my MTB last summer. This was on a heavily abused 36 spoke wheelset I built at least 15 years ago and I only noticed it had gone when I heard the rattling of the loose spoke. The wheel barely moved and was not deformed enough to affect the rim brakes. The spoke broke midway and appeared to have some contact damage from a rock or something at and near the point of the break and once replaced the wheel has continued to give perfect service.

I don't think I would ever be confident on a wheelset with less than 32 spokes. For my replacement hybrid wheels I built 32 front and 36 rear.

 

[ufkacbln]

Mary had a little bike
She rode it on the grass
..and every time the wheel went round
A spoke went .up ..................................



For short distances fine, but you are no longer applying even stresses on teh wheel components which can in turn cause furtehr breakages or deformation of the wheel and braking issues.

 

[Tim Hall]

So why do some spoke seem to cost £50 for a box of 50 and I've just bought a box of 500 for £40. Is this just a bargain or have I bought the wrong thing?

The spokes you've bought are zinc plated. The more expensive spokes you mention are very likely to be stainless steel and probably butted. Both these things produce a longer lasting better spoke and add to the price.