Pashley Sovereign Princess - Spokes keep breaking!

[Boopop]

Previous post on this bike here.

Argh, the spokes on the rear wheel keep breaking! I had one break a few months ago, then one broke a few weeks ago, each time repaired as soon as I realised, and now it's happened again after just one ride!

I love the bike but it's becoming a real pain in this regard. I feel like getting a wheel rebuild is the only long term solution. Every time I've been on this path in the past, each spoke replacement has just resulted in another one going a few miles later. I'm thinking a new rim and set of spokes is the way forward, I'm just annoyed it'll likely cost me as much as the bike. I do love the bike though 😟Thoughts?

 

[Big John]

Been repaired by who, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Drago]

It's not daft expensive to get a wheel rebuilt with quality new spokes.

 

[Ian H]

Once you get repeated failures, it's time to respoke. If the hub flanges are steel you might want to fit brass washers to help the spoke heads bed in.

 

[Gwylan]

Every day I realise there is so much I do not know about bicycles.

 

[Sharky]

Are you fitting the new spokes yourself?
Is it the new spokes or the old spokes that keep breaking? Once a spoke is replaced, is the wheel running smooth?

If it's a DIY fix and it's the old spokes that keep breaking, then over time you will have replaced most of the old spokes. Might be worth marking the new spokes to determine if it's the same location each time.

If you are paying for the repair each time, then with out a doubt, get a complete rebuild.

Personally, once a wheel is more than a couple of years old, I would just buy a new pair of wheels.

 

[FrankCrank]

Something amiss here. I'm around 13 stone, rebuilt at least a dozen wheels, and no spoke failures. Just saying like

 

[Drago]

I'm around 13 stone, rebuilt at least a dozen wheels, and no spoke failures.

13 stones isn't much of a challenge for a wheel. That's like hitting a pane of glass with a feather and being pleased it didn't break.

 

[si_c]

13 stones isn't much of a challenge for a wheel. That's like hitting a pane of glass with a feather and being pleased it didn't break.

I'm pretty sure I passed through 13 stone in my teens, never to be seen again.

On the flip side I've not had a broken spoke in quite some time, and when I did it was on a wheelset that had done a significant number of miles (tens of thousands) and been treated poorly. A second broken spoke resulted in me respoking and not had a recurrence since - although in no small part due to doing fewer miles.

Once a wheel starts to get a few broken spokes I'd respoke - it's not a complicated process but is definitely aided by a tension meter and a truing stand, if you don't have them your LBS will likely be able to do it for a reasonable fee including spokes.

 

[I like Skol]

I've had factory wheels that seem to just run forever, but more often start to follow the op's cycle of repeated failures. Suspect it is a result of shoddy materials or poor build standards (or both?) and just end up rebuilding or replacing the wheels with my own builds.

Can't say I am a professional wheel builder by any means but seem to be far more successful than most of the OEM attempts!

If you want to keep originality then have the wheel rebuilt with good spokes and you should never be troubled again.

 

[Mike Ayling]

Previous post on this bike here.

Argh, the spokes on the rear wheel keep breaking! I had one break a few months ago, then one broke a few weeks ago, each time repaired as soon as I realised, and now it's happened again after just one ride!

I love the bike but it's becoming a real pain in this regard. I feel like getting a wheel rebuild is the only long term solution. Every time I've been on this path in the past, each spoke replacement has just resulted in another one going a few miles later. I'm thinking a new rim and set of spokes is the way forward, I'm just annoyed it'll likely cost me as much as the bike. I do love the bike though 😟Thoughts?

Find a good wheel builder to true it.

 

[Big John]

It's a nice bike so worth getting it done properly by a LBS you can trust. Done properly you shouldn't have any more problems.

 

[Chris S]

Once you get repeated failures, it's time to respoke. If the hub flanges are steel you might want to fit brass washers to help the spoke heads bed in.

They're alloy on modern SA hubs.

 

[FrankCrank]

13 stones isn't much of a challenge for a wheel. That's like hitting a pane of glass with a feather and being pleased it didn't break.

Wish my doctor thought 13 stone was light as a feather, though I think being vertically challenged plays into the equation

 

[biggs682]

I have a set of wheels and no matter what bike I fit them to I always get a non drive side rear spoke break every 5/6 rides so I am thinking enough is enough get them rebuilt