So that's what that noise was....

[GrumpyGregry]

Sat at my desk, three o'clock this arfo, and stage right a loud sharp 'thunk!' Bike is leant up against a partition on my right but I can't see anything that has fallen off.

Go to push it out of the office, back wheel is borked. Closer inspection reveals a non drive side busted spoke. That would be the noise then!

Train home tonight then, with wheel, off to lbs in the morn. bet they don't have any black spokes in the right size!

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Bummer.
Colleague had a busted spoke, lbs collected his wheel, repaired it and gave 6 spokes - 2 of each type in case he needed it!
I will say that we have been instrumental in adding to the 150+ cycles bought through their lbs via cycle scheme.
They also support us when we arrange events for charity.
Not allowed to say who they are in Newcastle though.

 

[jonny jeez]

Nah, something's not right here...are you sure you haven't made this up?...surely a spoke makes a "boink" noise... not "thunk-like" at all.

This deserves closer inspection, perhaps something thunked the wheel to make the spoke boink out.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

tbh you're right, it was more boink than thunk. I stand corrected, onomatopoeiacally speaking.

anyway it's fixed now and the wheel is running true and all spokes ting to the correct pitch.

So I can ride FNRttC and worry about it all the way from london to brighton.

 

[cyberknight]

Tape the spoke so it does not move , you will make it home with 1 broke spoke.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Tape the spoke so it does not move , you will make it home with 1 broke spoke.

Advice I've followed before. I didn't get home by bike that time. Big unit, lousy country lanes, longish commute, no options other than to call for help or a taxi if it goes pear shaped. Which it did, well, taco shaped actually.

 

[Bluenite]

What would cause it to break like that. The bike was not moving and nothing hit the spoke.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

What would cause it to break like that. The bike was not moving and nothing hit the spoke.

I've never had one go when not on the bike before, but I have had one let go whilst stationary, albeit on an mtb wheel that really wasn't up to the tasks of me riding it.

stress/fatigue failure I guess. it went at the mushroom. poor stress relieving or uneven tension when the wheel was built. certainly don't think it is poor quality components; ambrosio hubs and rims with sapim, iirc, spokes. several 1000's of kilometres of use to date all running straight and true.

 

[cyberknight]

Advice I've followed before. I didn't get home by bike that time. Big unit, lousy country lanes, longish commute, no options other than to call for help or a taxi if it goes pear shaped. Which it did, well, taco shaped actually.

Odd i have managed it afew times when my wheel was playing up on a similar commute, 1 spoke should not stop you getting home unless something else is wrong with the wheel.

 

[Bluenite]

Thank you for the reply. I never thought that a spoke could just pop like that.

Your bike must love you. It held up till you got to work :-)

 

[mrmacmusic]

Can't quite believe that exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday! Thought nothing of the unusual corridor noise mid-afternoon, wheeled bike out back door and hopped on only to find my brakes binding every revolution and a wobbly rear wheel

I got home OK and thought I'd true up the wheel when I discovered a drive-side spoke was broken (mushroom end snapped off). Not being geared up for a repair, I'll pop it into the LBS to sort it out for me this time

Did give me the opportunity to take the Cube on my commute this morning though! Almost took a bee-line over the fields, but thought the better of arriving at the office completely covered in mud Enjoyed it, but it was slow going on those fat knobblies though.

 

[I like Skol]

It is a sound I have become quite familiar with over the last few months, so much so that I don't even bother looking down when I hear it as I ride along now. The 1st time it happened in Nov 2011 I was on one of ColinJ's rides and only about 20 miles into a 100 mile ride. I finished the ride and parked the bike in the garage while I dissappeared off to the LBS for a new spoke. The next day I wheeled the bike out to fix it but found that the wheel was now rubbing the frame. Sure enough, a second spoke had let go during the night while the bike sat in the garage! I have since replaced 2 or 3 more spokes (All from the drive side and all from the same direction?).