Spoke has broken at the thread end

[confusedcyclist]

But don't complain about the shop charging £25

Whilst invariably, things do go wrong and it's only fair to pay for work that needs to be done, I disagree in this circumstance. A wheel should last more than 400 miles, that's 4 weeks based on my milage! A 32 spoke wheel should be able to cope with a bit of rough surface, within reason.

The first shop is likely correct and the original retailer was trying to pull a fast one, and made a repair sale on the back of it. Unless it's a chocolate wagon wheel, it should last a lot longer than it did. It should have been a warranty repair by the retailer, they had some nerve charging for a repair (unless of course the bike is no longer in warranty?! Still, based on the claimed mileage, I would have only charged for the cost of the spoke)

Spokes breaking after 400 miles is indicative of poor manufacturing or assembly, unless of course you are abusing your wheels. A few potholes shouldn't cause spoke breakages. Be wary, you may be in for more trouble with this wheel set. If you break more spokes, don't bother replacing them. Either rebuild the rim and hub with new quality spokes, or get decent set of (ideally hand built) wheels to replace them. 3 or more spokes breaking at £25 pop will put you way out of pocket, and you'll still have the naff wheelset and not much else to show for it.

I do encourage you to learn to to build wheels yourself, as you can have all the benefits without the additional labour cost. It's quite satisfying to be able to build a wheel from scratch, and at least that way if you do break a spoke down the line, you'll know how to get home in an emergency with just a nipple key in hand. I like roger musson's book on wheelbuilding.

 

[T675Rich]

So I have done about 20 miles since the fixed the spoke and trued the wheel and I already have a couple of loose spokes .... I have not hit any pot holes or gone off road at all, I'm getting quite frustrated with it now. I'm worried about another broken spoke if I ride it so back to the lbs again.

Im a big guy but they knew this when they sold me the bike.

My milage for the bike is tracked by my garmin vivo active so it is accurate.

 

[I like Skol]

Warranty! Get the shop that sold you the bike to sort it out. IMO they should not have charged you for replacing the first failed spoke either and I would be making that point to them IN CAPITALS!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Warranty! Get the shop that sold you the bike to sort it out. IMO they should not have charged you for replacing the first failed spoke either and I would be making that point to them IN CAPITALS!

This

Charging for replacing a spoke at that point is poor - no, an absolute rip-off

I've been there in the "other shop" shoes with an awful wheel with little use, on a near new bike bought from a certain well known chain (not Halfords!) the wheel was awful "no integrity" would be spot on, so I know it happens, and in that case I knew the wheel could not have got in that state from potholes or accident, it was just not built properly throughout. So I've seen how some truly awful wheels can go out on bikes and not just on cheapo bikes

 

[T675Rich]

Warranty! Get the shop that sold you the bike to sort it out. IMO they should not have charged you for replacing the first failed spoke either and I would be making that point to them IN CAPITALS!

I'll take it back to them tomorrow as see what they do. The guy there is a little dismissive and just says things like you probably hit a pot hole, and while I am sure I haven't I am never confident enough to question him as I am not at all knowledgeable about bikes. The same happened when I was having gear issues was a know problem with that bike but it took me a few times going back before they contacted Cannondale who told them how to fix it.

As a 19st 8 type person I know I must be putting strain on the bike but I am just riding on roads/cyclepaths I avoid the pot holes but there are the times where there has been a trench dug across the road and the repair is slightly lower that I can't avoid but a hybrid bike should be able to cope with that surely.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Why would a pothole break a spoke? Impact on the far edge of a pothole reduces the tension in the bottom spokes (connected to the rim where the sharply increased load is experienced). Is the rim showing damage from any impact?
What are you going to ask the "dismissive guy" in the shop to do? Just tightening/retrueing the wheel (and refunding you £25 btw) is going to just kick the poorly built wheel issue down the road.

 

[T675Rich]

Why would a pothole break a spoke? Impact on the far edge of a pothole reduces the tension in the bottom spokes (connected to the rim where the sharply increased load is experienced). Is the rim showing damage from any impact?
What are you going to ask the "dismissive guy" in the shop to do? Just tightening/retrueing the wheel (and refunding you £25 btw) is going to just kick the poorly built wheel issue down the road.

I don't know what I am going to ask, mainly why the spoke would be loose already, he acted like it was normal for a spoke to have broken so quickly. He also said that the claim by the bike shop on campus that the wheel had no integrity and they would do a warranty claim was because the person who ran that shop didn't like him as he had criticised their work before. He said the rim had no damage.

I don't know why a pot hole would break a spoke, I didn't hit one when I heard the ping but he said the same would be done before it broke.

 

[I like Skol]

This is a tricky one as it is your/our opinion Vs his 'professional' judgement (which may be worthless).

Two issues here now;

1. A spoke should not break within a few hundred miles.
2. The wheel has been 'repaired' yet has de-tensioned in under 20 miles. There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with that wheel. Either it is junk, or the repair has been done so badly that the wheel is now junk, or maybe both?

What is the bike brand? I would give the shop a final chance to repair the wheel properly, but ask for a refund of the failed repair as he clearly hasn't fixed the wheel and it should have been a warranty repair anyway.

Tell him if this final attempt to repair the wheel is not successful then you will be bringing the bike back and notifying the manufacturer so between them they can work out a solution to the problem (i.e, replacing the shoddy wheel/s).

Mentioning the fact that you will involve the bike manufacturer might just get him to start fulfilling his responsibilities as the retailer?

Good luck. It is never pleasant having to deal with poor customer service like this, but you are in the right.

 

[confusedcyclist]

In a bid to keep the cost of the complete bike down and boost sales, bike manufacturers install sloppy machine built wheels. It makes their bike more appealing in a competitive market where consumers make choices based on price or weight and not quality or durability, your misfortune demonstrates why this approach can backfire for consumers.

Whilst it's not the retailer's fault that your stock wheels are junk, they are liable for selling a product that is really not fit for purpose, so tough shoot for them, it's on them to sort it. A lot of MAMIL racer types are content to compromise on durability of mid-tier bikes and 'upgrade' (sic) to lower spoke count/lighter wheels later anyway. Manufacturers know this, and they get away with it because most buyers don't know any better. Spokes on a well built mountain bike disc wheels (which don't have a wearing rim surface) can in theory outlast a frameset without spoke breakages and tension loss, all whilst putting up with greater forces than the alleged pot-hole.

Go back to the shop, ask to speak to the manager as per skols advise and get your £25 refunded. Asking for it to be sorted for now, but plan on getting a decent set of wheels to replace these junk wheels with. If you don't, you are practically guaranteed more wheel related misery. You can keep these ones as emergency backup wheels, or sell them on to some greater fool.

As I said before, ideally go for hand built by a competent builder, if you opt for machine built to save on labour, just make sure you go for a reputable model/brand. There is a reason why wheels were hand built before cheaper factory machine-built became the norm. Once hand built wheels are acquired you may never worry about re-truing or repairing your wheels again, because well built wheels shouldn't lose tension, except maybe resulting from a serious crash.

Spokes in well built wheels should outlast the rim braking surface and can be reused with a new rim, possibly several times over. I have found myself though experience repairing machine built wheels to be false economy. A lot of people scoff at the extra cost hand built wheels, but you are paying for quality and supporting a declining skilled trade. Ask around, fair wear and tear aside, some wheel builders will offer to re-true your wheels for free for the duration of their practical life because they are that confident about the integrity of the build (they will likely never see you again with complaints, so that isn't at great cost to them, a good builder can true a bike wheel in minutes anyway).

For my first build, I built myself some Mavic Open Pro Clinchers around Tiagra hubs using DT Swiss spokes and they never needed re-truing. I don't deal with shoot wheels anymore because I build up my bikes at home from the frameset up. It's a relief. Threads like this are ten a penny, because the issue is not you, it's shoddy machine built wheels. I have to say though, failing in under 400 miles is crazy.

 

[T675Rich]

Well I dropped the bike off and and he seems to think that a spoke coming less than finger tight just happens, no one knows why apparently. He then said on a 32 spoke wheel its not a problem to have a loose spoke, also a broken spoke in under 400 miles didn't phase him. Also when I said my appollohhad no loose spokes in the years I had it he said this was different as it was a better quality wheel.. He said will true the wheel for free.

It's a Cannondale CX4 quick.

 

[I like Skol]

Sorry but I can now say the guy is a clueless jerk or just doesn't care how he screws his customers!

A spoke coming loose within 20 miles of him fixing the wheel is diabolical! Did he not check the tensions of the other spokes when he replaced the broken one? If he just replaced the broken one and handed it back then that is a pretty easy £25 for nothing as it should have been warranty anyway.

At this point I would report your tale to the manufacturer and let them know everything this idiot has said because I am confident you will need further support for this wheel before very long. You need to get them onside, they might suggest another dealer that can sort you out properly and then they will deal with this guy's behaviour. He is doing their brand a lot of damage so they will take a dim view.

 

[roadrash]

listen to the voice of @I like Skol , contact the manufacturer, you have nothing to loose in doing so , and perhaps plenty to gain.

 

[T675Rich]

Sorry but I can now say the guy is a clueless jerk or just doesn't care how he screws his customers!

A spoke coming loose within 20 miles of him fixing the wheel is diabolical! Did he not check the tensions of the other spokes when he replaced the broken one? If he just replaced the broken one and handed it back then that is a pretty easy £25 for nothing as it should have been warranty anyway.

At this point I would report your tale to the manufacturer and let them know everything this idiot has said because I am confident you will need further support for this wheel before very long. You need to get them onside, they might suggest another dealer that can sort you out properly and then they will deal with this guy's behaviour. He is doing their brand a lot of damage so they will take a dim view.

I went to pick it up, apparently he would have only checked the spokes around the one he replaced not all of them so that on could have been loose anyway, I did say when a dropped it in there were loos spokes in a number of places. He says he has now checked all of them..

I'm going to email Cannondale and ask about spokes breaking withing such a short time.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Well I dropped the bike and and he seems to think that a spoke coming less than finger tight just happens, no one knows why apparently. He then said on a 32 spoke wheel its not a problem to have a loose spoke, also a broken spoke in under 400 miles didn't phase him. Also when I said my appollohhad no loose spokes in the years I had it he said this was different as it was a better quality wheel.. He said will true the wheel for free.
It's a Connondale CX4 quick.

"Well I dropped [off] the bike" I think you should share the identity of this bike shop with this community.
"he seems to think that a spoke coming less than finger tight just happens, no one knows why apparently."
A spoke coming loose on a wheel built 'fit for purpose' doesn't "just happen". Complete Bx. Though probably more likely on a cheap new wheel than one tried and tested on the road.
"on a 32 spoke wheel its not a problem to have a loose spoke"
In what way is it "not a problem"? Only perhaps that by some side-of-the-road fettling one can complete whatever distance you're riding, whereas on wheel with less spokes this would be more difficult, going on impossible as the number of spokes reduce.
"a broken spoke in under 400 miles didn't phase him" He needs to drop his 'doesn't phase me' threshold.
"He said will true the wheel for free." I suggested to you that you argue for him refunding you the £25 he charged for (not) sorting it out in the first place. The wheel failing in that way so soon (in miles ridden) after purchase means the goods he sold you were not fit for purpose.
"It's a Connondale CX4 quick." Probably worth getting the name of the bike correct when you communicate with Cannondale, unless it's some barbarian version/rip-off.

 

[T675Rich]

Apologies for the typos, I will be sure to proof read my posts more thoroughly in the future.

I don't know why but I feel uneasy about naming the lbs although they were happy to criticise the work of the small bike place where I work when I said they suggested the wheel had no integrity. I'm partly weary because I had tightened a couple of loose spokes a little myself (one turn with a spoke key at most) and although Smoking Joe said an over tightened spoke shouldn't break, I'm so inept at most things I wouldn't be surprised if it was my fault. I am not happy that they don't check all the spokes when replacing one but that has been done now so I am tempted to see how it goes.