The one mystery I have not cracked. Is there online or here somewhere (I did try searching the forums with key words) a guide on how to replace broken spokes and successfully true the wheel afterwards? Being 6' 3" and at the wrong end of the BMI scale, I am frequently replacing them and it is expensive and tedious to have to take it in for repair every time this happens. Apologies if I have missed previously given info on this.
BF
Spoke replacement and wheel alignment
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36740
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
Re: Spoke replacement and wheel alignment
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
That from Sheldon Brown gives a lot of info about everything involved in wheelbuilding. You may feel that spoke replacement and truing are only a small part of that and if so you can just extract the bits you need, but I suggest the background knowledge would be useful even if you never build a wheel.
I'd offer a couple of points about spoke breakages. I'm convinced that on many new bikes manufacturers make economies with the less glamorous stuff and spokes are an example of that. Also, when the spokes in a wheel start to go, that is usually the sign that the others are also in a similar condition and are ready to go in their turn.
So, replacing all your spokes at once with something of a decent quality may well be more cost-effective and give more reliabilty than piecemeal replacement. Of course, you could read that article by SB and decide if wheelbuilding is up your street.
That from Sheldon Brown gives a lot of info about everything involved in wheelbuilding. You may feel that spoke replacement and truing are only a small part of that and if so you can just extract the bits you need, but I suggest the background knowledge would be useful even if you never build a wheel.
I'd offer a couple of points about spoke breakages. I'm convinced that on many new bikes manufacturers make economies with the less glamorous stuff and spokes are an example of that. Also, when the spokes in a wheel start to go, that is usually the sign that the others are also in a similar condition and are ready to go in their turn.
So, replacing all your spokes at once with something of a decent quality may well be more cost-effective and give more reliabilty than piecemeal replacement. Of course, you could read that article by SB and decide if wheelbuilding is up your street.
Re: Spoke replacement and wheel alignment
It is not that hard to do. You will need a spoke key and a screwdriver (flathead). First remove the tire and inner tube and then the rim tape. Remove the broken spoke and thread the new spoke through the hub flange, taking note of which way to insert it. Weave new spoke through other spokes in the same manner as the others on the wheel and yes you do have to flex them a bit. Guide end of spoke into nipple on rim and tighten with a screwdriver so that you can still see some of the thread on spoke or as much as the others on the same side of the wheel. Now use the spoke key for final adjustments, checking the tension is similar to the others. If your wheel is a bit out of true, tighten the spoke on the opposite side to the bulge to pull it straight.
The other things you will need to be aware of is the spoke length. Make sure you replace like with like in length, but you could use better quality spokes and as thirdcrank says, it might be a good idea to replace them all if they keep breaking, but if you do it slowly by taking a spoke out, putting new one in, take another one out etc, you will not get in a muddle as you will always have the original pattern to follow. Also, if it is the rear wheel you will need to remove the cassette if the broken spoke is on the drive side (and strangely enough, this is normally the case) and for this you will need a special cassette lock ring tool and a chain whip or something similar to hold the cassette in place while you undo to lock ring. If not it will just spin round and round all day long. Spokes on the rear wheel drive side are generally 1 or 2 mm shorter than those on the other side and are tightened much more than the other side too. Truing is exactly the same for both wheels but bear in mind that the rear one has an asymmetric dish to accommodate the cassette, more so on Campagnolo hubs than Shimano.
I recently built two wheels from scratch and have done about 250 miles on them so far without problem. If I can so can you, just keep an eye on it once done and be prepared to make adjustments to get the wheel true after riding it first time.
The other things you will need to be aware of is the spoke length. Make sure you replace like with like in length, but you could use better quality spokes and as thirdcrank says, it might be a good idea to replace them all if they keep breaking, but if you do it slowly by taking a spoke out, putting new one in, take another one out etc, you will not get in a muddle as you will always have the original pattern to follow. Also, if it is the rear wheel you will need to remove the cassette if the broken spoke is on the drive side (and strangely enough, this is normally the case) and for this you will need a special cassette lock ring tool and a chain whip or something similar to hold the cassette in place while you undo to lock ring. If not it will just spin round and round all day long. Spokes on the rear wheel drive side are generally 1 or 2 mm shorter than those on the other side and are tightened much more than the other side too. Truing is exactly the same for both wheels but bear in mind that the rear one has an asymmetric dish to accommodate the cassette, more so on Campagnolo hubs than Shimano.
I recently built two wheels from scratch and have done about 250 miles on them so far without problem. If I can so can you, just keep an eye on it once done and be prepared to make adjustments to get the wheel true after riding it first time.
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Bongo Fury
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 9 Sep 2009, 2:23pm
Re: Spoke replacement and wheel alignment
Terrific. Exactly the advice I was looking for. Many thanks to both of you.