Front Wheel

[tank]

I ride a Street Machine GTe. Having ridden a lot of road style bikes in the past I do not bump up and down curbs and I try to miss most of the potholes in the road.

A couple of weeks ago I was cycling along a cycle path and one of the front spokes broke . I took it to a LBS where they said that 2 pokes had actually broken , they relaced the spokes as requested.

I was out on a ride last weekend and another spoke broke. The people I was with said that it is best to replace all the spokes at once.

The bike is only 18 months old and whilst I have done a few miles on it I have not done excessive miles on it. I am over weight, but I would still expect the front wheel to last longer than 18 months.

Has any one else hade problems with the spokes in the front wheel of their Street Machine?

[PDQ]

Hi Tank, I have an older steel SMGT. I have never had any problems with the wheels or rims in many thousands of miles. I have ridden the bike down a few kerbs in the 10 years I have had it!!. I am not overwieght. The bike has Magura rim brakes.
If you have disc brakes therein may lie one possible cause, as the braking force is transmitted though the spokes. On any bike the front wheel does more braking than the back and I would say a fair bit more on a recumbent than on an upwong. Your wieght may be a factor. Do you brake hard regularly?
However, it shouldn't happen and certainly not so soon. After all the bike was designed as a wieght carrying tourer.Respoking with stronger spokes may be a solution. I think your dealer should do it for free as the bike is so new .Contact HPVelotek and see what they say. Could be just a production fault, over tensioned or under tensioned spokes.

[tank]

If you have disc brakes therein may lie one possible cause

When I was buying the bike I decided that rim brakes would be able to stop me well enough and that discs weren't needed.

Do you brake hard regularly?

I commute to work on my SMGTe so whilst I dont brake sharply all the time I have had to on a couple of occassions.

Contact HPVelotek and see what they say. Could be just a production fault, over tensioned or under tensioned spokes.

Yesterday I was looking for the address for them in Germany but was unable to find it, any ideas? I found an address in America, am I looking in the wrong country?

[PDQ]

HP Velotechnik OHG
Kapellenstrasse 49
65830 Kriftel
Germany
+49 - 61 92 - 97 99 2 - 0.

Good luck.

[pjclinch]

My GT hasn't had anything needed done to its wheels, aside from cleaning them and putting on new tyres once in a while (and I have no particular bother about riding down kerbs, occasionally up them, and doing "unsuitable for loaded tourers" bits of the NCN with full luggage.

There shouldn't be anything intrinsic to the bike that causes it to bust spokes, but every now and then one gets a wheel that just needs a full re-tension and true. And I suspect you have one such wheel...

Pete.

[PaulCumbria]

I had a Streetmachine for quite a few years, toured on it extensively, carried biggish loads, dropped off kerbs, and never had any problems at all. The deep section rims and 20" wheels on suspension forks should make for super-tough wheels - this does sound like a basic issue that HPVelotechnik should be happy to sort for you.
I now have an HPV Grasshopper (with disc brakes), and I haven't had any problem with its similar front end, despite regular hard braking on precipitous Lakeland descents!