Homebrew01

Depends. If a guy next to me broke a spoke, I'd say "bummer for you" but I wouldn't expect him to drop out. If his chainstay breaks, then time to call it a day.

waterrockets 

I have 64 of them. Do you think I'd even notice if one broke? If it wasn't slapping around, I probably wouldn't even know. Pulling off and twisting it around a neighboring spoke would be enough for me.

Of course, I say this because I build my own wheels, so I'm familiar with their health.

CrimsonKarter21

Like the guy who got 2 flats with no spare tubes, and he finished the race on the rims?
That was such an awesome tale.

A teammate last year broke his non-drive side crankarm 10 miles into a 100 mile single speed race, and finished in 5th I think. He pedaled one footed on the flats, ran up the hills, and coasted the downhills.

NomadVW 

IMO - and until I get paid to do this - I have no reason to race in a pack on a wheel that will "likely" not fail - even though it has begun to fail already. Someone said "one broken means 5 weak spokes" is a good point.

I get the mechanical odds that says a 31 spoked wheel will probably sustain itself, and I'd ride one home for as many miles as it took - but not shoulder to shoulder pushing the wheel to its limit. But crap - a 32 spoke wheel should probably never have popped the spoke in the first place, so now what?

Wussy? Mebbe. But I can guarantee this. I'll never take someone else (or myself) out because of it. It's my level of risk management.

neuronal

Of course I'd like to think that I'm perfectly safe, but it's always the case that I'm not.

Besides, if a spoke breaks, that doesn't mean the wheel has "failed". There are 32 spokes, so there is some buffer before the wheel becomes a real hazard. If 5 spokes popped off, I would mind if someone was still using that wheel, but one spoke is just not that big a threat.

carpediemracing 

32 spoke wheel - I broke a spoke in a wheel like that one year and didn't fix it. Rode it for a while, eventually just stopped riding it and rode other wheels.

I've had a broken spoke in my mountain bike wheel (rear, 32H, drive side) for many years, it's true enough so the tire doesn't rub, the spoke is a weird 15g/1.8mm size, so I haven't bothered replacing it. True a mtb tire cushions a lot better than a road wheel and the 26" wheel is smaller/stronger, but still, it's so unnecessary I haven't bothered with fixing it.

I did a Prospect Park on 16/20 spoke DV46Ts, broke a *front* spoke maybe 3-4 laps into a 9 lap race. After some very wary laps at the back I realized the wheel wasn't going to break, and I started contemplating not stopping. I moved up and tried a few fast descents (50 mph) and decided the wheel was acceptable. I got 6th in the race in a field sprint.

If the wheel feels bad, I'd stop. If the wheel seems okay, I'd keep going.

cdr

mollusk

How long before the finish?

If a mile or so to the finish I might go for it, especially if I was in a small group and they all knew what was what. If 10 or more miles out or in a large group there is no way in the world. All kinds of bad things might happen (though unlikely), but you really don't want to be that guy if it does. Everyone will remember that for a LONG time. And you will have to race with them over and over again.

nitropowered

My friend won a race after he broke a spoke on is Reynolds DV46 rear wheel. I think those are 20h

Homebrew01

Like what ?

merlinextraligh

If you flatted,and couldn't get a wheel woudl you keep riding?

One of the primary advantages asserted for tubulars is the ability to ride flat, and certainly many pros have finished, even won races on flat tubulars.

Is the risk of riding on 31 spokes, higher than riding a flat?

Busta Quad

You are an attorney(?) If a plaintiff came to you with injuries due to a wheel failure in such a case, and you could show that the rider knowingly put that wheel into service, wouldn't you argue gross negligence?

I'm not an attorney, but having been involved in a couple of torts I learned the hard way that facts had little to with the claims; it all came down to the plantiff's attorney swaying the jury to "preponderance" of allegations.

BTW - I run 24 a spoke wheel, so I was thinking in those terms.

NomadVW 

First - riding? Yes. Racing? No, not on a flat

Second - The races I see, the first thing that happens is a hand goes up for the guy getting paid to replace their wheel to give them a new one on a flat (and undoubtedly on broken spokes). I've also seen a number of crashes and injuries when they roll out in corners on flats - assuming tubulars since most teams ride those.

My point is - since my financial well being doesn't create a positive in the risk-reward, it's just not worth it.

Ultimately, I think I agree with you that the chances of catastrophe on a 31-spoker may be pretty slim, but they would have to be significantly higher than on the properly tensioned 32 spoke that didn't break. Cause lets face it, if the 32 spoke popped a spoke, something is wrong anyway.

Rosso Corsa

On my commuter I have a 34 spoked front wheel. About 3000km ago I broke 1 spoke, and 2000km later another broke 90 degrees away from the original. Sure, on climbs they kind of sound like they are grinding against each other or something, but it still works just fine and faithfully with a bit of compensation truing. No problems here.

EivlEvo

I understand the risks involved. I think you are all correct... that a 32 spoke wheel -1 won't "catastrophically" fail.

The issue is, why? I mean... Merlin I see your point about finishing what you started etc... but I'm saying, you're one step closer to a redundancy failure.

For example. Piston aircraft use 2 magnetos (to provide spark to the plugs) this is so that the engine can operate independent of the electrical system (unlike a car). So, if one of your magnetos fails... then the engine can still work perfectly fine on the other magneto... but would you continue the flight? Especially if there was no real necessity?

My point is that I guess there are times when I would ride down a spoke or with an equipment failure and that there are times I wouldn't. If I'm in a points race and doing well in the race (ie potentially about to get some points) hell yes, I'm staying in. If its a cat 5 race where I am only accomplishing "finishing the race" I might slow up and ride near the back. But if its just a race... why risk failing the wheel or causing harm to someone else? Just sit up.

EivlEvo

Yes.

Frunkin

I would keep going, unless it's banging around and scratching my frame.

Apus^2

River falls has a couple hard turns right after the downhill. Probably was better I didn't push it. I'll consider it on a flat course.

botto 

my god, mtn bikers are effin idiots.

kudude

'cross guys aren't much smarter. this happened 5 minutes into a cross race. I finished right inside the top 10. Every time I hit the brakes I heard a "ting ting ting". To be fair, if it had failed, I would have only taken myself out. After the races I did this weekend I have an even stronger disdain the guys who cause wrecks *in packs*.

grolby

What an utterly absurd statement. Let me state this again, since it seems like half of the people don't get it: A 32-spoke wheel with one broken spoke is not a failure risk. A wheel that is suddenly 31 spokes is equally as safe as it was with 32. And if you do happen to break another, now you're riding a still perfectly safe 30 spoke wheel. Your 32-spoke wheel is not going to collapse because a spoke breaks! Unless, of course, your wheels were built at Toys 'R' Us or something, but I'm going to hazard a guess that anyone here who is racing on 32-spoke wheels is on high-quality wheels with proper spoke tension.

And it's worth stating, again, that the entire point of riding 32 or 36 spoke wheels is that a broken spoke is not a big deal - it makes essentially no difference in the strength of the wheel, AND the wheel stays true enough that it can continue to be ridden. If we were talking about a low spoke-count wheel, then yes, it would be a bad idea to continue, but chances are that the rim will rub on the brakes with the QR open anyway, so it's pretty much a non-issue in this case.

botto 

as you well know, that kind of "ting, ting, ting" is not a welcome sound in a crowded pack of racers.

MrCrassic 

No, I wouldn't.

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Homebrew01

Lamest analogy of the year ? What if the plane has 32 magnetos, and 1 fails, leaving you with 31 good ones ?

Busta Quad

Perfectly? Nope. There is a performance degradation, which is what you depend on to check mags at run-up (via RPM drop).

grolby

Well, I would also point out that the stakes involved when flying an aircraft are slightly higher than they are in your typical crit or RR.