[Background: Wheel is 24 spoke Mavic Aksium, I'm a 270# Clyde that rides mostly in NYC (lots of bumpy roads), enjoy longer rides though not racing by any stretch]
About a week ago a rag got caught in my rd which seized up and exploded, got stuck in the spokes, bent the hanger, bent the chain, and bent a spoke. Got all that fixed but I'm a little worried about the rim. Take a look at the right most spoke:
I noticed this very small bump on the outside of the rim where it meets the nipple that you can sort of see. No cracks from what I can tell. Had the lbs who fixed the broken spoke and realigned the hanger take a look and they felt it was fine but I wanted to get a few more opinions. However after 10 miles the wheel went back out of true to where it was before I brought it in which makes me think something is off (though that could just be a stripped nipple I guess).
If I should replace it I was thinking about reusing the hub and just get a new rim and spokes along with a tension meter and lace it myself. Haven't found a shop around here that will actually use one to true my wheels and I've had troubles in the past with bad trues because of it - this would be an opportunity to dive deeper into the world of wheel building. Seems like it would be a really easy wheel to build, the final tension is what would worry me. I could just go for broke and have Harris Cyclery or Peter White build a 36 spoke Deep V too and use this as a spare in the meantime if its rideable but I have a bunch of rides coming up in September and doubt I'd get a replacement back that quickly.
So my questions:
- Rideable or not?
- What's the strongest spokes I should get for it? I know for regular wheels the 14 gauge DT double butted is the way to go but I'm not sure if I have to use bladed spokes or if there's a stronger option I should be aware of.
- Good source for rims & spokes?
Thanks!