Commuting - Spoke Won't Tighten - Help Me Get Home

I don'tknow what happened, but I think the bike shop had a rookie mechanic do my tuneup a few weeks back. First I noticed the shifting wasn't ver precise. Then today a spoke lets go as I get to work the rear wheel is rubbing like CRAZY! The spoke just won't tighten. I think I'm doing everything right, but it just won't stick.

Which spokes should I adjust to compensate? I have a 12 mile ride home before I can get to bike shop!

Okay, just found out it won't tighten because it's broken! It looked to still be attached but the end that attaches to the hub was broken off. I know I can make emergency adjustments -- just not sure how. The bike shop close to work says they're swamped and can't help today -- no love for a guy who needs his bike to get home, I guess.

worst case here is to take the spoke off, leaving the nipple in place, make a short bend, just enough to pass through the hub, so that you will have "some" thread to go back into nipple. You may not be able to bend the spoke and still have threads enough to reach the nipple, and one spoke, should not be too severe for riding home on, and compensating for this one may cause the wheel to become worse in shape from riding it out of round. Are there othr bike shops near you, may even want to go shopping for a new LBS if this type of tune up continues. I carry a hex keyed nipple in my riding kit, that allows me to place the nipple at the hub end of the spoke, once passed through the hub, All I have to do is lossen the spoke enough to make a 1/4 inch bend and feed the spoke wire into the hub, then set the nipple onto the spoke tightening this to the wire. Good luck
tim

all other spokes appear to be in good shape. I can't just ignore it for the 12 miles though because the rub it creates on the brake is enough to make them squeal. I suppose I'll have to release the rear brake for the ride home. UGH.

My poor bike. I feel like I've neglected her. Just messing around with the spokes has covered my hands in grease/dirt. She needs a cleaning.

can you take that spoke and wind it around a spoke threaded through the same side of the hub? It should take some of the wobble out of your rim (I got this tip from Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance).

Man, I'm lucky that I've only broken spokes within a mile away from home *knocks on wood*

Tighten the two adjacent spokes going to the same side of the hub, and loosen the two adjacent spokes going to the opposite side of the hub.

I knew I read something like that in Zinn.. thanks. It's still rubbing quite a bit, but not as bad. I'll still have to release the back brake.

eh... you'll be fine with a front brake :) Andrew's advice is good as well... perhaps you could do that on top of winding the spoke.

Thanks everyone! Got home just fine. I'm off to drop off my bike at the shop and then to head to Maine for the weekend. No bike while I'm in Maine though... that sucks.

And I only grabbed the disconnected rear brake once! But boy did it freak me out!

I rode to work this morning on 2, and then 3, broken spokes. Didn't realize it was more than 1, just didn't have time to replace it last night. At lunch, I replaced all 3 spokes, and re-tensioned and re-trued the wheel, hopefully no more broken spokes! They are a pain!