Mountain Biking - loose spokes, bad hub...?

Ok, so today i went to take apart my rear hub to clean it out and repack it. I noticed the spokes are kinda bent where they cross over each other and some are kinda loose! Can I ride this till everything goes to hell or am i putting mysefl in danger? I don't know how long it's been like this since I rarely check the rear wheel on any regular basis. I wanted to wait on buying a new rear wheel/hub for when i get a new frame. ANyone know where to get a semi-decent rear wheel/hub set for cheap, i'm pretty pissed off about this. The wheel doesn't seem to be true either, though it's only off very slightly. I dunno, more money into this bike, drrrr!

Well this is a learning experience. On a mtb you should check your tires fairly often and going out of true is not uncommon. If you aren't comfortable simply take it into a shop and for 20$ they should retrue and retighten the spokes replacing any that might be fubared...if you are comfortable buy a spoke tool for your spokes and retrue yourself. Fairly easy and something every rider should be able to do.

This is a great wheelset. Should be more than strong enough

http://pricepoint.com/product237.html

Thats for both wheels. But be warned they will go out of true too. It is just part of the game, no need to be pissed.

Yeah, part of the price to play!

Get a spoke wrench and learn to true your own wheels.

It's not too difficult and takes a lot of patience. Make small adjustments, and take it slow.

If you're not sure how, practice on a beater rim (front's are easier for learning).

L8R

Ok well i just got front mav 317 w/ xt so i have an extra front wheel to practice on. Maybe i should just have the lbs put on all new spokes and true it as i don't have a truing stand, spoke tension meter, or spoke wrench. I'd rather just pay $20 at this point than buy a new rear wheel/hub. SOunds like it's better to get it fixed now rather than later. Thanks

You can buy a spoke wrench for about $5. Don't need a stand, you can use your frame or fork, and don't need a tension meter, just go by feel.

Ask the mechanic if you can watch, maybe even pay him to teach you!

L8R