Bicycle Mechanics - Broken Spoke/Safety?

I have a broken spoke on my front wheel of my older Trek 620 city commuting bike. Is it safe to ride with one broken spoke?

Thanks,

Vipersdad

Your wheel probably isn't going to explode and create another hole in the ozone layer but having a broken spoke will place extra stress on adjacent spokes which may cause them to fail. Take it into a shop and have them replace the spoke. It shouldn't cost more than a few dollars to have the work done.

So, if you need the bike to get home on or run an errand I think you'll be fine but having a broken spoke makes the wheel less reliable so get it fixed as soon as you can.

Mike

What caused the spoke to break? What makes you think that the same thing might not cause other spokes to break?

I wouldn't ride that wheel farther away from home than I was willing to walk back.

Take it to a shop and have the spoke replaced, the wheel trued, and all spokes tensioned. It's the loose ones that usually break. Better have the rear wheel trued also.

Al

Did the spoke break at the elbow down by the hub?

On such an old bike it is likely the spokes have reached the end of their useful life. Even if the wheel is newer than the bike, an improperly built, tensioned, or stress relieved set of spokes will begin to fail early, and all must be replaced or you will be going back to the bike shop every week for new spokes.

Thanks everyone. I replaced it today.

Vipersdad