Bicycle Mechanics - spoke came off today

i was riding on a bumpy paved trail today on my road bike, and i heard some rattling in the front wheel. i got off the bike and a spoke had come loose. the piece that attaches the spoke to the wheel seems to be rattling around inside the wheel, and i dont know how to get it out. i tried removing the tube, but the piece is in an area of the tire that is separated from the tube area.

so, how do i get it out, and when i do, how do i put the spoke back in? also, is what happened normal, or did the bike shop not give me a good tune up when i bought the used bike. thanks.

I think you are talking about the nipple. You'll need that to put a new spoke in. Not sure if you broke that other spoke or not, but if you did, you'll need a new spoke. You will probably have to take the tire and tube off, but be careful because the nipple might just fall out (i.e., don't do this near a storm drain or something like that LOL). If it's still rattling around in the wheel, you'll have to peel the rim tape off because it's probably still in the hole (which is more than likely the case).

If you aren't sure what you are doing, I'd let the bike shop take care of it. Cheap and easy fix for them, plus they usually true the wheel up afterward. This isn't an area you want to do wrong.

These things happen. If it's a broken spoke, then that happens. If it jsut came loose from the nipple, then you should probably ask them to use locktight or something on the spoke so it doesn't come out again.

the spoke's not broken.

is it entirely necessary to go to the shop? i would like the learn how to do this because in a month i'm not going to have easy access to a bike shop.

You can do it yourself, he was just saying it's not something you want to mess up really, so unless you know what you're doing, take it to a bike shop, when you go there, ask hm to show you how it's done, and to give you some tips if needed. ;)

Good Luck.