Bicycle Mechanics - broken spoke on the drive side....what caused it?

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Smallguy
07-21-10, 10:58 AM
I have my bike repaired now via my LBS since i do not have a skills ot true a wheel or the tools

but I broke a spoke last night climbing on my mtb and it snapped right in the middle

a former lbs mechanic told me it was odd because they normally snap at the hub or near the nipple in his experience

is it that odd ?

I heard it snap when I was climbing a steep grade.. was it just bad luck ?

my excuse last night as I'm just too powerful... I was joking

tortugaflats
07-21-10, 08:13 PM
kicked it with your foot
LeeG
07-21-10, 08:22 PM
yes it's odd, the spoke had weak point in the middle for some reason.

michaelscycles
07-21-10, 08:29 PM
We have been getting bikes in the shop with this problem a lot lately. Stainless spokes that get small rust spots on them. They break right at the rust. Look like they were cut but weren't. We have had people try to blame their ex for doing it. I blame it on cheap, poor quality, steel.

If you have the rust spots, I would change them all or in some cases replace the wheels.
phlash23
07-21-10, 10:17 PM
Do you store you bike in the vicinity of chlorine (swimming pool chemicals), lawn/ plant fertilizer or water softner salt? If so, that is your culprit. In an enclosed space such as a garage or storage shed the off gassing from these chemicals starts to attack small imperfections in the steel of the spokes, usually at or near the crossing junction of the spokes. If that is the case, the wheel is toast. You can keep replacing spokes, but they have all been affected at this point. You'll just keep replacing them one after another as they fatigue. Sorry news is you need to buy a new wheel, or at least relace the spokes and nipples to your existing rim and hub.
I work at a shop in Florida and all three of these chemicals are quite common and almost always stored in garages. The heat and humidity here (90+ degrees/F and 80%+ humidity) just speed up the process. We get a couple wheels a week with this problem, a record of 5 last week.