Bicycle Mechanics - Broken spoke on relatively new bike

Trek 7100, about six weeks old, I commute on it total of 60 miles per week.

Haven't put any hard shocks, jumping curbs or anything. I'm about 245 lbs. and carrying maybe five lbs. in a backpack.

Noticed rear wheel out of true this morning, took a look at lunch and there is a broken spoke on the drive side, at the hub.

Do I have a problem here? Defective (Matrix) wheel? Or too much weight on it?

If you are 245 its pretty reasonable to be breaking spokes, especially on a low end wheelset.

It sounds like you had some pretty good luck with those wheels. But when spokes go they go.
I just went through 3 broken spokes on my commuing bike in the past 2 montha on a medium quality wheel. It was either relace the hubs or get new wheels. Instead of fixing it this time I just upgraded to an XT/Mavic wheel set that should be more sturdy. I'm not 245 (At lease not anymore).....THe new wheels seem a lot sturdier for my weight and the Philly pot holes.

Six weeks old? TAKE-IT-BACK to the shop you bought it from. This is the kind of thing you buy a bike from a shop for. We are supposed to help you when you get a new bike and it has problems. I can't say what they will do, but they should, if they are any good, help you out. If it came to me, I would first put a spoke in it. If you break another, I will get in touch with the manufacturer and see what they want to do, probably replace wheel. If they had no help, we would work up an "at cost" fix.

245? you will have problems with stock wheels. I had no problems with the stock rims on my GT for about 500 miles, but after that point, I broke a spoke a week :mad: till i swapped out the rear wheel for a sun rhinolite. I've had no problems since, even with several fast, long rides over rocks, roots and logs and 275 LBs punishing it every inch of the way. Do a search on the forums, this is a common problem.

I think new machine built wheels loose spoke tension in the first couple of weeks of riding. They should then go back to the shop to be retensioned and stress relieved. In this case you should make sure that the shop not only replaces the broken spoke but brings all the other spokes up to the correct tension and stress relieve. I am 235 lbs and have had no rim or spoke problems since I have been riding on deep section double walled rims.

I am 235 lbs and have had no rim or spoke problems since I have been riding on deep section double walled rims.
I think that is the key, quality rims. I don't know what the stock rims are on a trek 7100, but I'm going to guess they are not deep section double walled rims.

LBS will replace at no labor cost. They were quite nice about it on the phone.

I have jogged for 25 years, weight gain is in the last couple when I got married and the baby came :beer:

The reason I mention it is because my legs came up to speed fairly quickly, and I pedal pretty hard. I guess I am putting a lot of stress on the wheel.

Thanks for the replies.

BTW, wheel is a Matrix 500.

Trek 7100, about six weeks old, I commute on it total of 60 miles per week.

Haven't put any hard shocks, jumping curbs or anything. I'm about 245 lbs. and carrying maybe five lbs. in a backpack.

Noticed rear wheel out of true this morning, took a look at lunch and there is a broken spoke on the drive side, at the hub.

Do I have a problem here? Defective (Matrix) wheel? Or too much weight on it?


If the picture is accurate on the trek website, then you have a 36 spoke wheel. That's enough spokes to support 245lbs. New wheels on low priced bikes are notorious for being poorly assembled. If I were you, I'd take the wheel to a bike shop and ask them to rebuild the wheel and use 2.0mm/1.8mm/2.0mm spokes. They should charged you about a buck per soke for the labor AND about $.45 cents per spoke for the replacements.

Most experienced wheel builders should be able to build you a far superior wheel than the machine built piece of crap that came on your bike.

Good luck!

I always trusted the hand built wheel, i think its wise if you are commuting to spend the extra cash for decent wheels.

It is a 36 spoke wheel. LBS fixed it for fifty cent cost of spoke.

A friend at work puts zip ties around the crosses in the spokes of his MTB, he says that will strengthen the wheel (at risk of punching a spoke through a nipple). I won't be giving this wheel that kind of pounding.

Anything to this idea?

It is a 36 spoke wheel. LBS fixed it for fifty cent cost of spoke.

A friend at work puts zip ties around the crosses in the spokes of his MTB, he says that will strengthen the wheel (at risk of punching a spoke through a nipple). I won't be giving this wheel that kind of pounding.

Anything to this idea?


No. Its baloney, lore that has no basis in fact.
In the 70's people soldered wire around the spoke crossings.

Sometimes spokes just break.

Get it repaired and pick up a couple extra spokes while you are there so you can fix it yourself next time. If it happens a few more times, consider a hand-built wheel.