elbowging

Hello everyone,

I've read many Twinn threads on this forum but I can't find definitive info so hopefully someone can offer advice! I have a 1973 Deluxe Twinn that is almost all original. We are the second owners and we ride it around the city but we've also taken it on a lot of longer rides, including 2 centuries. It's pretty bombproof.

Unluckily for us, we recently broke 4 spokes on the rear wheel. I know that simply replacing the wheelset is probably advisable, but because they are otherwise OK (and we don't mind the weight, or the problems of steel rims' stopping power..drum brake is OK too) I'd like to try simply replacing the spokes. However, I am having a hard time finding out the correct gauge/size. I know Schwinn has proprietary sizing for a lot of their components so I didn't want to goof by buying the wrong thing on ebay. I don't mind if it's NOS or a modern equivalent, but just want to get the wheel shipshape again. Does anyone know the best place to get replacement spokes? Any advice would be greatly appreciated - thank you!

rhenning

Schwinn spokes are fairly standard so any bike shop should be able to get you some for a reasonable price. If the spokes are from both sides of the hub I would recomend that you take a good spoke off both sides and bring them with you. Most likely one side will be a bit longer than the other. Mark them so you know which side they are from. Roger

oddjob2

Call around and find a LBS with a spoke cutting machine.

Velognome 

If you get stuck, I've got a Twinn rear wheel gathering dust. Give me a few days and I'll harvest some spokes for you. PM me if you're interested.

oddjob2

Dratts! I just left West Caldwell on Sunday. Is it a single speed or five speed? I can get it around Labor Day.

Scooper

The catalog shows the Deluxe Twinn as a 5-speed and the Twinn as a single speed with coaster brake.

According to the specifications page, the Deluxe Twinn rear wheel spokes are p/n 83 360, and are 10 1/2" long, .105 straight gauge.

10 1/2" = 266.7mm, and .105" = 2.667mm

thumpism 

I had a yellow one years ago and seem to recall that the spokes are not "laced," meaning that each runs directly from hub flange to rim without touching the spokes being crossed on the way. In a three-cross, for example, the spoke will cross over the first two coming from the other side of the same flange and under the last one before the spoke nipple goes on. That helps strengthen the wheel, so if this is not done on yours then doing so would help prevent spoke breakage in the future.

pastorbobnlnh 

Since the wheel is 42 years old, and you broke 4 spokes, I'm guessing this could be an emerging pattern (of spokes breaking). If you can afford to do so, consider replacing all the spokes in the wheel at the same time, having the wheel trued and tensioned by an experienced wheel builder/mechanic at this time will go a long way towards reliable carefree riding in the future. Since you list your location as "Boston," there are numerous shops which can handle this work.

Best of luck, happy riding, and welcome to the forum.

elbowging

Thanks everyone for the responses. I think I'll start at a LBS - having the exact specs to reference is very helpful (I combed through a lot of PDFs of old Schwinn catalogs but could not find details). Hopefully it won't get too costly. I agree that it would be best to replace all the spokes, or at least have the wheel trued/tensioned, but we'll see what's the most reasonable. Thanks to Velognome for the kind offer of spoke harvesting - I'll let you know if I get completely stuck. Until now, we've done all the maintenance/upgrades ourselves but sometimes it's best to ask the experts...

We'd like to have many more long rides on this thing but we also understand its limitations!

SJX426 

I suspect the issue is related more to spoke tension than age. Where did they break? Typically they will break at the head on the flange. Finding replacements and having it properly trued and tension set within spec might just be the solution. If they are not SS then I would replace them all.

Scooper

Here is the specifications page I mentioned in my previous post. Although this is the '72 spec, it's a pretty sure bet the '73 is the same. I agree with Pastor Bob's advice to just have the wheel rebuilt with all new spokes by a competent wheelbuilder.

Velognome 

It's Twinn Sport wheel which is a drum brake hub with a 5 speed freewheel. On Labor Day I'll be in the Southern Tier but we could make arrangements if it's worth your while

Metacortex

For reference note that the Twinn Sport had 27" (ISO 630) wheels while the Deluxe Twinn had 26 x 1-3/8" (ISO 597) wheels. The spoke lengths are 10-5/8" and 10-1/2" respectively, both are .105 ga.

elbowging

I wanted to update this thread in case my findings help any other Twinn owners out there. Despite living in Boston where there are plenty of bike shops, I had trouble finding anyone who could help me. The closest I came was Belmont Wheelworks, a shop that has tandem specialists, who gave advice and were able to cut spokes to size if I found the right gauge (which nobody had, or knew where to find).

Nevertheless, thanks to the specs provided by Scooper, I was able to track down someone who sells the thick, .105" spokes (12 gauge). The website is Custom Motored Bicycles and they have a section for heavy duty spokes: Custom Motored Bicycles - 12 GAUGE SPOKES, 260mm,STAINLESS STEEL,12G

The first item on the list is 12 gauge, 270mm spokes, 95 cents each, which fit on the Deluxe Twinn drum brake rear hub. According to the Schwinn specs the proper length is 10 1/2" or 266 2/3mm, but 270mm works fine and the spokes threaded into the original nipples with no problem. I bought extras and may eventually end up replacing all the spokes, depending on how things go with trueing and adjusting the wheel. Thanks again everyone for the advice!