DallasSoxFan

Well, it took me over a year and a half, but I finally managed to break two rear spokes last night on the commute home. I definitely need to lose a few more. I can't complain, though - my bike is a POS BD dawes Lightning "sport." About 1000 miles before they broke.

I did learn that I need to carry a couple of hex keys with me. I rode it home the 3.5 miles to go, but had I a hex key, i wouldn't have had to fight the rear brakes the whole way back.

bautieri

How is this nessecary? You got 1000 miles out of a stock rear wheel. I'd say you did pretty good. A popped spoke or two is nothing to get bent out of shape over (or, your rim might ) and it happens on bikes costing several times as much regardless of where it came from. Ride what you have and be happy.

Neil_B

You shouldn't speak of your bicycle that way, young man. It carries you where you want to go. Treat it kindly and with the respect it deserves.

nashcommguy

Get yourself a 48h rim/hub combo. Use a CR18 rim and whatever hub you can afford. Phil Wood, White Industries..VERY Pricey. There're are older models that are cheaper...try looking at older tandem parts, etc. Purchase 2 boxes of DT Alpine 3 spokes. Have a qualified, proven wheelbuilder do the build and your worries are over. Guaranteed. It'll cost you more than your whole bike, but WELL worth it. I use this for touring purposes where I'm carrying 40-50 lbs of gear. I weigh 185

Mr. Beanz

That's total overkill. I weigh as much has you and your loaded bike. Been riding 105 hubs & Ulterga 32 spoke 3X for 13 years and NEVER had a problem with hubs.

OP doesn't mention weight but if he's 250'ish, a welll built Deep V (or similar 30 mm rim) would do just fine! This would not be very expensive in the real world but maybe to the OP as he hasn't spent too much money on his bike. Not being snobbish, just real when it comes to the bike world. But Phl Wood and White hubs are pricey, $250 ?? for the hub alone?? That's far too much for someone that is communting and riding 1000 miles in 1 1/2 years.

Great if the OP as the dough but I wouldn't think he'd be interested in selling his house to pay for the hubs!

CACycling

Don't dis' your bike. I popped a spoke on my commuter (Schwinn Le Tour GS w/ 24 spoke rear) on smooth asphalt while turning a corner. I just bought a replacement spoke, installed it and trued the wheel. I've got over 1K miles since replacing the spoke and it's the only problem I've had in over 3K miles on my "cheap bike".

Although I agree you should carry basic tools (I have a multi-tool on each of my bikes), I wouldn't take a wrench to anything just because I popped a spoke. Release the tension on the caliper (like you'd do for removing the wheel) and use the other brake for the ride home. Works fine as long as you remember to give yourself more time to stop and don't have any killer descents.

And thanks for the JtheJ link. I signed up.

CliftonGK1

Holy spiteful overkill, Batman!

I weigh 235 pounds, I've been as much as 265, and I've never ridden anything except 32h rims and straight gauge 2.0mm (14g) spokes. A well built 32h wheel will hold up just fine, and even with my SON28 front hub I didn't spend anywhere near the cost of my entire bike for the wheel build.
DT RR1.1 rims = $130/pair
64 DT 2.0 spokes ~ $50 (80-ish cents each at LBS, no need to buy a whole box)
SON28 hub = $300
Tiagra hub = $0.00 (used from stock wheel on bike)
Total $480 plus 3 hours of my time to build them. I've got almost 9000 miles on the front wheel. The rear was actually just transfer laced to a new rim when I wore out the original Alex DA16. The RR1.1 is the same ERD, so I zip-tied the rims together and did a hole-for-hole transfer of the spokes then tensioned/trued it. 5000 miles and going strong.

DallasSoxFan

1. To clarify, I am NOT dissing my bike. I say POS in the most endearing way possible. It has given me more bang-for-the-buck then i ever thought imaginable. Really, other than the raw weight of it and the stem shifters, its been great to me. Not as fast or fun as my weekender (trek 2.3), but reliable.

2. I have not need for a new rear wheel. The one on the bike is a 7 speed freewheel and upgrading would be more trouble than its worth. When the time comes, I'll get a whole new bike. As incentive, I'm putting a $10 bill into a piggy bank for every pound I lose.

3. I did release the brake as much as possible, but with two broken spokes, the wobble was bad enough that it rubbed hard on every revolution. Had I carried a hex key, I could have released the cable altogether. Or, if I had a wrench, I could have removed the pad.

4. I weigh 220 and ride fairly light on good roads, FTR.

CliftonGK1

At 220 and riding 'light', have a shop replace the busted spokes and also re-tension the wheel. The general rule is that if you break 1 spoke, it will be a cascade effect if you don't re-tension. The wheel might be true, but if it's not evenly tensioned you'll get uneven spoke flex as the wheel turns, and more spokes will continue to break.

Mr. Beanz

New rim, spokes and same hub should be about $100 to have it rebuilt at the shop.

For the record, I bet you could have gotten several more miles out of the wheel had it been maintained properly ( retensioned about 300 miles in)