Originally Posted by
Doohickie
I've broken a couple spokes recently. They were both under tough conditions for a wheel. The first was heading uphill, upwind, riding hard, trying to beat out a storm. Then a short time after that, I hit a Bott's dot in the road and popped another spoke.
I've been trying to be more careful since then.
I ride a Gold Rush recumbent (among other bikes) and I'm not gentle on it- I've been known to drop off curbs and there's this one pothole that always seems to suck me in...
If you're breaking spokes in those conditions, I think you need to invest in a good quality, hand-built, highly tensioned wheel. I haven't broken a spoke in 15 years, despite my 220 pound arse holding the rear wheel down. I've built my own wheels for longer than that, and until I learned to build a wheel with high, balanced tension I broke spokes often. Since relearning, not a one.