Originally Posted by
rpenmanparker
Keep in mind (everyone) that a spoke being held in place by its neighbors doesn't mean it is functional after breaking, just that it might not flop around. Lately I have been reading a few posts about people not knowing they have broken spokes and riding like that for a long time. Wut? I've broken a lot of spokes over 30+ years of active cycling. I knew immediately each and every time it happened. And every time I had to adjust the brake clearance and adjacent spokes to get home. I can't imagine how sloppy a road bike would have to be adjusted to mask a broken spoke, high spoke count or otherwise.
Nobody said it was functional, the OP was concerned about a broken spoke flopping around to the point it because a major hazard.
The first time I broke a spoke I didn't notice until some time later (I still don't know how I did it). The second time I broke a spoke I heard a loud crack as it happened but didn't immediately realise what it was because it coincided with hitting a pothole at the bottom of a fairly fast descent. The third time I heard a crack and knew something was wrong because it was on a smooth piece of road, so stopped to check and found the broken spoke.
On a wheel with a disc brake the rim wobbling a bit doesn't make a noticeable difference. When I broke a spoke on my bike with rim brakes I did need to adjust the brakes to get home.