bike: schwin high timber 2.6 fs
year: no idea

problem: broken spokes

a woman stored this in my mothers basement for a few years. condition is new. she gave it to my mom recently. i wanted to get it ready for my wife so i pumped up the tires and rode it for a few miles and all was perfect. i left it in the backyard for a few days then moved it to the basement today. 2 spokes were broken. they broke while sitting. no way i would not have noticed while riding. they are noisy

1. spokes are seperated by 3 good spokes
2. both go to the left side of the hub
3. wheel is built 3 cross
4. front wheel

i realize this is a low end bike but what the hell.

as always thanks for your help

IF it has Shimano components, there will be a 2 letter date code.

IF the broken spokes are NDS rear, the wheel was likely built with inadequate tension.
This causes the elbows to flex too much and fatigue.
The remaining spokes will probably proceed like popcorn. Popping faster & faster.
Either respoke the wheel or replace.
One advantage you have is you can easily remove & measure a spoke to find what length you need.

i should have said it is a front wheel with shimano components.

did what you said apply to the front wheel as well ?

thks,

Well, the front doesn't have a Drive or Non Drive Side, but it still sounds like all the spokes are needing to be replaced.
Front's don't tend to have these issues since the spokes have equal tension (or nearly so on disc brake wheels).
There was a year back when (memory is vague, but 10-15 years ago?) where there were a lot of bikes w/ bad spokes.
Too low of tension exacerbates the problem.

IF your wheel skills are slight, you could replace the spokes one at a time.
Just screw NEW nipples so 1 thread shows and then have someone finish it off.
The 1 thread tells the wheel builder where it's at instead of guessing when the nipples conceal the threads.
Old nipples can be corroded and don't provide consistent "feed back".

ah so that's what nds means. yes i would say my wheel skills are slight but my stubborn is upper percentile. i can true a wheel although not at ninja level. is there a type/brand of spoke you would recommend ?

thks for your help

Bill, as usual, hits the spoke on it's head. There was a year+ of spoke wire production that was poorly controlled. Spoke would break along their length, not at the head or thread as is typical. Often little black spots were seen and many think these were the points of corrosion or some other issue that was manufactured into the wire. I've been involved with replacing many dozens of these wheels over the years and still see a few a year.

As all the wheel's spokes are suspect and given the age the hub is too by now I suggest the best long term fix is wheel replacement. Before I would just replace the spokes I would want to overhaul that hub to check on it's condition. In our shop the overhaul is $20 (ft hub, rear is $28). Then 36 straight gage spokes will be about $90 and the build labor about $70. So about $180 vs about $65 for the new wheel (installed and ready to just ride.) Andy

$90 for 36 spokes ? wow. these free bikes are expensive

I have replaced spokes for friends that had the corrosion spots on them. As I removed them they would break at the black spots like a brittle fracture. I don't remember the manufacturer but I doubt that it was one of the better ones.
Go for DT or Wheelsmith spokes. Normally I recommend double butted spokes but straight gauge are cheaper.
If you are mechanically inclined it ain't rocket science.

mechanical level about a 5 on a 10 scale. thks

Indeed. Might as well compare prices for a new wheel.

My 2012 Schwinn broke one rear drive side spoke back in June 2020 and another rear drive side spoke just a couple weeks ago. No visible corrosion and the nipples aren't frozen on the spokes. I bought this bike virtually unused in the summer of 2019.

They are 15 gauge, though. And I tend to ride up and over curbs on occasion. Not sure if its the curbs or just the cheap wheels.

If you shop around, you can get suitable spokes for about $.50/ea.

Machine built wheels from wholesalers to bike shops saves you money.. your shop can hand check them.
wheels for new bikes get built on the same machines..