Broken spoke question...
 

I have a wheel with a broken spoke. I need to figure out what spoke lenght I need, but to take the whole wheel in would mean carrying it on the bike for 15 miles. The wheel is still true, should I just ride the bike broken spoke and all to the shop? I was thinking I could also take one of the good spokes out and take it in to a shop to get a replacement. The question I have is, does it matter which spoke I take out? Do I need to detension the wheel or anything?

Front or rear wheel? Front has one length, rears generally have two - drive side length and non-drive side length.

Do you have a low spoke count wheel? Or traditional with, say, a 3x pattern? If the latter is the case, and the wheel is still true, just ride it in and let them handle it. If you had low spoke count wheels, I doubt it would be near true.

Yeah, take another spoke out. If it's the rear, just take one from the same side as the broken spoke.

Unlikely

Actually if you take both ends of the broken spoke to your LBS they should be able to match it.

Al

Just to be clear, if your bike has a front disc brake, your front spokes may not be the same length. Chances are they are within a mm or two, but left and right are probably different.

Take a spoke from the same side of the same wheel with the broken spoke.

I've never had a problem getting a good measurement on a mounted spoke. Just make sure you measure the same side of the same wheel. Harder problem is mounting the new spoke without dismantling the wheel. It is often doable.