I broke a spoke on my back wheel a while back and have been unable to get a proper replacement spoke. I know the wheel I am riding is an alex but the stickers have come off the rim so I don't know what model it is. The spokes are bladed black spokes with a j-hook (where it connects to the hub, what's that called). My bike friend measured a spoke that was still in and said it was about 276ish. None of my LBS's seem to have the right spoke. So here is my question. My bikeshop on campus (college student) has a magazine and special relationship with J-bike (I think that's what it's called) and they seem to have the right spokes. Before I order anything though I want to make sure that I've got the right length of spoke. So, with a spoke that is still in the wheel, what would be the best way to measure the spoke as accurately as you can. Now that I think about it though, I will have to take off the rim tape because I lost the nipple inside the rim so perhaps I can just take a spoke out then and measure it off the wheel. Please help me.

Dan

".......take a spoke out then and measure it off the wheel."

That's what I'd do. But better yet, go to your LBS with spoke and wheel in hand so they can assist in measuring it, unless you already know how to do so.

Also, if it were me, I would take a look at SpokeCalc or another good database and see if it shows any difference in Alex rim diameters for spoking purposes- many manufacturers will often have the same diameter showing for all their rims of a certain size or model designation. A good LBS should also have this info readily available

Spoke replacements are an increasingly difficult problem for bike shops. They are the ultimate customer accommodation product. The number of skews keeps increasing. There's different diameters, black or silver, bladed or round, and a number of special threaded ones. Then, they all come in a bunch of different lengths and, if the length is off by even a couple of millimeters, it's a big problem.

So now the bike shop guy has to measure a spoke out of your old wheel, look through his stock to see if he has the right one. If he does, that's probably a 1 or 2 dollar sale for one spoke. That's not even enough to pay the bike shop clerk for the amount of time that he spent. If he doesn't have the right one, he has to special order a minimum quantity of usually 50 or 100 that he'll never sell so he's actually money behind on the sale.

Great insight, thanks.

If the broken spoke is from the rear wheel be sure to measure a spoke from the same side of the rear wheel.

Al

Yep. We stock about $6000(That is cost, not retail) in spokes, (including Dt, Wheelsmith, Shimano, Mavic) in order to sell a half dozen a week.

Thanks for all of that. The spoke is off of the rear wheel but luckily it is not on the drive side. Sounds like no matter what I am going to have to take the tape off so I guess I'll do that and measure a good spoke and probably just see what I can do about ordering one. Wish me luck. OH, and a found that spokecalc thing but I have no idea what they are asking for the most part, can I get some help on this front as well. https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/spokecalc/

Dan

Do you have the broken spoke still? If it's just the head that broke off measure that and you're good.

No, the spoke right in the middle and I of course can't find it now anyway. I took the tape off the rim today so I will be able to take one of the good spokes out and measure it. Since I am having trouble finding such a specialized spoke as a single, I think I may either buy a box of the right ones and not bother anyone with getting one spoke or get a more common spoke that will work. Hell, maybe this could be fun to learn how to build a wheel, probably not a good wheel for it though. Again, thanks for your help.

Dan

take the whole wheel into a bike shop you trust

Wow - at that level, a Phil Wood machine almost seems reasonably priced.

We have one of those as well. But it lives at another location. I have a one shot spoke threader here for the oddball emergency, but it is a pain to use for more than one or two spokes.

I was going to mention that too. Keep in mind that we're talking about a product that people expect to cost no more than a dollar or two. How much time can you afford to spend cutting and threading a custom spoke?

My Park Spoke ruler is a valuable addition to your workbench......cost about $6.00 depending on your source.
https://www.parktool.com/products/det...6&item=SBC%2D1

And it measures all kinds of other cool things, especially crank cotters.

now you see, thats the differance between a bike shop and a pro shop,a pro shop will have campagnolo tool case, frame alignment table and a phil wood spoke machine.

Think you could mention the specific wheel?

I have had a similar problem but without knowing your wheel, I have no idea whether my experience would be helpful to you or not.