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Broken Spoke.....s

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Old 09-25-12 | 08:53 PM
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Broken Spoke.....s

Earlier this week I broke a spoke, from an old Araya 36 spoke 27x1/4 on a 86' schwinn world sport. I replaced it for $20. 60 miles later another one broke fairly close to the previous broken spoke.

I REALLY want to replace both of my wheels but I'm low on cash, and I need to get back on my bike.

For the time being, could I true the wheel with the 35 spokes in just to get me through the next 4-5 days of light commuting? I know this doesn't end the chances of another broken spoke but...could I? If not then what to do?
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Old 09-25-12 | 09:28 PM
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From: Spokane, WA

Bikes: Specialized Sequoia Elite/Motobecane Fantom Cross Team Ti/'85 Trek 520

You broke one spoke, had it replaced and another broke right near it? The spokes are pretty much done by this point.

Look at it this way, breaking one spoke on a wheel is a start of a domino effect, the rest will follow in short order. You popped another spoke. If you ride around on that wheel with a broken spoke, you *will* break additional spokes.

At this point, I would rebuild the wheel with new spokes and have the wheel properly tensioned. The spokes break generally because the wheel doesn't have enough tension. Too little tension causes the spokes to break by the heads (where it enters the hub).
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Old 09-25-12 | 09:32 PM
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From: Spokane, WA

Bikes: Specialized Sequoia Elite/Motobecane Fantom Cross Team Ti/'85 Trek 520

The wheel is now badly compromised, if you continue to ride it, it will make everything worse. If the rim is actually in good shape now, it can be rebuilt but if you pop more spokes while riding on it, you could pull the rim way out of whack and make it not rebuildable.

I'm a big guy as is my son so I might be overly cautious but I would rather err on the cautious side rather than the side of recklessness.
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Old 09-25-12 | 09:44 PM
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@bobotech Five spokes between the first and second broken spoke. Besides buying new wheels, rebuilding this one is something I will consider.

I'm gonna have to store the bike and walk everywhere, for now.
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Old 09-25-12 | 10:04 PM
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Bikes: 97 Litespeed, 50-39-30x13-26 10 cogs, Campagnolo Ultrashift, retroreflective rims on SON28/PowerTap hubs

Originally Posted by E_is_Chill
Earlier this week I broke a spoke, from an old Araya 36 spoke 27x1/4 on a 86' schwinn world sport. I replaced it for $20. 60 miles later another one broke fairly close to the previous broken spoke.

I REALLY want to replace both of my wheels but I'm low on cash, and I need to get back on my bike.

For the time being, could I true the wheel with the 35 spokes in just to get me through the next 4-5 days of light commuting?
Probably. Spokes fail due to fatigue, and they've all seen the same ~750 fatigue cycles per mile as they passed the bottom of the wheel and are likely to fail about the same time within a wheel half. It's like popcorn - with a normal distribution a few will pop, then a few more, then a whole bunch.
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