techman

I have a 2- year old Giant Cypress hybrid bike (around $500) that has mostly been reliable.
But since 6-months of buying it, I'm replacing a spoke and re-trueing the affected wheel, about once every 2-3 months.
The spoke affected always dislodges from the hub. Not sure if this is normal wear and tear. I didn't have this issue with my previous bikes that were more expensive.
Could be that I'm rough on my spokes when I lock my wheels to my frame with u-lock or coil lock, as I sometime accidentally move my bike a bit which applies some pressure to my spokes. What is the best way to fix this issue? Have all my spokes tightened or replaced? Or replace my current rims with higher quality ones?
Looking for some direction.

Drew Eckhardt 

That's normal for heavy riders, although properly built wheels don't break spokes for the first few hundred thousand miles.

Bike companies make more money dealing with occasional warranty returns than they do investing in expensive Holland Mechanics stress relieving machines or paying for expensive hand labor to prevent your problem.

Spokes fail due to fatigue, with the number of cycles survived (about 750 per mile as a spoke passes the bottom of the wheel) dependent on magnitude of the variation and average stress. Magnitude of the cycle comes from the rider+bike+load weight with about 60% of the total on the rear wheel; obviously this is more for heavy riders. Average stress is high because parts of the elbows were never taken past their elastic limit during the forming operation.

Since they all see the same conditions they all fail at about the same time like popcorn kernels popping - first a few some time apart, then most of them in rapid succession, then the remainder.

You need to replace your spokes with quality butted spokes and properly stress relieve by taking the elbows past their elastic limit. You can squeeze near parallel pairs of spokes hard (gloves make that more comfortable), or wind them about eachother at the outer crossing using something softer like a plastic screw driver handle, old left crank, or brass drift.

Realistically, that means doing the job yourself or finding a reputable one-person shop to do the job. With the low end of the market buying $25 QBP wheels and high end mostly boutique the average shop mechanic doesn't get enough experience building wheels to do a good job in a profitably quick time so they compromise by doing a bad fast job. As some one not trying to make a profit building wheels you can take hours to get it right provided you have a little mechanical aptitude (about what it takes to adjust a front derailleur).

Al1943

I think your spokes are under-tensioned. It's the under-tensioned spokes that usually break due to excess flexture at the hub flange. Have someone who knows the proper way to tension the spokes and true the wheels do the work.

Bill Kapaun

The popcorn analogy holds true regarding spokes.

The problem is in the quality of the build. Spokes don't have even & proper tension.
It's too late now for your existing spokes since they have had the same number of fatigue cycles.

You can either replace the spokes and have it properly tensioned, or get a new wheel.

You really don't "need" double butted spokes, but they ARE better at handling fatigue, and would make a longer lasting build.
OTOH, if the brake track on the rim has a lot of wear, long lasting spokes may not be of as much importance.

techman

Appreciate the advice, I'm looking for simple solutions.
It seems to be that I can either get my rims replaced or replace all my spokes.
I'll probably make my choice based on cost

Andrew R Stewart 

I always question the hub's condition when deciding whether to rebuild a wheel or to replace it. Before I go to the trouble to lace new spokes and rim (I hate reusing old rimes, especially if I'm not the rider) I will open up the bearings and check the condition of the cones. If there's any pitting i'll usually just replace the wheel as a whole. Andy.

CliffordK

Here is a recent topic about broken spokes.

Lots of good stuff.
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...avy-rider.html

You could buy a new wheel, but if you buy the cheapest, it is possible the problem will return.
Get a good one built with quality parts, and it should work well for you.

You can build your own wheels... not too bad, but a bit finicky for the first one.

Retro Grouch 

How are the spoke replacements being done?

If all that's done is to replace the broken spoke, what you've accomplished is to return the wheel to what it was previously. Previously it was a wheel that was about to break a spoke. I'm a strong believer in checking and retensioning a wheel whenever I replace a spoke.

Little Darwin

On this level of bike, which I have ridden for many years... If you are going to go through the effort of replacing the rim and spokes, you should just get a new wheel. Even a machine built wheel with tension checked/adjusted by the shop can probably be had for less than the cost of components.

I bought my Giant Sedona in 2003, I weigh over 300 pounds, and I have broken exactly one spoke in that time (I only rode about 4,000 miles because I had several low mileage years).

techman

Thanks to all for the advice.
Is it possible to find a decent quality wheel with spokes for around $60-$80?
It would be great to get some recommendations.
Hard for me (with my limited knowledge) to know what specific wheel will fit my bike
I have an SRAM PG 820 11x32, 8-Speed cassette and my current rims have 700x38 tires.
Giant doesn't provide a spec for the rims of than "Alloy Double Wall".
Want to make sure I get a rim that fits and works on my bike.

Andrew R Stewart 

A supplier, QBP, has a wheel, #WE9032 , which is slightly above your range cost but otherwise might work for you. If your LBS isn't a QPB customer consider another shop. (QBP is the largest parts supplier in the USA). Andy.

nfmisso

No.

I build my own wheels because factory wheels are not up to my weight without a thorough going over, so I figure I may as well build exactly what I want. One of my commuter bike and our tandem has wheels that would fit your bike, so I can give you an idea of prices of parts from Niagara Cycle, which has some of the lowest prices around.

rim: Velocity Dyad 40H ~$50- each
rear hub: Wheelmaster 40H ~$40-
front hub: Wheelmaster 40H ~$30-
spokes:
rear DS 20X 280mm
rear NDS 20X 282mm
front 40X 282mm
two 50 count bags of Wheelsmith SS14 282mm spokes ~$25- each
one 50 count bag of Wheelsmith SS14 280mm spokes ~$25-

set: $245- with some spokes left over for future builds; the 2nd set is only an additional $220- in parts.

Niagara offers similar built up wheels, but with DT Swiss spokes: Wheel Master 700c Hybrid/Comfort Wheel Set - Velocity Dyad Rim, 40H, 8/9-Speed, Black MSW
which if I purchased them would still spend some time on my trueing stand.

CliffordK

If it is a good double walled rim, 36 spokes
Straight and true with even spoke tension (with all the spokes installed).
And the hub is in good shape.

Then you could rebuild using the 2.3/2.0 double butted spokes as suggested in the other topic.

It would be good practice. I have a simple wooden truing stand, but there are people who have successfully built wheels on the bike. It would be a good experience.

And you can keep your costs down (and have a matching wheel in the end).

Bill Kapaun

Maybe if you put your location in your sig, someone might offer to respoke your wheel for food?
IF your rim & hub are good, $30-40 for VERY GOOD quality spokes & nipples, $15 for lunch/dinner and you have a wheel that will last until the brake pad wears through the rim.
And, it'll match the front.

Little Darwin

$80 is a tough price point for a quality wheel, but what you need is a 700c rear wheel with 135 mm hub spacing with 36+ spokes and a rim wide enough for 38 mm tires. According to the table at the bottom of this page: Tire Sizing Systems you want a rim with an internal width between about 18 mm and 23 mm... I would probably think a little wider would be OK as well.

You should go to your LBS and see what they have. I see Niagara has many wheels for your price range, but cannot say anything about the quality. If you go to your shop they may have an old wheel set that was left behind after someone upgraded, and as long as they true and tension the wheel well, it could be reliable.

I haven't built wheels for a long time, and there is some science (and a little art) to building wheels, but if you are willing to spend the time, this could be a good long term direction. Of course, it takes a little time to study the proper techniques, and also some potential investment in a truing stand etc, although when I did build wheels, I trued them by mounting them in an upside down bike. Ironically, I now have a $200+ truing stand that I have never used.

seely

Which side is the spoke breaking on, and where on the spoke is the break occurring?

If you're only able to spend $60-80, your best bet is to try for a decent machine built replacement wheel. QBP, which supplies most bike shops in the US, has a decent line of lower cost wheels that are machine built and lightly checked over by hand. I'm not sure what the base price is, but it may come close to your range for a really basic 36h rear wheel. It will at least be better than what you have.

If you can spend a little more for a full wheelset, something like our basic Dyad build would be ideal. Right now, we've got some sets for $229 with small cosmetic blems: Velocity - Dyad Touring Commuter Sport Wheelset 700c - *blemished* In my experience, that is probably about the best you're going to do for a fully hand-built wheelset.

nfmisso

And if you opt out of a front wheel it is $89.99 less ($229.99-89.99 = $140)