Do you cork your spokes?
 

I got to thinking about this after reading the thread in Mechanics, where the necessary spoke was some unusual design and couldn't be sourced. I purchased the appropriate extra spokes when I bought my wheelset so I have that covered ... except I'm not really sure where those spokes are right now.

There is an old touring trick of poking spokes through a cork and stashing them in the seat post. At least that way you'd always know where they are, and in theory even replace a NDS or front spoke on the road if it came up. Do any of you commuters actually store some of your spokes this way?

There are emergency spoke kits that are small enough to stick in a saddle bag which can even be used to replace a drive side spoke without having to remove the cassette. A friend of mine broke a spoke while we were out riding and used my kit to get him back home. They work.

I rigged one once with a brake cable looped around the broken spoke ends, and I really wished for one of those emergency kits that time! I still never bought one though :o

So I take it that having the kit you don't see much need to cork any spokes?

Never heard of the cork trick, but some of the guys I rode with in the 1960s and 1970s used to push spare spokes inside the handlebar. The spokes would come out with some bends, obviously, but they'd straighten out fine when they were brought up to tension.

Typically, "commuter" wheels should be able to break a spoke and still be substantial enough to remain in reasonable true, so no real need to carry a spare spoke. Fix it when you get home.
I think in this day & age, anyone doing substantial touring isn't going out on "marginal" wheels, although they are packing enough gear that a spare spoke or 2 isn't going to make much of an impact on their "cargo".

I think if you were out on tour with wheels that had spokes that were difficult to find replacements for, then corking makes sense. I know some bikes used to have spoke holders built into the frame. An emergency spoke is good for emergencies but I don't know that I'd want to rely on one to last hundreds of miles.

Anyway, an emergency spoke is adequate for commuting. Corking might be preferable to keeping a spare spokes for multiple bikes in a parts bin and not being able to find the right one when you need it.

For commuting, I don't carry spare spokes, but I do have a multitool with the correct nipple size spoke wrench. Also, any wheel I'm using for commuting -- or even touring -- would have 36 spokes. With regular spoke count and a spoke wrench, a single broken spoke is easily dealt with by truing the wheel still on the bike, loosening tension on the adjoining spokes, allowing me to get home (where there are spokes), or the nearest bikeshop. This isn't the best way to deal with a broken spoke on either a paired spoke design wheel or low spoke count wheel, but who's using either of these wheel styles for commuting or touring? (<-- rhetorical...)

On the touring end of things, I'd have a couple extra spokes tucked somewhere before I stuffed basically unsecured twangy things some place I'd have to listen to them hit the inside tubing over the course of hundreds or thousands of miles...

I just ride on broken spokes. Doesn't really cause any trouble that I know of unless you have a half dozen broken spokes at once. I've ridden with 2 or 3 broken spokes until I got more delivered.

I don't even bother truing the wheel, since for me it's always been the rear that broke spokes. I just loosen the brakes on the back and keep going.

Well, I use 20/24 spoke count wheels commuting, taking the same bike out for training and longer rides. But repairing them on commutes isn't my main angle. I was more interested in storing spokes where I know I can find them immediately, and the prospect of repairing on the road is a side benefit. If I need a spoke wrench I know that it's on the bike, so why not the spoke?

The last time I broke a spoke on my 36 spoke wheel I didn't even need to true it to get home. I rode it several days in fact, until I got a replacement from the LBS.

The fiber-fix emergency spoke that TJspiel mentioned is a much more rational way of preparing for broken spokes however.

Apologizies in advance for bringing up disc brakes but they do provide an advantage when riding out-of-true wheels. Just sayin...

I have one of those kevlar emergency spokes in my bag and, without wanting to attract negative energy, have not yet needed it. Having spare spokes is fine (and I do) but carrying the chain whip, cassette tool and wrench is a bit much. The emergency spoke should at least get you to a bike shop where they can install your real spoke.

Also, when I recently replaced a spoke on my double-walled rim, I discovered that a slot screwdriver was necessary to get it started to the point the spoke wrench could take over. I hadn't thought of that.

Don't carry spokes. Do you carry a chain whip and a way to get the cassette off?

I bought one of those several year ago along with a Kool Stop tire jack---just in case. After a year or so I needed the tire jack one evening and as almost proud that there was one in my tool box.

The spoke repair kit come in a little tube and I have it stuffed wrapped with electrical tape to fit snugly in the seatpost.

i break spokes on occasion. sometimes i won't notice until i get home. if the brake pads rub, i'll readjust the brake caliper.

there's no way i would ever attempt to replace a broken spoke on the way to or from work anyway (this is the commuting forum isn't it? :)). wouldn't i have to carry a spoke wrench, cassette removal tool, and a chainwhip in addition to one spoke of each length?

i'll live on the edge i guess! :)

For the front wheel, or non-drive side? It's not that big of a deal to replace, but my current plan B is call the wife if the wheel is unride-able. On-call Sag-wagon duty is implicit in our agreement for my leasing a family car, though I should probably get that in writing ... I could have her bring the tools, been known to do that in fact.

In case you haven't seen it, the emergency spoke kit is pretty cool:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41hGt2cpiSL.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21cxxZmRnrL.jpg

http://thebiketube.com/sites/all/fil...?itok=lgvSV9OY

It comes with all the tools you need and takes up very little room.

Emergency spoke repair kits work until a spoke fails at thread in the nipple. A rare event but I have had it happen. I carry one and a few spare spokes and a hypercracker.

I broke a spoke a couple weeks ago. The last time it had happened was on a bike with v-brakes, and I had to disengage the brake for the rest of the ride because it was rubbing badly. This time it was with cantilever brakes, and the wheel still didn't rub. That's a nice feature of cantilevers that I hadn't thought about.

I'm not sure I understand. The spoke repair kits come with a nipple. If you can't reuse the existing nipple you have to remove the tire first but you would have to do that if you're going to do a regular spoke replacement anyway.

That is why I carry both.

On Tours I have panniers to stow spare spokes within ..

If I break enough spokes to the point where my bike is unrideable, I am no longer a bike commuter. I am a pedestrian. ;)

You can make a temporary replacement spoke with a pair of needlenose pliers and a too-long spoke. Cut the elbow and bend off the long spoke and bend a new elbow (more of a 'hook') that can be fed through the spoke hole in the hub without removing the cassette

For commuting? That sounds like lengthy repair considering the distance a lot you guys commute. You'd be at home or work faster than the repair would take

What kind of commuting are you guys doing that a single spoke requires you to carry a plethora of tools? Carrying like 300 pounds of gear and doing sweet tricks and jumps along the way? I feel like if your bike is that fragile, then, maybe idk, your bike is to fragile

I'm assuming the above would be a temporary repair you'd do at home in the case you needed a spoke that wasn't readily available at a local shop. Otherwise you'd need to carry a pliers and some way to cut a spoke.

Admittedly, it may not be practical if you are already late for work, but using my technique you can replace a rear drive-side spoke without removing the cassette. And many pliers have a built-in cutter that is perfectly adequate to cut a spoke. But you certainly could carry a ready-cut spoke if you are nervous about finishing a day's commute with a broken spoke.