I wanted to ride at least three days this week. This is pretty much what I did.

I left the house at 5 am and the wind was at about 20 mph but I still rode (perhaps this was a mistake). The ride to work was all head wind and it was a tough go. I felt like I was a big sail wind and it was holding me back. I learm this portion of the commute to just suck it up, spin more then mash, and take a little extra time to get there.

The commute home..... well. I left work and within the first 1/2 mile, I broke a spoke. This is the second spoke in two days (seriously). I was still able to ride. I realize that I need a stronger wheel built.... no problem there. My bike mechanic is a good friend and I feed him with food. We have a good relationship.

So.... about 5 miles away from home, I get a flat. No problem really. I have changed it out on my road bike a lot. Well.... not good with my mtn bike. I have shrader valves (I think) and my presta pump doesnt work on shrader valves. Ok... I learned but no worries, I have CO2. So I change the tire out and ready to fill and notice that my damn co2 cartidge is not threded and my head of my co2 valve is threaded. I am screwed.

I am new to this area... no family. I dont really know where I am (I am riding from memory and new to the area) so I called my wife. And thankful to google lattitude on our phones, she found me.

Went straight to the bike shop and changed out from shraeder to presta and bought a pump. Got the tire fixed and ready to go next week.

I learned a lot!

Could be wrong here, but I was under the impression that quite a few frame pumps had the capability to work with both Schraeder and Presta by fiddling with the pump head guts. Also, you didn't have to buy new tubes- you could've just gotten an adapter for the valve stems.

And you may not 'need' stronger wheels- just make sure the ones you got are both true and tensioned properly.

Other than that, good for you! I've been walking the last two days due to mechanical issues

Hey sometimes we have to learn things the hard way
One time I had a flat on my way to work on a Sunday,
no biggie I thought - I have a flat repair kit and a new
tube. When it was time to pump the tube, I noticed my
Planetbike Versair wasn't pushing the air in. Apparently
a piece had fallen off and the air was being lost. Lesson
learned, check your pump once in a while

Looks like bad luck to have that many things happen at once. I've had a flat 20ks away from home so I kinda had to push my bike, luckily there was a lbs on the way home so i'm pretty lucky. I don't know how spokes break, I've never had my spokes fail on me before.

Hope the other commutes will be better =D

Cheers,
Rodger

I am a big guy so with my weight and the weight of the panniers, I think the spokes are like thin toothpicks.

Hence the reason I need stronger back wheel!

Road bike or hybrid? If your road bike, 36 spokes, velocity deep v or dyad with the best hubs you can afford. I love the white industries hubs. Great hub at a very reasonable price. If your hybrid, I'd go with dyads or velocity chukkers. Again, 36 spokes, maybe even 40 since you're a big guy and hauling stuff. 36 spokes limits hub selection somewhat and 40 limits it a LOT but you gotta do what you gotta do.

DT Swiss Alpine III spokes are super strong

Its my mtn bike commuter. I am working with my mechanic friend to build me new back rims with heavier spokes. He built me a new wheel for my road bike.

Thanks Imi. I will look into that.

On a lot of hand pumps, that rubber part in the head (along with another piece) is reversible for use with Presta or Schrader valves. You might check your current one before pitching it.

32 spokes are fine.

You just need to use quality spokes (DT), take the time to correct spoke lines for outbound spokes at the hub and at the rim when the angles are too steep, and stress relieve.

That will make a 100X difference (hundreds of thousands of miles not thousands of miles) in how long spokes go before failing due to fatigue.

Thats what it's all about I learned lot too and it is't over yet there is an always will be something new to learn from. Keep on cycleing

I will be changing to DT spokes with my commuter soon. I just took the road bike out earlier today and I just got DT spokes on the back wheel. So far so good. I am all good for stronger spokes. I am a big guy as it is and add panniers.... I snap the spokes like a twig.

Actually, larger diameter spokes are usually not as durable as double or triple butted spokes that are small diameter in the center section and larger on the ends. Those spokes will build into the strongest wheels.

Good wheel build. Not "stronger spokes."

It may be too late, as you've started popping spokes. That means others likely have started to crack.

You need new spokes on the wheel, properly tensioned, and stress relieved. If I were betting, I'd say the wheel was undertensioned (especially with your weight). It's nice that you have a good relationship with a mechanic, but sadly, many bike mechanics don't have a clue about how wheels should be built. One of the "best" in my home city is proud of his truing skills, and can sometimes bring a taco'ed MTB wheel back from the brink, but he's left my (true) wheels badly tensioned. Ask anyone who's going to touch your wheels how they set and balance spoke tension -- if you get a blank stare, leave some brownies behind and take your wheel with you elsewhere.