GaryinLA

My experience is limited-- broken spoke on an old hybrid bike-- back wheel immediately got seriously untrue, had to disconnect the brake to prevent rubbing, barely made it home, wheel was wobbly. I kept riding it figuring i didnt care what happened to it, it was 2am, i was far from home and wanted to get home. My mechanic then got tired of replacing spokes on by one on this old wheel (that was broken spoke #2) and he swapped in a better used wheel.

The other time happened to me just last weekend. Old road bike and all of a sudden the wheel got untrue. Had to disconnect brake to prevent rubbing. Didnt know spoke was broken until my mechanic looked at it later. Rode it to end of the group ride then took it in for repair later.

After being almost stranded in the first situation, there is no way i would start out on a bike trip with a wheel with a broken spoke. I will ride on it to get home if the situation of getting home is more impt to me than further damaging the wheel.

old's'cool

I carry a spoke wrench in my tool kit. I figure, if a spoke breaks, I can retension the surrounding spokes as needed to make the wheel true enough to limp home. So far I've never had to test that theory.

TwoFourOne

I rode on a broken spoke on a 36 spoke wheel for about 125 miles before I noticed it. It rode fine the whole time, and was only a little bit out of true (can't say it was any more out of true than when I first got the wheel from BD). But when I DID notice it, I was kind of extra careful and worried about it - so it could be ridden on, but I wouldn't want to have to worry about it.

dramiscram

I finally did 680 kms (approx.) before a second spoke broke. I did another 61 kms (I really didn't want to take the car!!!) but fortunately it was my last day of work (last thursday) I found another bike shop 25 kms farther than my regular LBS that was able to fix it in the hour. The guy replaced 3 spokes ( a third one was about to snap) at a cost of 15$ cdn taxes included. He gained a new customer!

wphamilton

I don't know if anyone else would be willing to try this, but it did work for me to mcGyver a spoke. I took the broken spoke out, cut it in half and bent the end of the non-rim part to fit in the hub. Then I bent a loop on both halves and tied them together with a piece of brake cable, with the halves in place, and tightened it down with a spoke wrench. It was kind of a hassle. But it seemed to have enough tension when I twanged it and it held up for several days until I could get a replacement.

sauerwald

Replacing a single spoke is quick and easy IF you know what you are doing. Bike shop owners joke about the fact that they make more money selling spoke wrenches than any other product because of how many people manage to screw up their wheels so badly that they then need to bring the bike in for professional repair.

I liked the suggestion to buy a new wheel, then have the existing one repaired and keep it for a spare. I have found that often once one spoke breaks, and the wheel is repaired, other spokes start demanding attention too.

dramiscram

It was on the rear wheel drive side and I still don't have the right tool to remove the cassette, otherwise I replace spokes myself. I went on the park tool website to get the tool but i'm not sure which model I need.

fietsbob

continuing on #19, touring rig, broke 1 spoke, had 47 left, a bit of truing
and I was good for a week or so, till I borrowed a big wrench to pull off my freewheel cluster.

and installed my spare spoke.. brought with..

Drew Eckhardt 

Park FR-5G. $7.95 with free shipping for Amazon prime customers.

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-FR-5.../dp/B000R9ACZC

plus a SR-1 chain whip for $21.95

https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-SR-1.../dp/B000OZBKGE

A torque wrench and 1" socket guarantee you'll get it tight enough when you install it. A crescent wrench will work in a pinch.

dramiscram

On the park tool web site they got 5 or 6 different models, how can I make sure I got the right one? I ordered one last winter for my vintage Bianchi and it fitted just fine but and the same tool will only fit on one other bike. I was lucky as I ordered the first I found on Ebay. And also thanks for the link

Reynolds 

+1. A lightweight rider, on a 36 spoke wheel on good pavement probably could ride for a very long time without any problem. With few highly tensioned spokes, break one and you can't ride anymore because of brake pad rubbing.

dramiscram

I broke another spoke this morning, rear wheel drive side again! I will ask my LBS to replace them all so I won't waste time with it anymore.

dramiscram

3 more spokes broke last night in about 30 seconds, I was almost home so I finished the trip walking the bike and took my sunny sunday ride (a nice vintage Bianchi) to work this morning. With 4 spoke missing I won't take any chance. I'll get the wheel rebuild this friday.

dynodonn 

It depends on the wheel set on how far one can go, I had wheel sets that if one spoke broke, I knew it immediately since the wheel went considerably out of true, but with my current touring set I only realized that I had a broken spoke while I was cleaning my bike, and I'm not sure how many miles I rode with it broken.

dramiscram

I noticed, My wheel as 32 spokes and I didn't feel the first broken spoke but last night it got very wobly with 4 spokes gone.

dynodonn 

With 4 spokes broken, I certainly would feel that one would notice. Luckily, I haven't yet had that many spokes break in one day, plus I make sure that I have sufficient inventory of spares at home to quickly repair the wheel.

SteamingAlong

Damn, 4 spokes? I definitely wouldn't trust my life to that ride.

I was extremely, beyond broke at one point and so I had to ride to job interviews on a wheel with one broken spoke. I put hundreds of miles on that wheel. Then broke spoke number 2 and since I had been working a few weeks, I treated my bike to a new wheelset.

There is also a nylon/kevlar temporary spoke available that handles the linear tension similiar to a spoke....I can't remember the brand name or who makes it though.

dramiscram

I wouldn't either. Yesterday morning when I went to work there was 1 broken spoke. 3 more broke on the way back last night in few seconds, it made the same sound as guitar string breaking, so I stop immediatly and walk the bike home. Fortunately I was only 6 kms away
I took another bike this morning.

the_tool_man

Lol. I once bought a decent ATB for only $15 because the PO had broken two spokes on the back wheel. The spokes were adjacent on the non-drive side, so it tacoed enough that it wouldn't clear the seat stays. $6 and 20 minutes later, I had it repaired. Now, I'm always on the lookout for bargains like this.

dramiscram

Don't worry for me, I'll get it repaired. I don't trust the ride as it is actually but next monday it will be back on the road carrying my fat ass.

canyoneagle

One spoke breaking is likely a sign of a larger issue.
- How old is the wheel?
- Is the wheel at proper tension, and is the tension somewhat uniform across all spokes (on each side)?

Spokes generally fail due to fatigue (at the elbow, where the spoke enters the hole in the spoke flange), which is typically minimized when the wheel is built at proper tension (100-110 KgF drive side rear).

So, inserting a new spoke might help to mitigate the immediate change in tension of the other spokes, but if the wheel is not very old, I'd insert the new spoke then re-tension the entire wheel. A competent shop should only charge a portion of a wheel build (usually $40-50 per wheel) for this service.
The fact that one spoke has broken may be a sign that similar fatigue has been encountered in other spokes, especially if the wheel is not very new, in which case it is time to consider a rebuild (if the rim is in good condition - has eyelets, no cracks, etc and the hub is sound) or a new wheel. If a rebuild is chosen, then I'd definitely use spoke washers and butted spokes, both of which help to keep fatigue in check.

dramiscram

It think the wheel is 5 years old approx. ( I got the bike used last year) but it's been 6 spokes in the last few weeks (when I started this tread) My LBS replaced 2 broken spoke and a third that showed signs of fatigue and trued the wheel. It's been fine for two weeks than I broke another, I was planning to ride it until this coming friday and get it fixed then but last night 3 spokes broke at the same time. So I'll get the wheel rebuilt .
I think a part of the problem is that I ride my 215 lbs + 40 lbs of stuff in my bags on a 700x23.

canyoneagle

Makes sense, then. A good wheel build is essential to help ensure the longest life possible. With that load, I think a 36 spoke wheel would be best, but 32 should be fine. I'd DEFINITELY consider going to a 25c or 28c tire, though.

dramiscram

I ride a triathlon bike ( I had to modify it a bit to fit rack and bags) so there's not much clearance at the brakes, I know that 700x25 will fit but I'm not sure for 28. I wouldn't want to buy a tire and be stuck with it.

dramiscram

It is a 32 spoke wheel