Broken Spoke
 

I broke a spoke on my Roval rear wheel about 16 mi from my car. I was really worried that another spoke(s) would break during the 16 mi return. The wheel held up a little out of true. I was quite surprised because it was a 24 spoke wheel.

The LBS replaced the spoke with another straight pull spoke since they didn't have any Roval spokes. They ordered some more spokes for me. They indicated that this is the first spoke they had to replace on a Roval.

I hope that this was just a fluke. I am more familiar with the Mavic Ksyrium elite that was bullet-proof. The Roval is about the same weight as the Ksyrium Elite, but looks to be a little more aero-dynamic.

Don't know the Roval wheel but 24 spokes and apart from a bit out of true- the remaining 23 will hold together for a while.

But a wheel that breaks spokes this soon after purchase (Take it that it is a newish wheel) possibly has some other problems on it. Get the wheel spokes detensioned before retrue and keep your eyes open for other damage to the wheel. Cracked rim may be a possibility or the adjacent spokes to the broken one may fail due to the extra strain they have taken.

That of course is the worst scenario- but a broken spoke for no apparant reason would get me worried.

Unless of course you are an animal and have just broken the spoke with the amount of power you put out. Son-in-Law has this problem so we keep a spare rear wheel built up for him and every time I get his bike in for checking- I check the spoke tension by ear. A dull thud on a spoke instead of a ring means that he has been out with the fast boys again on the after work commute home so change wheels and retrue the one he has knackered---Again.

Get a new rear wheel, preferably one with at least 32 spokes.

I have broken spokes on a new wheel with 32 spokes.

The Mavic Ksyrium does not have 32 spokes. The new bike came with the Roval wheels. I would have rather had the Mavic wheels.

Thanks for your insight.

It broke in a flat section where I wasn't applying much power. Just prior to that I was powering through some curves for fun.

If another spoke breaks, I will get them to warranty the wheel and replace it.

I have seen threads on BF about those wheels. If you keep having problems, press the LBS to get a replacement wheel.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ht=roval+fusee

Thanks for the link! I will definitely ask for a new set of wheels if I break another spoke.

I have more broken spokes than flats. Just had one a few days ago. Took off from a light and heard the familiar "ting" followed by the wobble. Opened up the brakes a bit and made it home and then put in a new spoke and I was good to go again.

I'm not that big, 6' 1", 182 but like I said I snap them all the time and I'm snapping them on both of my bikes. I've learned to deal with it and learned to fix them myself.

Maybe it would help if you learned to rebuild your wheels. Properly tensioned wheels should not have spokes breaking.

It's not that hard to learn to replace a spoke or to adjust tension on those near a broken spoke to give you a better chance of riding home. I started riding again in the '80s on a mountain bike (after a 10-year post college layoff), and it was a point of pride to be able to fix anything that went wrong on a real MB ride, a day trip of 20-50 miles, not a jaunt down the MUT. We carried spares and tools, and i've replaced many spokes by the side of the trail. I still can't BUILD a wheel, but I can troubleshoot one pretty successfully.
If you weigh more than 175 or so, I think you're likely to have trouble with low-spoke count wheels, so repair is a useful skill to master. I go about 240, and I don't mess with anything less than 32 spokes, 36 for most of my riding.

+1

I had a bike that did that a lot. After some reluctance, the dealer rebuilt the wheel by hand, and no more spokes broke. A wheel that hasn't been properly set up (which can happen with new bikes) will put stress on one or more spokes which will eventually snap. Simply replacing the broken spoke and retensioning adjacent ones won't solve the basic issue and may transfer excess tension to other spokes.

I suggest a rebuild by hand at least.

The LBS received a response from Specialized. I don't understand the issue, but Specialized indicated that thread locker with incorrect pH was utilized on the spokes. Specialized offered a set of new Reynolds Shadow wheels or to rebuild the Rovals at the factory. I opted for the factory rebuild.

I had the original equipment Mavic's from my 2009 Roubaix in the garage. I am now using them until the Rovals are returned. The LBS offered to lend me wheels, but I had no problem using my old ones.

Who builds your wheels? I'm 6'1" 175 lbs, and I've never had problems with spoke breakage until the wheel is more than 3 years old. I build my own wheels, or buy factory wheels if I want low spoke count (I build to as few as 28 spokes for front and 32 spokes for rear, and my wheels hold up). I used to break more spokes when I was much younger, and when I used to really rock the bike back and forth on the climbs. Now I keep the bike vertical, and no spoke problems. Also, I never use radial spoking on my commuter wheels; I've had hub flanges rip apart with radial-spoked wheels because the winter salt reacted with the aluminum flanges.

Luis

L.

No need for that. Wheels like Roval and Kysrium are very sturdy.

The break was flush with the nipple.

I was also thinking about offering the price differential between the Fusee 28 and the Fusee 25 and swapping the 28's that will be rebuilt for the 25's.

I just broke one the same way, flush with the nipple...couldn't even get the end of the spoke out of it.

Kudo's to Specialized for acknowledging the problem and stepping up.

I am quite happy with both the LBS and Specialized. I asked the LBS yesterday if I could upgrade to the Roval Fusee 25 wheels after paying the difference between the 28 and 25 wheelsets. They think specialized will agree with my proposal.

Specialized agreed to the upgrade. I went by the LBS and gave them a deposit for the difference. The Roval Fusee 25 wheelset is out of stock until Oct 10. This isn't a huge problem for me because I will be traveling Thursday morning and will be out of town until Oct10.

What's the difference between the 25 and 28?
I have a newish Roubaix with Fusee. 2500 miles, no break.... but I worry now.

If you have 2500 mi, you are probably okay. You may have an earlier production that used the correct thread lock. Ask your LBS to check with Specialized. The standard offer is to exchange for the Roval Pave, which is a downgrade. My LBS didn't think that was a good deal so they offered the Reynolds Shadow. I preferred the Roval, but got started thinking that a new Roval would be better than a a wheel that had given me problems.

The Fusee 25 is 200 g lighter, has different spokes and different hubs. It also comes with Titanium skewers, which probably have little impact.

Back in the day, as the youngsters like to say, I had a couple of friends who would pack a spare spoke or two inside their road bike handlebars for just such occasions. Remove the bar end plug and pull out the spoke. Any slight bend that remained in it would straighten out when it was tensioned.

I have never broken a spoke on a front wheel. On a rear wheel my broken spokes have occured on the sprocket side. It is hard to replace those spokes without removing the cassette. I don't carry a whip and freewheel wrench with me.

I have always been lucky to be able to ride home with a single broken spoke.