UKH

I’ve never changed a spoke before and as we’re in lockdown I can’t get to a shop. I’m keen to sort my one broken spoke but don’t want to end up buying the wrong size, fitting it wrong or any one of issues I might encounter.

Any advice? Is it an easy enough job to learn to do (YouTube videos for guidance etc).

it’s easy enough if you know how to straighten out and true a wheel. For a single spoke you won’t need fancy wheel stands and at a pinch you can straighten the wheel out using brake blocks to rim distance on an upside down bike.

Id take both parts of the old spoke with you or even take another spoke out so the bike shop can measure for you. Bear in mind the front wheel will have spokes of the same length however the drive side and non drive side spokes of the back wheel are different lengths. 

Put a drop of 3in1 oil on the inside of the nipples and any threads showing where the spoke enters the nipple. Do this now for all the spokes on that wheel and it shouldn’t be too much bother when you have to tweak a few here and there. 

You aren’t going to be able to test for tension without the proper tool but a similar feel to other spokes on that side of the wheel is usually pretty close. I have a tension meter and what feels right in the fingers is usually spot on when i’ve measured spokes after guesstimating.

Good luck, let us know how you get on, it isn’t a particularly hard job 

A single spoke is fairly straightforward. First off you need to order the correct length spoke, take out the broken one and measure that. Then when you replace it if you tap the spokes around it with a spanner and tension the new spoke until it makes the same sound, it should then be the same tension (near enough anyway).

Quite a few bike shops around here are open for repair business more or less as normal. I think they were specifically named as essential businesses, or something like that, and many have been very busy ever since.

Thanks all. Might see if my local bike shop is open, rather than ordering off the internet. I’m keen to use some of this time to learn new skills.

I don't know if this will be helpful, but I hope it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6eOamGK2tY&t=16s

Easy enough but fiddly, I've done it a few times. Level of awkward depends on several things, such as removing tyre, rim tape, brake disks and cassette. Some rims are REALLY awkward if you need a magnet to get the nipple in place. And then you've got to put them all back on again!

Several websites should be able to give you spoke length, if you put in rim and hub and which side of the wheel, e.g.: https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator/

Note the spoke pattern, such as radial or crossed. Some rear wheels can have asymmetrical spoking with more on the drive side and even radial on the non-drive side.

Or you need something like this: https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/park-tool-spoke-bearing-and-cotter-gaug...

You'll also need a spoke key of the right size for the nipple and a spoke holder if it's a bladed spoke.

Other than that, what everyone else said.

Front wheel will have different spoke lengths if it's a disk hub.

This should be a simple task unless the spoke is on the cassette side of the rear wheel, in which case you will probably need to remove the cassette and this requires a chainwhip and special tool. If you haven't got the tools (or a friend who has) it's probably easier to get the shop to do it.

If it's a disc wheel and it's out of true then you can use a zip tie on the fork or seat stay to give you a reference point to true the wheel to.

It is. Bugger. I’ll have a look and think my next steps.

https://www.merlincycles.com/icetoolz-cassette-tool-with-guide-44498.html
and
https://www.merlincycles.com/icetoolz-chain-whip-44504.html

Other options are available either there, ChainReaction or elsewhere.

Sadly these are often the ones that go, either because they are at a shallower angle from the hub and therefore tighter than the other side or because they get damaged by chains overshooting the cassette.

Just be glad you haven't got a set of wheels with stupid aero profiles and straight pull nipples. I've been trying to find some Mavic spokes for weeks and can't get the ones I need.

Mavic have a policy of stopping making spares for their wheels after a few years.

The wheels are only a year old and spares are apparently available, but nobody seems to have them. None of the bike shops near me even deal with them as they have a unusual distribution system dealing with shops directly rather than going through distributors. They also went into administration a few days ago so I better find a few spares soon. Luckily the wheels are only aksiums and I'm not super impressed with them so I won't be too concerned if they don't last too long.

The miracles of modern technology eh? Literally re inventing the wheel. I am a big fan of older widely used technology on bikes rather than new fangled fancy stuff, there is often a technical advantage to a lot of these diverse changes, but they are so marginal the extra cost and specificity of the 'advances' in terms of availability/tools/ease of repair simply means that less advanced components win hands down in my opinion.

When I rebuilt my Ksyrium SL rear wheel I had no trouble getting the spokes, they seem to be plentiful. Here is only one of many online sellers: https://www.bikingbarn.co.uk/Spokes

The rim was harder and I ended up using an Elite rim, which is extruded through the same die but painted differently, which I got from a web seller in France. The wheel was remarkably easy to rebuild as the Mavic spoke system is so easy to use.

Cut the end off a cotton bud to a point and stick it in the end of the nipple to place into the rim. A lot easier than messing around with magnets. Can use the other end to put a little oil around the spoke hole and threads to help with spoke twist. 

Thanks again to all.

The rims are Bontrager. I’m pretty confident I can get the spokes (black) from these guys. 

https://www.pedalworks.co.uk/product/uncategorized/bontrager-round-j-bend-s...

Just a matter of getting the correct length and then changing the broken one. 

If you can find the Bontrager user manual pdf for the wheels it will tell you what spokes they need.

Ta 😀

Fair enough. Having used a set of Aksiums for a day (on a hire bike), I would get rid of them at the first opportunity!

I've only snapped a spoke two or three times in decades of regular cycling on lots of different types of bikes down the years. I fixed it myself easily using youtube and other online guides, but IIRC, subsequently broke another. I fixed that, then another snapped. So eventually just bought a new wheel. I think the original wheel was well over 10 years and I had used that bike a lot. So I don't know if it's really true, but it feels like if you snap a spoke maybe it's because your wheels are well used?

Or use a spare spoke screwed in the "wrong" way, but won't work on rims where the spoke holes aren't drilled all the way through:

https://www.campagnolo.com/UK/en/Technologies/momag

The advantage of it is you don't need to take the tyre and rim tape off - only works on deeper section rims, though.

Could be true. Bike is about 14 years old and I broke 2 spokes earlier this year.

I don't think age has anything to do with it. Me and Mrs Lancs bought our touring wheels in 1983 and collectively have done 100s of thousands of miles without breaking a spoke including lots of ruff stuff.

Conventionally spoked wheels do however need to have all the spokes working equally hard - ie they have to be built really well by a human being, and serviced from time to time. Machine built wheels and those that have had the odd spoke replaced without relaxing the whole wheel, always tend to then have a succession of spoke breakages. Replace the odd spoke by all means as a expediency, but done well by yourself or a reputable shop will see spoke breakages become a thing of the past.

Gone into receivership

E

I remember hearing someone on here a few years ago suggest that repeated spoke breakages on a modern lightweight wheel were a sign of the wheel rims becoming too thin (i.e. excessive wear fron rim brakes).  The wheel starts to distort more when you hit stones or potholes and eventually such an event co-incides with a spoke under excessive tension being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Ping!

They are only on my commuter bike, but saying that, the fulcrum wheels I have on my better bike have been a bit of a pain with poorly sealed bearings.

Update - I’ve removed the tyre and tube. The rim appears to have a rim ‘tape’ made of well constructed solid plastic? I can’t see any obvious splits or joins and it surrounds the entire rim. There’s a well placed hole for the valve. I don’t want to break this by trying to stretch it over the rim, there’s no obvious place to remove it.

Thinking I’d be better waiting for lockdown to end (Scotland) and take it to a shop?

Carefully hook something blunt and thin underneath it and you'll be able to ease it off the rim no problem. It's not like you're trying to double it's length to do so. You might even be able to ease it out of the way just to replace the nipple.

Make sure when you put it back it's seated correctly.

You could even replace it with something a bit thinner and lighter while you're at it.

Grand. I assumed that would be the answer as I can’t imagine a shop would do anything different, just don’t want to break anything by not knowing.

Pleasure.

By it's nature, rim tape won't have much stretch, as it's job is to stop the innertube ballooning into the spoke holes and puncturing on the ends/edges, but there's enough to get it on and off the rim.

While it's off, have a look for any corrosion/cracks in the rim

So....I’ve established the length of spokes I need. Any suggestions as to UK suppliers? I’ll obviously need delivery.

Though I’d let you know how I got on.

So after a bit of faff getting the necessary tools and measuring the spoke length I ordered 5 from HubJub. I bought a few extra as I assumed I might need more in the future. Glad I did. Once I started I checked the spokes and needed to replace 5 which, whilst not broken were well on the way out.

With the combined wisdom of YouTube and UKC it was an incredibly easy job. Only thing now is to true the wheel, hopefully I’ll get to that tomorrow.

Thanks all for all your help. Dead chuffed with myself 😀