Broken spokes

[1duck]

Simple enough question...where can you buy single spokes? and are they hard to fit? Last time i just took it to my local bike shop but my new local bike shop seems quite expensive they want about 20 pounds to do it and the wheel isn't worth 20 quid

 

[jimc101]

Yes, any good LBS should sell them. not that all will, you can get them mail order from Spa cycles in Harrogate.

 

[cannondale king]

what lenght do you need? im sure i can sort you out . I build wheels to fund my retrobike habbit check out my site handcraftedwheels.co.uk


If you find out what lenght they are and how many you need when you get them you need to follow the pattern of the other spokes just have a good look round the wheels it'll be easy to follow once you start to look once you have the spokes in find a good local shop and ask the just to true it should cost no more than £8 if they want more ask if they were pro mechanics for people like campag at that price or if your near lowestoft in suffolk drop it in and il have a look at for you

 

[drystonepaul]

Spa cycles are good for single spokes: --> http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s156p0

I agree that £20 is a bit steep to fit a replacement.

 

[1duck]

i'll have a looksie trying to work out the length now...i bought the wheelset off ebay and the back wheel arrived missing 3 spokes.


I'm a bit far north for suffolk unfortunately! i'll try figure out what length i need...it's just a standard 26" mountainbike wheel? i didn't realise there were lots of different lengths.


Yeah that spacycle place looks like a good bet, i could only find them on ebay and you had to buy ten or so at a time.

 

[Pierre]

I agree that £20 is a bit steep to fit a replacement.

I disagree - if it's a drive-side spoke in the rear wheel, you've got to remove the cassette / freewheel, often you'll need to remove the tyre and rim tape (unless you can re-use the nipple in place), then replace the spoke and re-true the wheel radially and laterally. This is usually not just a matter of returning the replaced spoke to the original tension, especially if the wheel's been ridden with the broken spoke for a while. Then you've got to replace the rim tape, tyre and tube, re-fit the wheel and check the brakes are working.

That probably averages about 20-30 minutes per job - some jobs may be quicker, but some will take much longer if you've got seized nipples, other damaged spokes or the wheel's really knackered. £40 an hour for workshop labour is not unreasonable, it's certainly quite cheap for a London workshop.

Just because you have a go at the job yourself, in your own time, doesn't mean that someone else isn't justified in charging money to do it quickly and properly.


OK, rant aside (sorry about that), Sheldon Brown's website is excellent as ever on this - have a look at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html, although I've got to say if I bought a wheel off eBay and it wasn't described as having missing spokes, I'd send it back and ask for a refund. It's not complicated to replace spokes but it is a process that requires a bit of skill and certainly a bit of time if you haven't done it before.

Hope this helps.

: P

 

[1duck]

well that answers my next question about drive side spokes, this is going to be a complete pain in the arse...oh well live and learn. I'll just switch the back wheel out and do it later when i have a wet weekend to waste.


edit: The item was described properly but the auction was ending and i sniped it after having skimmed the advert...completely my fault, in a rush as always and now i've got a bitched wheel.

 

[Pierre]

It's not all lost - replacing the spokes yourself and truing up the wheel will be a good chance to learn useful skills! But, like you say, allow yourself a weekend to do it.

If you can tell us the make and model of hub and rim, and then how many spokes an individual spoke crosses (most builds are "three cross"), I could probably have a pretty good stab at working out what length spokes you need and then I or cannondale king could get you replacement spokes.

: P

 

[Charlieboy28]

replace the spokes yourself 25-40 p a spoke, easy job, then get the LBS to true for you, they usually charge a flat rate of £8-10 for a thorough true

 

[1duck]

i'll try measure them tomorrow, i left it at my friends house being my usual intelligent self.

I'll definitely go for the do it yourself then get someone else to true it, unless there is a way to true a bike wheel without a truing stand?