What causes my spokes to break?
Bike spokes break most commonly due to wear and tear. A high-frequent cause for spoke breaks is that the rider has hit a curb or pothole, doesn’t maintain the bike well, or the passenger is too heavy for that model. Rougher terrain will also deteriorate the rims faster, which in turn deteriorates the spokes faster.
How do you stop spokes from breaking?
The best way to avoid spoke fatigue is to go to a skilled builder, who will advise on spoke count and rim weight (heavier rims are stronger…) and use correct spoke tension and proven stress-relieving techniques to minimise the cyclic loading responsible for fatigue failure.
What happens when spokes break?
A few broken spokes in the front wheel can be a bit dangerous as they could seize or get thrown over. As for the back wheels, they would mostly skid or stop. Broken spokes can also get caught in the outer wheel and cause a puncture.
What causes bicycle spokes to loosen?
Spokes can loosen from hitting bumps hard or from landings following jumps. If you don’t tighten the nut enough, the tension from the opposite spokes remains greater — and the spoke nut loosens again as the novice continues to ride. Bicycle wheel builders use a tension meter to ensure the uniformity of spoke tension.
How long should spokes last?
You may break a spoke with these wheels every 5 or 6000 miles, but that’s not because the spokes wear out. And that seems fairly frequent to breaking spokes on average, especially for a rider of your weight. There would have to be something going on with the spoke or wheel to cause it to break.
Are my spokes loose?
If your spokes are so loose they rattle, they’re providing virtually no strength to the wheel structure. It’s no better than if that spoke were missing or broken. It’s a big indicator that your bike wheels need truing.
Why are my spokes breaking on my wheel?
Several possibilities: The wheel is poorly built — over tensioned, improperly crossed, wrong side of the flange, etc. You’re too heavy for the wheels. You’re too hard on the wheels (for the ruggedness of the particular wheels).
Why are I breaking a ridiculous number of spokes?
(The short version is I bought a used bike a few weeks ago, I broke a spoke on the back wheel, replaced the spoke, trued the wheel with a tensiometer, and found that it had become untrue again. The diagnosis was either the wheel was bent, or that the spokes were just settling and re-truing it would sort out the problem.)
How do you replace spokes on a bike?
To replace spokes correctly you need to pay close attention to how the old ones are placed. If the spoke broke you can always check two places next to it on the same side of the wheel. Every second spoke has the same placement. Also, there are differences in each wheel.
What kind of bike has a Broken Spoke?
It is a 26-inch unsuspended hybrid, with a variable-speed NuVinci rear hub and a Shimano generator front hub. In general it appears to be a good quality bike. Before the ride started it was discovered that one spoke was broken on the rear wheel (and a repair was effected), and during the last day of the ride a second spoke broke.
Can a weak rim cause a spoke to break?
A weak rim will flex more and force the spokes to do more work (or not, and fatigue and break).” “I had the same issue with a set of wheels. I was breaking a spoke every week or two. My advice was that it was a cheaply built wheel with weak spokes.
What should I do if my spokes on my bike break?
Most mechanics advise on replacing the wheel if more than 3 spokes are broken. But at the very least, replace the four spokes, re-tension and re-true the wheel and test the bike. If the spokes continue to break, it’s best to change the wheel. Here’s a pro-tip: Try to carry tape with you in your backpack for an emergency fix.
(The short version is I bought a used bike a few weeks ago, I broke a spoke on the back wheel, replaced the spoke, trued the wheel with a tensiometer, and found that it had become untrue again. The diagnosis was either the wheel was bent, or that the spokes were just settling and re-truing it would sort out the problem.)
Why are some spokes tighter than others on a wheel?
However, if the rim is damaged, as referenced in your previous question, then the tension of the wheel cannot be evenly consistent, because some spokes must be tighter than others in order to hold the rim true and straight.