Broken spokes

[LeoJo]

Somehow on my ride this morning I broke three spokes on the front wheel. They broke at the nut flange. Two left and one right not in the same area. I've never in all my riding years have had this happen. I did not hit anything during the ride. ANY ideas what might be wrong? I put about 3500 miles on the bike since I got it almost 2 months ago.

[Easy Rider]

Somehow on my ride this morning I broke three spokes on the front wheel.

As you might suspect, this is NOT a good sign. You might have a bent rim or other rim defect developing. I would NOT ride it until you get it to a shop that does a lot of "spoke" tire work for an evaluation......and I would encourage you not to just change the broken ones yourself.

Since the spokes only come in complete sets, maybe someone here has spares you could get.......or if you end up buying a whole set, you could sell off the extra ones here.

[patrick_777]

This could be a precursor to a much bigger problem, and probably didn't happen because you forgot to check the spoke tension. I agree with Easy here (say it ain't so!) and say you should really get it to a shop. You might be okay to ride it there if it's close, but I definitely wouldn't put any more significant miles on that front wheel without either replacing it or at least getting it balanced & tightened professionally.

Somehow on my ride this morning I broke three spokes on the front wheel.

Since the spokes only come in complete sets, maybe someone here has spares you could get.......or if you end up buying a whole set, you could sell off the extra ones here.

I have some recent experience with spokes, as I had my bike towed to the shop to get new tires and some other routine maintenance. Towed incorrectly, as it turned out, because the way they strapped the bike broke a spoke (I got AAA to pay for half the cost to repair, but the towing company refused to pay the other half - any lawyers on here know if I could take them to small claims court?).

Anyway, had to buy a full set of spokes because one spoke was broken ($42). My mechanic ended up installing all the new spokes, but gave me the old spokes back for spares, just in case of something like what you are going through. Problem is, I left them at the shop when I rode the bike home because I had zipped off my saddle bags and didn't want a set of spokes in my jacket pocket in case I went down - so they're still at his shop. But I do have some extras, though they are not brand new. PM me LeoJo if you find out a few spares would fix your problem. I second what Easy and others have said, though. Get a pro who knows what they're doing to check it out. I learned a lot about "truing" a tire and all that from my mechanic.

Keith

[alanmcorcoran]

I'm not a lawyer, but:

A) You probably could take them to small claims court.
B) You will probably have to go several times (towing companies get sued all the time and they know how to drag your case out to the max.) You may have to wait there most of the day only to be told to come back.
C) Even if you win, which you might not (hard to tell who the judge will be more biased against, tow companies or bikers,) you will not get any money from the court, just a "judgement." It can be very difficult to collect on a judgement unless you are friendly with the local LEO (sherrifs probably) and the guy has a cash register or bank account.
D) You might need another tow. If you are in a small town, you might suddenly find tow trucks scarce.

-Been there, done that.

[LeoJo]

OK. Here is what we found out about the spoke problem: 1. The spoke it self did not break it was the flange on the rim nut that holds the spoke in place. 2. After dismounting the tire and taking a close look at the rim from the inside there seems to be a sharp burr on the rim that might be cutting in to the nut flange area. I found the flanges, still inplace in the rim and if you look real close with a magnifier you can see what looks like a cut area then a torn metal area on the nut head (all three are about the same). 3. The spokes them self seem straight and in good repair so what I plan to do is replace the nuts andhave the rim checked for tureness. I took a close look at the others and they seem to be in good condition but without removing them completly its really hard to tell. I'm going to take the chance that they are ok and just to a rim repain (and diburr the holes).

[mrlmd1]

I'm sorry, I don't know - Is that a new bike or used?
If new you could argue with the dealer about a manufacturing defect (the wheel) and make them repair it under warranty.

[Easy Rider]

The spokes them self seem straight and in good repair so what I plan to do is replace the nuts and have the rim checked for tureness.

The adjusters are generally not available without the spoke.

Do you plan to do this yourself? The failure you describe is a symptom of spokes that are GROSSLY over tightened. Replacing the damaged ones is easy; getting them "tuned" right is the hard part. For that you need someone with experience.

You may still have others that are WAY too tight. That can happen when someone tries to straighten a warped rim by "adjusting" the spokes.

[alanmcorcoran]

Are these (Suzuki) wheels made out of aluminum? I bailed on my first pricey Trek bicycle when both the front and rear wheels developed hairline cracks around the spoke holes. Friggin' wheels were like $600 (each) so it wasn't worth the money to replace them. The motorcycle wheels are clearly much heavier and thicker looking but I wondered with all the punishment they take if they can get "fatigued" after seven or eight years. My fancy bike had about 25000 miles and was about ten tears old. First symptom of the crack problem?: broken spokes.

[LeoJo]

Well I'm looking for a replacement front wheel. If anyone has one for sale please email me. I'm also checking on ebay. I'm not willing to take a chance on this rim or wheel since I do ride a lot and in remote areas here in south and west Texas. Any leads will be helpful. Thanks.

[Sarris]

Brother, it's shame you don't live near by. I'd fix you up. I have no problem replacing spokes and truing wheels. You need a good spoke wrench and a good eye to true it, and a good ear to hear the ping on the spokes. They all need to ping at the same pitch. It's done off the bike. Contrary to the opinions above, it's really NOT rocket science.

Also, in 38 + years of riding, I've only seen a couple rim failures at the spoke nipple. You need to remove the rim strip and look for cracks or nipple stretching. Both are very uncommon. IF a crack is present, 99% of the time it will show. Rule #2, always replace the rim strip & tube when replacing tires unless your ass is worth less than $15.

:2tup:

[Easy Rider]

Well I'm looking for a replacement front wheel.

Why.....exactly? Sounds like that might be overkill to me.
Have you had an "expert" opinion that says you need to replace the rim?
What has happened in the 10 days since your original post?

[Easy Rider]

Contrary to the opinions above, it's really NOT rocket science.


Do I detect another: "Go for it Bro. Anybody can do it. You will be FINE." post ?? :whistle: :biggrin:

[Sarris]

Nope. I suggest using someone who's not trying to scare the shit out of him while trying to score the sale of a new wheel when 3 new spokes and a competant hand will do just fine.

[LeoJo]

It's not just the three spokes. We despoked the complete rim and found that most of the holes were no longer round but stretched oblong from all the spokes being over tightened. Possibly when manufactured. A majority of the spoke nuts were cut along the contact flange. I considered stepping up the holesize if I could get nuts to fit but nothing was available so the best option (and quickest way to get back on the road) is to replace the wheel and not just the rim, and spokes, and nuts, and who knows what else until it's all back together. I found one today from emailing a guy on ebay that has some other parts. He's checking the condition before sending for $90.

[Easy Rider]

......stretched oblong from all the spokes being over tightened. Possibly when manufactured.

Or more likely, I think, possibly by a previous owner or mis-guided "mechanic" who thinks tighter is better.

I agree with your chosen fix........not that you need approval from me or anybody else....... :roll:
Hope you're back on the road soon. :tup: