broken spoke

[pclay]

Hi
I purchased my Cannondale Synapse 6 Tiagra alloy road bike on 9th November 2013. Today (16 March 2014), I heard a 'twang' and realised that a rear wheel spoke had broken. I had to limp home with an out of true wheel, for the last 15 miles.

the bike is here:

http://www.cannondale.com/gbr/catalog/product/view/id/32150/s/synapse-6-tiagra/category/916/

My question is, should I expect a broken spoke on a bike that 4 months old to be repaired / replaced under warranty, or is this something that is down to wear and tear? I avoid all the pot holes, have not mistreated the bike and I have done around 700 miles on it.

Many thanks

Paul

 

[cyberknight]

I doubt spokes are covered , my LBS charges me 50 p for a spoke last time i needed one .
Have you kept and eye on spoke tension as the wheels bedded in?

 

[sreten]

Hi,

Carry a spoke spanner. Loosen the two either side of the broken spoke to get home.
I'd expect your LBS to fix it out of courtesy if its has been your only warranty issue.

rgds, sreten.

 

[pclay]

To be honest I have never checked my spokes. I am good at fixing/maintaining most things on bicycles, but I have never done wheels. I just thought a wheel was a wheel, I didn't know that they 'bedded' in.

I must take the wheel down the LBS for repair. I hope I haven't knackered the rim.

 

[SS Retro]

My lbs charges around £12 to put a new spoke in.

spokes can fail for multitude of reasons, badly built wheel, poor quality spokes, rider weight, rider power, road condtions causing premature failure, etc etc.
I recently had spoke breaking issues. http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/planet-x-al30-rear-wheel-breaking-spokes.148536/#post-2940887

 

[shouldbeinbed]

My Brompton was bought new in November and pinged a spoke in February, approx 500 miles on the clock. £11 to fit a new one, LBS were surprised it had gone so soon and it contributed to them offering me my second service free rather than the usual half price deal.

 

[Brommyboy]

When getting a new wheel, I always check the spoke tension: generally I find several loose spokes as well as a few tight ones. It is worth taking the time to tension these up more evenly, which should not in any way alter the wheel truing. Any slack spokes will definitely lead to breakages, and most newly built wheels are like this, unless hand built by a competent person.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

To be honest I have never checked my spokes. I am good at fixing/maintaining most things on bicycles, but I have never done wheels. I just thought a wheel was a wheel, I didn't know that they 'bedded' in.

I must take the wheel down the LBS for repair. I hope I haven't knackered the rim.

A wheel doesn't need to be bedded in. A wheel needs to be stress relieved several times during the building process, a wheel needs to have its spokes sufficiently tensioned and evenly tensioned. A well built wheel, specified for the intended use should not need any attention for many hundreds / few thousands of miles.

 

[PatrickPending]

Cheap wheels are not terribly well built - often with low quality spokes, and to be honest in most cases once one goes, the others follow. One thing I wouldn't recommend is getting the LBS to replace them one at a time at around £10 a go....either learn to do it yourself, or get them to rebuild the wheel with decent quality stainless steel spokes - will cost a bit more in the short term but you'll probably never break another spoke.....

 

[lpretro1]

We have had loads of broken spokes in wheels in our workshop the last few months - state of the roads is simply killing bike wheels

 

[pclay]

Wheel is in with the LBS. About £11 for truing and spoke tension check. I hope this is a one off and the wheel will last.

 

[PatrickPending]

Wheel is in with the LBS. About £11 for truing and spoke tension check. I hope this is a one off and the wheel will last.

Could be but in my experience the rest will follow....

 

[doog]

looking at the specs ..Maddux RS 3.0 32 hole ? 36 on 58 cm plus.

Thats plenty of spokes for a road bike. Might be time to upgrade the rear wheel. You can get a lighter / quality hand made wheel for £54 (Open Pro) at this place http://www.davehinde.com/hand-built-wheels.html

Might be worth it for peace of mind if it goes again (which it probably will)

 

[pclay]

So I was out for a morning ride, and TWANG!! another spoke went on my rear wheel. Got itself wrapped around the hub so I had some untangling to do. Fortunately I was only about 6 miles away from home.

Its been 4 weeks since I had my previous broken spoke replaced. I know that some of you have said that once one spoke breaks. other will follow. Is it really time to get a new wheel, even though this one is only 5 months old?

Interestingly, the spoke failure was at the nipple rather than the hub, where it usually happens.

I have been looking at the Plant X wheelsets. Is a rear 24 spoke count suitable for someone weighing in at nearly 16 stone?

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I have been looking at the Plant X wheelsets. Is a rear 24 spoke count suitable for someone weighing in at nearly 16 stone?

I rode on some RS10's last year 16 front 20 rear and did nearly 7,000 miles, general weight would be just under 15st all in, though some times heavier and light depends if I was carry stuff or not, a spoke on the front went in March (£9 including carriage), the following week I noticed two fractures in the rear rim, no I am not sure if its weigh, or combination of weight and roads, or just fatigue, but Planet-X replaced the wheelset, after 11 1/2 months and as I said nearly 7,000 miles no questions asked, plus a new two year warranty, so I am currently on RS11's which some one said are slightly better, though I suspect the rim is the same.

@doog bookmarked that link, as I am building up and old Carleton for general riding, and going to put a higher spoke count on.