Is this because of my massive weight or was it mainly bad luck?

[thistler]

Thank you, HMS Dave!!!

 

[andrew_s]

If you realise you are about to hit a pothole - i.e. no time to go round it, it helps a lot to take as much weight off the saddle as possible by standing on the pedals, or at least starting to.

 

[craigwend]

Dawes galaxy and wheels are generally strong, does sound like bad luck / **it happens, your okay - all that matters, the wheels from SPA are normally excellent as well. 32s are fine and mine are about 92psi. Keep up the good work

 

[Donger]

I'm a good 2 stone heavier than you, and also ride a touring bike with 36 spoke wheels. Personally, the tyres I use are 28s, and I pump them up to 80psi. I've sheared many a metal bit on my bikes over the last 12 years but have never broken a wheel. I'm pretty sure you can blame the pothole and you don't have to worry about your weight. Keep going.

Edit: p.s. I did have the odd broken spoke on my rear wheel in the past .... until I had my rear wheels changed over to Alpine3 triple-butted spokes. No trouble since.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

@thistler Glad to see your confidence is not as dented as the wheel.
I'm not a wheel expert but if you're looking at using a wheel that hasn't been used in a long time it may be worth having someone give it a once over.
Good luck!

 

[thistler]

Thanks Hobbesontour - sadly those old wheels aren't the right size. I need a new wheel but am not sure what to buy. A £200 set from Spa cycles would be lovely but is not in the budget.
This is what the front wheel says, can anyone point me in the right direction (as in a link) showing me what I need? (36 spokes)

 

[raggydoll]

Is it just the front wheel you need to replace or both front and back?

If both, what speed is the bike?
Rim brake or disc?
What is your budget?

 

[thistler]

Just the front, 21 speed, rim, as cheap as possible to get a decent quality strong wheel.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

If it's just the front you need and money is tight I'm not sure why you want a set?

You could also look at SJS
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/wheels-front/?diameter=700&order=price+ascending

Of course, supply seems to be an issue.

 

[Poacher]

Well done on getting back in the saddle.

If it's just the rim that's damaged beyond repair (won't respond to some not so subtle bending with an adjustable spanner or similar), now might be the time to acquire some wheel building skills. Spa are quoting 8 weeks on hand-built wheels, but have Exal LX17 in stock for £25

I'd guess your hub is undamaged, and most, if not all spokes could be re-used. I haven't checked, but it's likely the same length spokes will be OK for this rim. It's really not particularly difficult, and will give you a huge sense of achievement if when you ride a true wheel you've built yourself.

As well as the rim, a few spare spokes of the right size, a roll of rim tape and a decent quality spoke key will be needed.
Tie/tape the new rim alongside the old, with valve holes aligned, and swap spokes over one by one - more detailed instructions can almost certainly be found on this site! The wheel can be trued in the fork - truing stand not required.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Well done on getting back in the saddle.

If it's just the rim that's damaged beyond repair (won't respond to some not so subtle bending with an adjustable spanner or similar), now might be the time to acquire some wheel building skills. Spa are quoting 8 weeks on hand-built wheels, but have Exal LX17 in stock for £25

I'd guess your hub is undamaged, and most, if not all spokes could be re-used. I haven't checked, but it's likely the same length spokes will be OK for this rim. It's really not particularly difficult, and will give you a huge sense of achievement if when you ride a true wheel you've built yourself.

As well as the rim, a few spare spokes of the right size, a roll of rim tape and a decent quality spoke key will be needed.
Tie/tape the new rim alongside the old, with valve holes aligned, and swap spokes over one by one - more detailed instructions can almost certainly be found on this site! The wheel can be trued in the fork - truing stand not required.

I mean no offence, but I'll have a go at anything on my bike, even small adjustments to the wheels, but not a rebuild.
Given the op's situation - getting back into cycling, heavy and one catastrophic wheel failure (most likely pothole caused) - I'd imagine a bit of confidence is a very important component in maintaining momentum.

I'd fully agree that in the longer term acquiring some mechanical skills would be great (and to keep the damaged wheel for practice if nothing else) but for now a cheap, reliable solution is probably the best way forward.

 

[thistler]

Thank you all for the replies! I am going to agree with HobbsOnTour, building a wheel isn't something I would feel great about right now but is definitely something I might look into in the future. At the moment I can spend up to £75-80ish on a front wheel that is sturdy with 36 spokes and will hopefully survive some tours.

I appreciate the link! When I looked at the wheels, there seemed to be different options and I don't know what they all mean. I have studied Sheldon Brown's tyre/wheel chart and maybe it's my old brain but I can't really get my head around it.

I'm hoping for a direct replacement. I'd prefer silver. I'm not purposely trying to be ignorant/stupid but my old lady brain doesn't work as well as it used to. Merlin cycles have some wheels on sale but again I have no clue what I'm looking for other than 700c. Could someone please link one particular wheel that would work for me that is the same size as the one I recently ruined? I just want to get back out there before I think about it too much and develop some kind of pothole anxiety.

 

[Punkawallah]

According to the picture above, the ERTO number is 622 x 17, which should be a narrow, road bike wheel, 700c. Can't see anything in a wheel to match on t'Interwebs, only rims.

Question 1; what size are the other wheels you have? They may fit despite being a different size.

Question 2; have you checked eBay for a pair of 700c hybrid wheels? Depending on the gears you have, you may find it simpler/cheaper to swap out both wheels.

 

[thistler]

According to the picture above, the ERTO number is 622 x 17, which should be a narrow, road bike wheel, 700c. Can't see anything in a wheel to match on t'Interwebs, only rims.

Question 1; what size are the other wheels you have? They may fit despite being a different size.

Question 2; have you checked eBay for a pair of 700c hybrid wheels? Depending on the gears you have, you may find it simpler/cheaper to swap out both wheels.

Thank you!

The other wheels I have rims that are a lot narrower, I bought them for my old road bike quite a while ago. I don't think they will take tyres wider than 28c.
I'd be happy to buy a set of hybrid wheels from ebay, I'm not 100% sure what I'd be looking for

 

[raggydoll]

Have you tried putting your existing tyres on your other wheels?
If they are 700c I'd bet that your 32c or 35c may fit them fine.

Only take you 5 minutes to check. If your tyres fit then no need to buy new wheel.