LBS wheel true- should I expect any after service care?

[Bayerd]

I took my back wheel down to my local lbs for a spoke replacement and true, now a week later after cycling about 40 miles, another one has gone on the same wheel, and it's out of true again.

Do you think it's acceptable for me to expect a gratis repair? or have I been unlucky?

 

[Zoiders]

Not enough info.

 

[Oldlegs]

Once one spoke goes others tend to be not far behind. It might be time to consider a complete re-build or a new wheel.

Not the sort of thing the lbs would be expected to find in a quick replace / retrue. I doubt you will get a free repair but it's always worth a try.

 

[Nantmor]

I took my back wheel down to my local lbs for a spoke replacement and true, now a week later after cycling about 40 miles, another one has gone on the same wheel, and it's out of true again.

Do you think it's acceptable for me to expect a gratis repair? or have I been unlucky?

It sounds like your wheel may be on the way out. When many of the spokes are fatigued they will go one or two at a time and the wheel really needs respoking or replacing. This will happen sooner with a poorly built wheel. Of course I can't know whether your wheel is in this state. If it is though, I don't think you can expect the shop to go on replacing spoke after spoke, for the price of the first job. They perhaps should have pointed out the problem, and that a repair might not last. Or they could have recommended a replacement. In my view it might have been worthwhile trying to keep the wheel going for a bit, and accepting defeat when spokes continued to break. If you take it back they might tell you this and could offer a replacement with the price of the abortive repair deducted. It is unlikely, in my view that they did anything to provoke the second break, it was likely to happen anyway, that is, if my diagnosis is correct. As Zoiders wrote, we do not have enough information really. Is the wheel old? Did it go badly out of true when the spoke broke? I'd have to examine it to be sure.

 

[Bayerd]

Once one spoke goes others tend to be not far behind. It might be time to consider a complete re-build or a new wheel.

Not the sort of thing the lbs would be expected to find in a quick replace / retrue. I doubt you will get a free repair but it's always worth a try.

I should imagine that a rebuild wouldn't be viable and at 15 quid a pop for replace/ retrue I probably don't need it to happen too many more times before I've covered the cost of a similar wheel. I suppose there's nothing to stop me asking for his opinion on the wheel (before he tries to sell me a new one no doubt).

Was I wrong to think that by paying for the retrue I would get a few hundred more miles before the likelihood of another spoke going?

 

[Bayerd]

It sounds like your wheel may be on the way out. When many of the spokes are fatigued they will go one or two at a time and the wheel really needs respoking or replacing. This will happen sooner with a poorly built wheel. Of course I can't know whether your wheel is in this state. If it is though, I don't think you can expect the shop to go on replacing spoke after spoke, for the price of the first job. They perhaps should have pointed out the problem, and that a repair might not last. Or they could have recommended a replacement. In my view it might have been worthwhile trying to keep the wheel going for a bit, and accepting defeat when spokes continued to break. If you take it back they might tell you this and could offer a replacement with the price of the abortive repair deducted. It is unlikely, in my view that they did anything to provoke the second break, it was likely to happen anyway, that is, if my diagnosis is correct. As Zoiders wrote, we do not have enough information really. Is the wheel old? Did it go badly out of true when the spoke broke? I'd have to examine it to be sure.

The wheel wasn't too badly out when the first spoke went, although I'd previously tightened and trued the wheel myself (admittedly without really knowing what I'm doing).

In terms of age, milage etc, the wheel is 12 months old and has done approximately 2300 miles. It's on a Revolution Country Traveller.

 

[Zoiders]

The first part negates everything else as you have possibly put flat spots in it or over tensioned some of the spokes.

You borked it, handing it over to them and then wanting a new one when another spoke goes is out of order IMHO, if you needed a complete re-tension or rebuild you should have told them.

 

[Bayerd]

So you don't think it's fair to expect them to notice that it would need a retension? As someone who is relying on them as the expert, it's unlikely that I could tell them it needs completely retensioning as I wasn't aware that it did.

To ask a different question, should I expect someone at an lbs to spot the real problem, rather than the quick fix?

 

[Zoiders]

They don't owe you a new wheel.

A 36 hole should stand up to missing spoke perfectly well unless someone fiddles with it, having one break you should have taken it back to the LBS in the first place.

Sadly you didn't.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Once one spoke goes others tend to be not far behind. It might be time to consider a complete re-build or a new wheel.

The above is exactly what my LBS warned me when I took my wheel in with a single broken spoke. I had it fixed anyway, and touchwood no further problems yet.

Yours should have probably given you the same warning, but even without it, I wouldn't expect a free second repair.

 

[biggs682]

if one is week then surely all getting week so doubtfull free repair but worth a shout or if not done at cost

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

So you don't think it's fair to expect them to notice that it would need a retension? As someone who is relying on them as the expert, it's unlikely that I could tell them it needs completely retensioning as I wasn't aware that it did.

To ask a different question, should I expect someone at an lbs to spot the real problem, rather than the quick fix?

Before anything else I don't understand why you have been accused repeatedly that you want or feel owed a new wheel...

Spokes usually break due to fatique damage over time caused by inadequate tension / out of trueness for whatever reason. The problem is that it is very hard to spot fatique damage in a spoke, and load sharing between adjacent spokes cause neighbouring spokes of an inadequately tensioned spoke to be far more likely to also become inadequately tensioned over time due to rim deformation, inducing increased fatique damage.

Generally, you will find breakage occurs on the drive (sprocket) side of the rear wheel (due to wheel dish they need to be at a much higher tension to be not under-tensioned). When a spoke breaks, its neighbouring spokes and the opposing ones (12 o'clock vs 6 o'clock) are often the next to go. It is impossible to be sure, but chance is that is what happened.

If the rim and hub are in good condition, and if the price they might charge compared to a new wheel is reasonable and you don't want to buy a new wheel, it might be worth rebuilding the wheel with all new spokes.

 

[Zoiders]

Before anything else I don't understand why you have been accused repeatedly that you want or feel owed a new wheel...

From the described state of the wheel it's possibly looking like a new rim, new spokes and rebuild or simply a wheel off the shelf. In short it's a case of either/or.

Not that I think the OP will get either.

 

[Bayerd]

They don't owe you a new wheel.

A 36 hole should stand up to missing spoke perfectly well unless someone fiddles with it, having one break you should have taken it back to the LBS in the first place.

Sadly you didn't.

I'm not expecting a new wheel. Re-read what I have written.

Initially I went to the lbs to get a spoke as I was intending to do the job myself. After speaking to the guy, I thought it would be better for me to take it in and ask him to fit it. He said that at the same time he'd true and retension all the other spokes. Thanks to the info from Record Ace, I now understand that it's possible that he wouldn't have known that another spoke could go almost straight away regardless of what he did. This info helps when I next speak to him about what to do next.

To help avoid confusion, the amateur truing I did on the wheel was after approximately 1000 miles after I noticed the rim rubbing at one point against the brake block. The wheel then remained true until the spoke went more 1000 miles later. Once the spoke broke (about 50 yds from my house), other than remove the tyre, I did nothing other to the wheel itself before it went to the lbs. He then fixed it, 40 miles later, another one has gone. If that is feasible, I won't ask he do further work for nothing and will consider whether I'm better buying a new wheel or asking for another refit.

 

[gwhite]

While the Revolution bikes are undoubtedly good value it is a fact that bikes in this price range economise by having poor quality wheels. They are invariably built with poorly tensioned (too slack and unevenly tensioned) spokes and are likely never to have been de-stressed. The spokes being below the correct tension are why these have become fatigued and have snapped (usually at the bend). This probably wouldn't have happened if you had taken your wheels when new, to a competent wheel-builder and asked that these be properly tensioned. That said, this is an opportunity to have a hand-made set of wheels made which are sure to give many years of service. Spa cycles offer these at good prices and a high standard of workmanship.