Where do I get a new spoke from?

[ColinJ]

is tommorrow today?

My mum used to have a decorative plate on the wall, and printed on it were the deeply insightful words "The Today you dreamed about Yesterday will be the Yesterday you remember Tomorrow!" 

I found it very disturbing because it made life seem like a high-speed train and we'd all be disembarking soon!

 

[02GF74]

not if you've got alzheimers it won't.

 

[chrishodges]

Good tip is to keep a couple of spare spokes inside your seatpost. Therefore you always have a couple spare with you and you have somewhere practical to store them!

 

[mcshroom]

Tomorrow was today, but in the end it snowed heavily overnight and I've built the studded tyres out of semi-slicks so I went off-road on the mtb instead. 2.5" fresh snow is actually great fun to ride on (if a little hard work)

I took the tyres out on the slush and slippy stuff this afternoon and I was impressed. I think the screws are a bit long, but they gripped nicely and it was far more comfortable than without the studs. I'll probably be on the hybrid tomorrow so I can give them a proper workout. So far the tape has held so no punctures (touch wood)

 

[mcshroom]

Good tip is to keep a couple of spare spokes inside your seatpost. Therefore you always have a couple spare with you and you have somewhere practical to store them!

Sounds like a good idea

 

[ColinJ]

Good tip is to keep a couple of spare spokes inside your seatpost. Therefore you always have a couple spare with you and you have somewhere practical to store them!

I'm thinking of doing that after breaking a rear cassette-side spoke on the CC forum ride from Rochdale to Blackpool 3 months ago. I bought a pack of 4 of those spokes so I now have 3 spares. 

On some sets of wheels, you'd need 3 different lengths of spoke (front, rear casssette-side, rear non-cassette-side). 

I've been told that it is nearly always the rear drive-side spokes that break*** because they have the most tension on them. On my Mavic Aksium rear wheel they are straight-pull so I replaced the spoke without having to faff about removing the cassette. For a conventional wheel, you'd have to be carrying a chain-whip, cassette tool and a big spanner to be able to do it.

*** Obviously mcshroom's broken front spoke is the exception to prove that rule!

 

[chrishodges]

I'm thinking of doing that after breaking a rear cassette-side spoke on the CC forum ride from Rochdale to Blackpool 3 months ago. I bought a pack of 4 of those spokes so I now have 3 spares.

On some sets of wheels, you'd need 3 different lengths of spoke (front, rear casssette-side, rear non-cassette-side).

I've been told that it is nearly always the rear drive-side spokes that break*** because they have the most tension on them. On my Mavic Aksium rear wheel they are straight-pull so I replaced the spoke without having to faff about removing the cassette. For a conventional wheel, you'd have to be carrying a chain-whip, cassette tool and a big spanner to be able to do it.

*** Obviously mcshroom's broken front spoke is the exception to prove that rule!

Yeah I road for 5 weeks from Istanbul to Paris this summer and went through 8 spokes (my bike wasn't expecting the extra weight of two large and full panniers!) and all the spokes that went were on the rear drive side which meant taking it to a shop, but is much easier to have the right length spokes with you, it saves a fair bit of time!

 

[ColinJ]

Yeah I road for 5 weeks from Istanbul to Paris this summer and went through 8 spokes (my bike wasn't expecting the extra weight of two large and full panniers!) and all the spokes that went were on the rear drive side which meant taking it to a shop, but is much easier to have the right length spokes with you, it saves a fair bit of time!

That sounds like a great ride, though too hot for me! (Anything above about 27 degrees and I start to melt!)

I think I'd want really 'bomb-proof' wheels if/when I start touring, but I'd probably carry the tools to replace the spokes myself because I'd be paranoid about getting stranded somewhere with a buggered wheel.

 

[andrew_s]

For a conventional wheel, you'd have to be carrying a chain-whip, cassette tool and a big spanner to be able to do it.

alternatively you use an NBT2 (26g)

 

[ColinJ]

alternatively you use an NBT2 (26g)

Fantastic - I've never seen one of those before! That would be perfect for touring, thanks.

 

[mcshroom]

That really looks like a good tool - I think i might be getting one

Back to the tyres (and the re-spoked wheel), I finally got out on them today and I was impressed. They were very heavy though. I built them from semi slicks and they look like this: -

They were heavy and a little noisy on tarmac, and slightly out of their depth in the deeper snow, but on compacted snow and ice they gripped nicely. I deliberately went for the snowier cyclepath over the gritted busy road and they didn't slip once.