You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Cyclocross bike which I use to commute. Spoke has snapped at the nipple on the rear. I dropped my heavy lock into the wheel when unlocking, damn! New wheels, which I was planning on anyway, will be around a week to arrive.
Can I continue commuting with one spoke out or will I end up with a collapsed wheel / copplased nose / collapsed relationship when my wife has to come and pick me up in the middle of nowhere!?
Should be fine for a while. My factory wheels that came on my MTB would snap spokes pretty much every time I went out. They were all too tight.
I didn't fix the spoke each time I just rode, then booked it into the shop for repair when convenient.
I eventually asked the shop to rebuild the wheels with less tension and super sexy blue nipples.
Depends how many were there to start with...
36, carry on
32, yeah it’ll be fine
28, probably be ok if you’re not hammering it...
24, go easy and sort it pronto
20 or less? your face, your choice...
As above.
I've been commuting on 2 snapped spokes (of 32) for a couple of months. Wheel was due for replacement anyway so no point in spending on it...
Yes, check other spokes more often - one or two might need adjustment.
It'll only take 30 minutes and three quid or so to fit a new spoke. Personally I'd do it for peace of mind, but you'll probably be fine if you can't be arsed. All you have to do is source a correct length spoke, whip the tyre and rim tape off, remove old spoke and nipple, thread new spoke through hub then screw on new nipple and tension it up. Replace tape and tyre and you're good to go. Unless you're going to chuck the wheels, you'll need to do it anyway, so why not get it sorted now would be my take.
I snapped a rear spoke on my Mavic Crossmax wheel minutes before the start of my last 4 hour race around Crychan (ROUGH!). Not sure how many spokes there are, but it is only about 20 and there was a good 15cm of unsupported rim. But all good. No issues whatsoever. Will be changing the spoke before next outing but just shows how strong rims really are
A decent LBS will have a spare,
It turns out I've been riding on a broken flange for a while...(meaning 2 worthless spokes). On a tandem.
Does depend on the rim and spoke count of course. A strong rim on a rear wheel isn't really a worry. I was a lot more cautious when the time trial tandem popped a spoke on the front wheel!
Rode the Les Gets 4X with three bust driveside spokes (rear). No baby robins were harmed. You'll be fine.
Day 3 of a 5 day bike pack trip snapped 2 rear spokes on a 32 spoke wheel. Full camping gear, food, water. Wheel was fine.
As above, depends on how many spokes you have
The only issue I had was at low speed the nipples inside the rim annoyed the hell out of me.