Buckled

irishmotorist

Alright. I knew that I picked up a nasty buckle along the way today, but only on examination when I got home, I see that a spoke is broken. It's on the drive side too. I've got a few questions for anybody that can help.

From what I recall, when getting the spoke, I need to get a drive side one because they're slightly shorter - is that right?
Because it's on the drive side, I'll need to take my freewheel/casette off. I seem to remember seeing something before about some coming off with a chain whip, but others needing a knobeldy round tool to go inside the wheel hub - just at the small cog. Is there 2 different types or am I making that up? If there are 2 different ones, how can I tell?

penexpers

Drive side spokes are slightly shorter than non-drive side ones (matter of mm).

You need two tools to get the cassette off - the chain whip and the cassette lock tool. I think the cassette lock tool is brand-specific, but I could be wrong.

blorg

As Penexpers says you'll need a chain whip and a lockring tool. Most lockring tools also require an adjustable spanner although some come with integrated handles. I have been advised a vise is better than the spanner due to it minimising the risk of you slipping and impaling your hand on the cassette but I have managed it fine with the spanner.

I am 99% sure you will have either a Shimano or SRAM cassette, which both take the same lockring tool, so just look for a Shimano lockring tool. I bought the cheapest I could find on CRC and it worked fine.

Chips Lovell

Yep Shimano and Campag take different lockring tools.

Replacing a spoke is a cinch. Getting an even tension on the spokes after that is the tricky bit.

doozerie

The easiest way to get a spoke of the correct length is to go to a bike shop and tell them what hub you have and what rim you have - they'll then determine the length of spoke that you'll need. Or you can make the calculation yourself if you have access to the necessary info. You are better off replacing the spoke nipple too, although you can usually get away with re-using the old one if it is in good nick (which saves you having to take off the tyre and rim tape). It is worth buying a couple of extra spokes, for each side, for the future - they cost very little but being without when you need it is a real hassle.

It is certainly better to remove the cassette to fit a new spoke, but in a pinch you can sometimes feed in a new spoke without doing so (depends on whether the broken spoke is fed in through a hole from the cassette side, or from the other side, of the hub wall). You have to bend the spoke to do this, but round steel spokes usually stand up to this as the tension on the spoke will pull it straight again once fitted. I have had to do this in the past and it has got me out of a difficult situation, but I would really only do it as a last resort.

Tensioning the spoke is fairly straightfoward. It just requires you to be methodical, but it can be tedious work depending on the condition of the rim. The bit that is easy to forget is that tightening a spoke not only pulls the rim to one side, but also contributes towards pulling the rim from a round shape into an oval shape. Getting the tension roughly even amongst all the spokes avoids this, but differences in rim and spoke quality (and shape) means that some spokes usually end up a little tighter or looser than others, which is where it gets tedious as you may have to adjust multiple spokes to get the balance right. It is satisfying work though, and is a skill that is very useful to develop. It's also not as difficult as it might seem at the start, it justs needs a bit of practice and perseverence. There is a very useful guide here.

irishmotorist

Thanks all. I should have thought of Sheldon myself - I'll have a good look through that.

irishmotorist

Great stuff. Got myself sorted. I did a few things that I hadn't done before and it's all straightforward.

Taking off my casette was a bit daunting as I hadn't done it before, but it was no bother once I did it. I have to thank youtube for helping me with that. This guy showed me exactly what to do. He's sort of funny too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTfs3gEhgKo

Once I had that off (and took the opportunity to degrease and polish etc.), changing the spoke was a doddle. It's running as true as I could want now

I didn't chance using the existing nipple because that's where the spoke broke, so I reckoned there was some spoke still in the nipple.

Thanks for the tip on being careful about pulling the wheel into an oval shape. It didn't affect me as it happens, but it's something for me to be aware of certainly.

Covenline

How much would a bike shop charge to fix this?

Im crap with anything fiddley like this

Deisetrek

irishmotorist wrote: »

Great stuff. Got myself sorted. I did a few things that I hadn't done before and it's all straightforward.

Taking off my casette was a bit daunting as I hadn't done it before, but it was no bother once I did it. I have to thank youtube for helping me with that. This guy showed me exactly what to do. He's sort of funny too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTfs3gEhgKo

Once I had that off (and took the opportunity to degrease and polish etc.), changing the spoke was a doddle. It's running as true as I could want now

I didn't chance using the existing nipple because that's where the spoke broke, so I reckoned there was some spoke still in the nipple.

Maybe a little late now for you , but I've found it useful to put some threadlock on each of the nipples after truing the wheel . Vibrations whilst travelling on the road can undo all your hard work. Not superglue mind you must be threadlock .

Chips Lovell

Covenline wrote: »

How much would a bike shop charge to fix this?

Im crap with anything fiddley like this

€15 the last time I had to do it.

Vélo

Buckled!!

xz

el tonto wrote: »

€15 the last time I had to do it.

free in the cyclesuperstore last time it happened to me, had bought the wheels there and they were only about 7 weeks old, so was happy enough.