Spokes Breaking Constantly! (Road & MTB)

DaveyDave

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a cheap Shimano RS010 rear wheel to replace my Mavic Aksium as a spoke had been ripped out of the rim and the hub was gone for the second time. One I got the Shimano wheel I was happy at the smooth ride. Even though the wheel was true, one day 2 spokes went within 5 minutes of each other.

Chain Reaction have told me a wheel should be trued soon after purchasing, I'm not sure if this is true or not, if it is then that's my bad. Once I got the wheel sorted, 10km into my 20km commute a spoke went, as I was on a smooth road along the quays. I run the lowest minimum pressure and try to avoid potholes as best I can.

Today, on the mountain bike the same thing happened. On the MTB, it's missing one spoke as it was ripped out of the wheel and I didn't want to buy a new wheel as it's my backup. A spoke went on that after about 18km and a lot of the other spokes have very little tension. One of them is completely loose, but not broken.

I'm a heavy guy and have gained about 4 stone in the past year due to medication, so this is what I'm blaming it on. I know the MTB missing one spoke will have a daisy chain effect, but a lot of them have loosened severely and suddenly? In the past I rode it several months with at least one spoke missing, but I was a bit lighter then.

The front wheels on both bikes are perfectly fine. I'm currently 114kg. I know this is very heavy in terms of a road bike but this was the weight I initially was when I got the MTB 5 years ago and didn't have many issues with it.

I'm going to push hard to lose weight to prevent this from happening but it wont happen overnight so I need a wheel that won't breakdown after 20km.

Can anyone advise what to do? Or a good, solid wheel for a heavy guy? I already spent €130 on the Shimano and repairs...

Carawaystick

Campagnolo Khamsins for road wheels - I'm heavy like yerself, have had no issues after going through 2 other wheels in a few months.

doozerie

DaveyDave wrote: »

Chain Reaction have told me a wheel should be trued soon after purchasing, I'm not sure if this is true or not, if it is then that's my bad.

If that's what they said then they are talking rubbish. A wheel should only need to be re-trued if it has suffered "damage", either sudden or over time. If a wheel routinely needs re-truing "soon after purchasing" then it was badly built in the first place and they shouldn't have sold it to you.

Riding a wheel with a missing spoke will lead to problems, it's just a question of when rather than if. The longer you ride it like that the greater the risk of problems arising "soon", the more weight it is bearing the greater the risk of them arising "soon", etc. Basically you have one section of the rim which is unsupported which puts greater demands on the adjacent spokes. Wheels and spokes fare best when the pressure (and tension) on the spokes is roughly even, they fare increasingly worse the greater the disparity.

DaveyDave

I've looked at the Compag wheels and they seem to be favorable to heavy riders (although a lot of people consider 80kg heavy) I've seen a few around 100kg on the Khamsin, I just hope 114kg isn't too much for it. I really can't afford to keep going to the bike shop. Especially as the MTB isn't holding up either, I don't have a backup bike now.

I spent €75 getting the road bike sorted (spokes, chain fit and bar tape) after only recently spending €80 on the Shimano wheel and another €94 on the MTB (true, spokes, brake bleed etc.)

I was planning on getting Zonda wheels for the Wicklow 100 but helf off due to my weight. If I had of known it would be so problematic I would have got the Khamsin for the same cost the Shimano rear is ending up to be! :mad:

Wiggle have the Khamsin for €147 (if I remember correctly) so I may order them and have them arrive next week and fit them soon.