bent spokes from jammed chain

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently took off the freewheel from a wheel that someone gave me a year ago. A 'Wheelsmith'
wheel, Mavic MA40 rim, 36h, Specialized hub, non-butted spokes. Nothing special, just needed
something for a 6 speed.

I saw that some of the spokes on the freewheel side had some bends about 1-1/2 inch from the hub.
Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner, not me). A
subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it looks as if
the spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are about 2mm long,
or less.

Other than that, the wheel is fine for what it is. True, spins, and holds my tire and freewheel
where I need them to be. I am not a racer, and this bike is used mainly for day trips at a
medium pace.

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded
touring, could this push them into failure?

Thanks.

For the $10 it'll take to fix it ($2 if you do it yourself..) I'd definitely replace them. What the
heck? You have the freewheel off, so no big deal. Takes 5 mins and it's definitely worth the
trouble...oh, and stick a plastic spoke protector in there when you re-assemble!! ;-) This is sure
to generate loads of posts about the uselessness of a spoke protector on a well-tuned bike, but I
still think they're a great thing for $1.

Cheers,

Scott..

<< Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner, not me). A
subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it looks as if the
spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are about 2mm long, or less.

Other than that, the wheel is fine for what it is. True, spins, and holds my tire and freewheel
where I need them to be. I am not a racer, and this bike is used mainly for day trips at a
medium pace.

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded touring,
could this push them into failure? >>

The sharp digs in the spokes caused by the chain are stress risers. Speaking from personal
experience, it's very possible that one of the damaged spokes could break. I would advise you to
replace all the bad spokes before riding that wheel very far from home.

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently took off the freewheel from a wheel that someone gave me a year ago. A 'Wheelsmith'
wheel, Mavic MA40 rim, 36h, Specialized hub, non-butted spokes. Nothing special, just needed
something for a 6 speed.

I saw that some of the spokes on the freewheel side had some bends about 1-1/2 inch from the
hub. Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner, not
me). A subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it looks
as if the spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are about 2mm
long, or less.

Other than that, the wheel is fine for what it is. True, spins, and holds my tire and freewheel
where I need them to be. I am not a racer, and this bike is used mainly for day trips at a
medium pace.

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded
touring, could this push them into failure?

Thanks.

For the $10 it'll take to fix it ($2 if you do it yourself..) I'd

definitely

Quoted message said:

replace them. What the heck? You have the freewheel off, so no big deal. Takes 5 mins and it's
definitely worth the trouble...oh, and stick a

plastic

Quoted message said:

spoke protector in there when you re-assemble!! ;-) This is sure to generate loads of posts about
the uselessness of a spoke protector on a well-tuned bike, but I still think they're a great
thing for $1.

Cheers,

Scott..

Until they snap, catch under the chain and direct the chain INTO the spokes. And yes, it happened to
me, I have no idea how it managed to do it so damn well though 😉

Jon Bond

"Jon Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:xlvxa.870125$3D1.496426@sccrnsc01...

Quoted message said:

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dan Daniel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently took off the freewheel from a wheel that someone gave me a year ago. A 'Wheelsmith'
wheel, Mavic MA40 rim, 36h, Specialized hub, non-butted spokes. Nothing special, just needed
something for a 6 speed.

I saw that some of the spokes on the freewheel side had some bends about 1-1/2 inch from the
hub. Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner,
not me). A subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it
looks as if the spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are
about 2mm long, or less.

Other than that, the wheel is fine for what it is. True, spins, and holds my tire and
freewheel where I need them to be. I am not a racer, and this bike is used mainly for day
trips at a medium pace.

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded
touring, could this push them into failure?

Thanks.

For the $10 it'll take to fix it ($2 if you do it yourself..) I'd

definitely

Quoted message said:

replace them. What the heck? You have the freewheel off, so no big

deal.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Takes 5 mins and it's definitely worth the trouble...oh, and stick a

plastic

Quoted message said:

spoke protector in there when you re-assemble!! ;-) This is sure to generate loads of posts
about the uselessness of a spoke protector on a well-tuned bike, but I still think they're a
great thing for $1.

Cheers,

Scott..

Until they snap, catch under the chain and direct the chain INTO the

spokes.

Quoted message said:

And yes, it happened to me, I have no idea how it managed to do it so damn well though 😉

Or, just break, and flop around making a racket, like mine did when I was 40 miles from home. I
removed it a couple of years ago, and have never had any more trouble from it.

Quoted message said:

Jon Bond

Dan Daniel said:

I recently took off the freewheel from a wheel that someone gave me a year ago. A 'Wheelsmith'
wheel, Mavic MA40 rim, 36h, Specialized hub, non-butted spokes. Nothing special, just needed
something for a 6 speed.

I saw that some of the spokes on the freewheel side had some bends about 1-1/2 inch from the
hub. Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner, not
me). A subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it looks
as if the spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are about 2mm
long, or less.

Other than that, the wheel is fine for what it is. True, spins, and holds my tire and freewheel
where I need them to be. I am not a racer, and this bike is used mainly for day trips at a
medium pace.

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded
touring, could this push them into failure?

Thanks.

"A subtle but rather sharp bend"?

Anyway, if it were me I'd replace the spokes to save headaches down the road. They're susceptible to
fail eventually, though eventually could be a long time. I wouldn't say it's a significant danger.
On a 36H wheel you can easily continue riding with a broken spoke -- that's one of the advantages of
high spoke-count wheels. Just wrap the broken spoke around another to keep it from sticking out.
until you get home and open the brake prevent rubbing. The decision is whether you want to replace
them all at once at your convenience or one at a time as they break.

Quoted message said:

Or, just break, and flop around making a racket, like mine did when I was

40

Quoted message said:

miles from home. I removed it a couple of years ago, and have never had

any

Quoted message said:

more trouble from it.

Or, just break, flop around and then jam the freewheel, so that you have to ride home like you are
on a fixed wheel

John Albergo said:

Quoted message said:

"A subtle but rather sharp bend"?

What I meant is that the bend is sharp, a clean angle, almost like two lines intersecting. Not a
smooth arc. The bend has, say, an arc of a radius of 1/2 inch, not an arc of a radius of 10 inches.

By subtle, I meant that the actual bend is small, 1 or 2 degrees most likely.

Quoted message said:

Anyway, if it were me I'd replace the spokes to save headaches down the road. They're susceptible
to fail eventually, though eventually could be a long time. I wouldn't say it's a significant
danger. On a 36H wheel you can easily continue riding with a broken spoke -- that's one of the
advantages of high spoke-count wheels. Just wrap the broken spoke around another to keep it from
sticking out. until you get home and open the brake prevent rubbing. The decision is whether you
want to replace them all at once at your convenience or one at a time as they break.

Thanks. I'll follow yours and others' advice and relace the drive side.

S. Anderson said:

Quoted message said:

Are these spokes a danger? Will they eventually break? If I was to use this bike for loaded
touring, could this push them into failure?

They will eventually break, probably. Hard to know when. It would be good insurance to replace them.

Quoted message said:

For the $10 it'll take to fix it ($2 if you do it yourself..) I'd definitely replace them. What
the heck? You have the freewheel off, so no big deal. Takes 5 mins and it's definitely worth the
trouble...\

Well, depending on how many spokes it may take more than $2 ($20 for a full wheel, more or less),
and certainly more than 5 minutes. Replacing just a few spokes is a headache, since you have to
weave them in and out of the existing spokes to get them laced properly.

Quoted message said:

oh, and stick a plastic spoke protector in there when you re-assemble!! ;-) This is sure to
generate loads of posts about the uselessness of a spoke protector on a well-tuned bike, but I
still think they're a great thing for $1.

This is one of those posts. I've never seen the need for the protector. Adjust the limit screw,
which doesn't even set you back that extra buck.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster. --Greg LeMond _`\(,_ | (_)/ (_) |

It's not necessary to replace such spokes according to Jobst Brandt and I've done what he says and
I've had no problem. Take the obvious bend out of them and then stress relieve them. Read the net
about that.

Dan-<< Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes >><BR><BR> << If I was
to use this bike for loaded touring, could this push them into failure?

If I were to go touring with this wheel, I would change the spokes-

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

"This is sure to generate loads of posts about the uselessness of a spoke protector on a well-tuned
bike, but I still think they're a great thing for $1.

Cheers, Scott.."

Here's one. Can they be mounted behind a cassette? Not that I need one, I haven't buried a chain in
decades, just curious.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

"If I were to go touring with this wheel, I would change the spokes-

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene" "

Most definitely. If they do break, you know they wil conspire to do so in the worst possible
location. Especially if you're on a packed tour. This is not sarcasm.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

Dan Daniel said:

I saw that some of the spokes on the freewheel side had some bends about 1-1/2 inch from the hub.
Looks like the chain ended up jammed between the freewheel and spokes (previous owner, not me). A
subtle but rather sharp bend. Maybe 1-2 degrees, with small bumps of metal where it looks as if
the spoke had the surface metal pushed and scraped. The actual scrape marks are about 2mm long,
or less.

A couple of years ago I had a wheel get damaged like that, from a jammed chain. A few spokes broke
when it happened, and a few more were just damaged as you described. Initially I replaced only the
broken ones and re-trued the wheel. The damaged ones started breaking in short order after that. I
would definitely replace them.

--
Toby Hamilton ([email hidden])

"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's one. Can they be mounted behind a cassette? Not that I need one, I haven't buried a chain
in decades, just curious.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

Oh yeah. They're quite common on new bikes today for sure. They're not perfect (they can crack and
discolour) but I had mine on my last MTB for 6 years, no problems. I never needed it, but you never
know. I think the benefits outweight the downside, but that's just my opinion. I know people who
have not used them for 6 years and never had a problem either.

Cheers,

Scott..

RE/

Quoted message said:

The damaged ones started breaking in short order after that. I would definitely replace them.

I had a similar experience, only nothing broke at first.

But some time after the chain crash, spokes started breaking at the damaged area.

-----------------------
PeteCresswell

stu said:

Quoted message said:

Or, just break, and flop around making a racket, like mine did when I was

40

Quoted message said:

miles from home. I removed it a couple of years ago, and have never had

any

Quoted message said:

more trouble from it.

Or, just break, flop around and then jam the freewheel, so that you have to ride home like you are
on a fixed wheel

This happened to me during one of the night laps at the 24 hour race I did recently. I had
overshifted the chain into the spokes, and the chain did some serious damage to the spokes. The
first one that popped gummed up my freewheel (causing the chain to spool out on top of the
chainstay, and making it a [censored] shoot as to what - if any - gear I'd be in when I started pedaling
again). Then it was a domino effect - one drive side spoke after the other popped, and I (barely)
finished the lap with SIX broken spokes. I had to do so with the rear brake disconnected - not the
way to ride that course, BTW...

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame