Breaking a spoke is a syptom of an 'ill' wheel. The spoke broke for a reason, most likely, the rim has gotten to the point that the spoke tension is no longer 'even'...
But what if a crash or rock or something nicks a spoke and weakens it (as appears to be the case in this case)? Can't the wheel still be "healthy" despite having a sick (or injured or broken) spoke?
Yes, the OP originally said he broke a spoke, not that a spoke was damaged in the center of the spoke. Breaking spokes at the hub is indeed a symptom of a sick wheel.
Easy Mike, we don't sell them at all but have seen probably 4-5 broken spokes on these in the last 6 months. 'The rim should wear out first' doesn't really apply to just about any wheel these days...
Perhaps he meant the rim should crack and fail at the spoke holes before you break a spoke, which is what happened to my Bontrager Race Lite Aero's after only 3600 miles. Different rim than the OPs, however.
Exactly! Yeah, I know, I've seen that one. Definitely an issue with one of the extrusions, which has been fixed. Rims just don't seem all that difficult to make, so why all the issues? Like the Open Pros with the clicking eyelets. It's just an extrusion with eyelets, right? Seems like the manufacturers ought to get something completely right once, and then not change anything.
Gee, that should bring out Jobst. That is basically what he has been saying for a while; they had it right with the MA2 then have gone downhill with every change since ;-)
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote: > Larry: I'm a bit concerned as to why you broke a spoke in the Bontrager Race > X-Lite. We've sold many hundreds of pair of those wheels, and spokes simply > don't break in them.
Larry Coon said:
Quoted message said:
Well, you can't say THAT any more. :-)
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Mike Jacoubowsky wrote: > The rim should wear out first. How many miles?
Larry Coon <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:
wrote: >> About 8,000 miles. No significant trauma, save for a crash
Quoted message said:
about a year ago (wheel came out from under me in a turn). The spoke broke during a climb (about 7% grade, and I was seated & pedaling steady). The break was about 3" from the hub.
[email hidden] wrote: -snip-
Quoted message said:
About 90% of normal spokes (with elbows) break at the elbow, the rest at the threads. In the only known spoke fatigue tests over 20 years ago, 68 spokes broke at the elbow, and 8 broke at the threads, but none broke in the middle:
(Search for "stanford" or scroll down to page 10.)
This is why butted spokes work fine--even their thinner midspans are practically invulnerable in normal use. The parts of a spoke that are bent during manufacture, assembly, and riding are at its ends.
A spoke that breaks out in its midspan has probably been damaged by a rock, a chain, or something else that the rider either didn't notice or else forgot because the spoke fatigued slowly instead of breaking right away.
Agreed, that's an anomalous break. Gee I missed you guys!
-- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971
