Just done a 5 day mini tour in France (excellent weather)
2 relatively new Dawes Galaxies ( both 3 years old done about 3000 miles)
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes using useless wheels - this seems a ludicrous breakage rate. 3 were on one bike (back wheel - 1 on freewheel side 2 - on other side) One on other bike broke by the nipple on the straight part.
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this (other than buying a new wheel)?
If you break a spoke how long can it be ridden for before more damage is likely to occur?
"Clifford Griffiths" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes
using
Quoted message said:
useless wheels - this seems a ludicrous breakage rate. 3 were on one bike (back wheel - 1 on freewheel side 2 - on other side) One on other bike broke by the nipple on the straight part.
2 on the looser non-drive side is particularly worrying.
Quoted message said:
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this (other than buying a new wheel)?
I'm afraid I'd bite the bullet and relace them with new spokes.
Quoted message said:
If you break a spoke how long can it be ridden for before more damage is likely to occur?
Only ridden road bikes the bare minimum distance (curtailed ride and headed home) so don't know but I have ridden mtbs on very rugged terrain with one broken spoke for some distance with no long term effects. The only true answer is as little as possible until you can effect a repair and if I was in your position I'd carry spare spokes with me, even if you're not ace at trueing wheels a close approximation is better than a missing spoke. (And based on your rate of attrition you'll soon become a dab hand at trueing them ;-)
Hi, my wife had the same problem on her 'Super Galaxy'. We were out riding when I could here a clicking and rubbing sound from her rear wheel. Checked the wheel over and found a number of spokes had unwound and where slack as hell, we were due to go to France the following week. I took the wheel to a local bike shop and had the wheel re-trued and have had no problems since and that was about two years ago.
Thanks, John.
"Clifford Griffiths" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Just done a 5 day mini tour in France (excellent weather)
2 relatively new Dawes Galaxies ( both 3 years old done about 3000 miles)
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes
using
Quoted message said:
useless wheels - this seems a ludicrous breakage rate. 3 were on one bike (back wheel - 1 on freewheel side 2 - on other side) One on other bike broke by the nipple on the straight part.
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this (other than buying a new wheel)?
If you break a spoke how long can it be ridden for before more damage is likely to occur?
Sounds like your wheels were not upto the job. I had some heavy duty wheels made for my world tour, no breakages in 6000 miles of loaded touring. The were made at COndor Cycles in London in 1989. Deore hubs, Mavic Mach3 CD rims, double butted spokes. The chap at Condor (Monty I think he was called) had me fetch them back after 100 miles to get them re-tuned. They were and still are excellent wheels though I don't use that bike so much at the mo,
"Clifford Griffiths" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Just done a 5 day mini tour in France (excellent weather)
2 relatively new Dawes Galaxies ( both 3 years old done about 3000 miles)
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes
using
Quoted message said:
useless wheels - this seems a ludicrous breakage rate. 3 were on one bike (back wheel - 1 on freewheel side 2 - on other side) One on other bike broke by the nipple on the straight part.
2 Questions:
Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this (other than buying a new wheel)?
If you break a spoke how long can it be ridden for before more damage is likely to occur?
Speaking from an off roaders point of view, when one spoke breaks get it replaced as soon as possible. About 2 or 3 years ago my spoke broke on the front down a particular heavy trail. I removed offending spoke and decided to return home to make repairs. 2 more failed on the front before I got off the trail.
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes using useless wheels
Yes - they use poor machine-built wheels. The wheels on Dawes bikes I've bought and seen have been bad to appalling - generally not enough tension, and plain guage spokes (instead of double butted), and wheels out of round.
Quoted message said:
Does anyone have any suggestions for preventing this (other than buying a new wheel)?
Retension and stress relieve spokes, or replace all spokes.
Quoted message said:
If you break a spoke how long can it be ridden for before more damage is likely to occur?
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes using useless wheels
Yes - they use poor machine-built wheels. The wheels on Dawes bikes I've bought and seen have been bad to appalling - generally not enough tension, and plain guage spokes (instead of double butted), and wheels out of round.
I have been slightly disturbed by the quality of dawes wheels. I know several people with Dawes bikes, and I seem to spend a lot of time truing their wheels for them!
I trued a friends bikes wheels around xmas time. He recently broke a spoke and when I saw the wheel I wasnt surprised as all the spokes seemed completely loose. You could waggle the rim around. It was as if someone had laced the wheel without tightening anything!
Is this really the fault of straight gauge spokes? I have now stress relieved the wheel so shall see how it performs now 🙂 --
4 spokes broke in 4 days - that's one about every 80 miles! Are Dawes using useless wheels
Yes - they use poor machine-built wheels. The wheels on Dawes bikes I've bought and seen have been bad to appalling - generally not enough tension, and plain guage spokes (instead of double butted), and wheels out of round.
I have been slightly disturbed by the quality of dawes wheels. I know several people with Dawes bikes, and I seem to spend a lot of time truing their wheels for them!
I trued a friends bikes wheels around xmas time. He recently broke a spoke and when I saw the wheel I wasnt surprised as all the spokes seemed completely loose. You could waggle the rim around. It was as if someone had laced the wheel without tightening anything!
Is this really the fault of straight gauge spokes?
I wonder.
Love to see a performance/durability/longevity test between two wheels of equal 'build experpise', one made with the superior double-butted and one with naffo straight-gauge spokes.
I have been slightly disturbed by the quality of dawes wheels. I know several people with Dawes bikes, and I seem to spend a lot of time truing their wheels for them!
I trued a friends bikes wheels around xmas time. He recently broke a spoke and when I saw the wheel I wasnt surprised as all the spokes seemed completely loose. You could waggle the rim around. It was as if someone had laced the wheel without tightening anything!
Is this really the fault of straight gauge spokes?
Partly (reason for breakage) - double butted are more fatigue resistant. Dawes bikes deserve d/b anyway - at least for their road bikes.
I'm sure the wheels are [censored] because they're machine built and probably not stress relieved, plus the machines aren't being setup properly, plus the quality control afterwards is poor.
Partly (reason for breakage) - double butted are more fatigue resistant. Dawes bikes deserve d/b anyway - at least for their road bikes.
I'm sure the wheels are [censored] because they're machine built and probably not stress relieved, plus the machines aren't being setup properly, plus the quality control afterwards is poor.
Out of interest is advisable to rebuilt wheels with d/b spokes, using the same hub and rim? Because I have a dawes road bike, and do find the wheels a bit poor (nowhere near as bad as the Discovery 301 with no spoke tension I came accross!) . If I was rebuilding the wheels I would be using a cassette hub on the rear rather than the current freewheel one, but will the hubs and rims be happy with new spokes? Provided I build the wheels to be identical? ie replacing one or a few spokes at a time to be sure of keeping the same pattern...
Out of interest is advisable to rebuilt wheels with d/b spokes, using the same hub and rim?
Yes if not happy with wheel build quality and rim is in good condition. Might be worth replacing rim if it's had lots of wear from braking or hard life hitting a lot of potholes, etc.
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Because I have a dawes road bike, and do find the wheels a bit poor (nowhere near as bad as the Discovery 301 with no spoke tension I came accross!) . If I was rebuilding the wheels I would be using a cassette hub on the rear rather than the current freewheel one, but will the hubs and rims be happy with new spokes? Provided I build the wheels to be identical? ie replacing one or a few spokes at a time to be sure of keeping the same pattern...
That should be fine but you may need different length spokes for the different hub. Bear in mind that cassette hub axles are usually longer than freewheel hubs, typically: 130mm v 126mm for road bike hubs. Might need to get frame spread* to accommodate it (if steel), although it might spring open enough as is*.
Which has nothing to do with Sheldon but all to do with accessing a spoke length calculator which is relevent to the topic. (I put it down to the warm weather causing mental confusion for me :-)
