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Broken Spoke

Riding home from work tonight I heard one of the spokes go on my two month old Dolomite 5 and noticed the wheel was buckled. When I got home I had a look at the wheel and also saw that the hub was quite stiff and didn't spin freely. I took it back to the Evans where I bought it and the manager agreed that the hub was stiff (probably dry inside he said). He said that he would replace the spoke (it would take over a week as his mechanic was overworked) and meanwhile he would have a look to see why it was stiff. He also said that it was quite a common problem on London's roads and he often had people in with broken spokes on newish bikes.

I thought this wasn't acceptable; I believe a wheel that is breaking spokes already and doesn't spin properly isn't fit for purpose and should be replaced. The Dolomite 5 isn't a top of the range bike but at almost £1000 I would have expected better. Anyone got any opinions on this?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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PJ McNally | 10 years ago
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Re the spoke - The only thing that might be unacceptable, is the quote of over a week to replace - unless it's not a standard spoke, or maybe that's just standard where you are. Round here it would be a quicker job.

On a new bike, all the parts are an unknown quantity. Manufacturing is never perfect. So if you have 72 spokes, and one breaks early, that was just the dud spoke.

Re the wheel - loads of reasons it might not spin right. Was it like that ever since you bought it? Or has it become worse over time?

Maybe the manufacturer forgot to put any grease in it. Which would be pretty sub-par.

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MT63 replied to PJ McNally | 10 years ago
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PJ, I think my bottom line is that if a wheel has snapped a spoke, buckled and has a faulty hub all within weeks of buying it then I wouldn't have confidence riding (potentially a few thousand miles) on it even if it was repaired. Surely it should be replaced, especially as it is still under warranty.

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