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Bad service or bad luck?

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  • July 30, 2016 at 1:54 pm #26084
    jackcf

    Hey people, I need some advice on a wheel issue I’m having at the moment. 

    I recently broke a spoke, the nipple snapped and then the spoke got all bent as I slowed down to stop. As it was on the drive side of the rear wheel, I took it to one of my local bike shops to get it replaced and the wheel re-trued. This cost me £25 (seems a bit steep? I’m not sure, this is besides the point though).

    I then took it back to the bike shop a few rides later, as I had noticed about half of my rear spokes were loose as f*ck. The wheel was still pretty true, but the bike shop said they shouldn’t be loose like that and willingly sorted it out, or so I thought…

    Since then I have been on one 45km ride and today when I went to get my bike out of the basement, one of my spokes (rear wheel, non drive side) was dangling around as the nipple had broken at the rim again. Now this must have happened while the bike was sat in the basement, as I definitely would have noticed had it happended while I was out – seems weird, could this be possible?

    I am fully ready to accept this as just bad luck 🙁 but I do kind of feel that maybe the bike mechanic didn’t do such a good job either time, and this is what has caused it to break.

    Should this be happening so soon after the wheel being looked at? Should I question the quality of the work done, or just accept that it was bad luck, move on and pay to get it fixed again?

    Cheers for any advice.

     

    Edit: On closer inspection, the spoke has snapped as well, not just the nipple.

    https://s31.postimg.org/6l6frvsi3/IMG_4117.jpg

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  • August 2, 2016 at 10:38 am #875843
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    Anonymous

    Is this one of the Giant’s

    Is this one of the Giant’s own brand wheels that is radialy spoked on the driveside and 2 cross on non-drive?

     

    If so, we used to have untold issues with those wheels, and even started to rebuild them 2 cross both sides just to get round the never ending spoke breakages. 

    August 2, 2016 at 8:59 am #875841
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    jackcf

    I’ve had the bike from more

    I’ve had the bike from more or less new for just over a year now and it’s done about 5500km. This is my first decent bike, so I’m not really to clued up on the lifespan of wheels.

    I think i’ll see how I get on after this latest fix and then treat myself to a new build soon (possibly after winter, if they stay problem free for that long).

    Appreciate the commentsk, thanks.

    August 1, 2016 at 4:15 pm #875839
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    The _Kaner

    As far as I can recall, the

    As far as I can recall, the last time I broke a spoke, I was about 9 or 10.

    So about 39/40 years ago. Have I just been really lucky?

    In your case the bike is about 2(ish) years old?

    Rims look fairly worn, so maybe the time is right to get a new set of hoops?

    At 70kg, it won’t be a rider weight issue unless the tension is completely askew (LBS not ‘that’ good at truing wheels??)

    I wouldn’t go throwing any more money at these hoops…or your LBS – £25 for replacement of one spoke seems a bit OTT.

    For a small/modest fee you can go down the big manufacturer route, Fulcrum, Mavic etc or opt to get handbuilt from a reputable shop. (Aero/semi aero – going by the pic)

    …and for a bit more cash you could also get a decent light(er) weight set…plenty of summer sales going on with the big online boys at the moment…

     

     

    July 31, 2016 at 6:05 pm #875837
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    BBB

    I suspect that it’s a simple

    I suspect that it’s a simple case of a fairly basic oem wheel built ok ish in the factory but not pre-stressed/tensioned correctly from start and then developing problems over time. The issue of inadequte and uneven spoke tension may be hidden for a while but it’ll come out sooner or later. 
    Unless you hit something really hard, spokes don’t break just like that so even a single spoke snapping when just riding along indicates a general problem with the quality of the wheel build.

     

    July 31, 2016 at 5:26 pm #875835
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    jackcf

    I don’t know what the wheel

    I don’t know what the wheel weight limit is, but I am under 70kg so I wouldn’t have thought it would be a problem.

    The wheels that are currently on there are stock (ish) giant ones – spec here – I have never bought wheels before and wouldn’t know how much to spend to get myself somethign better than I already have.

    I went back to the bike shop today and they said they would be happy to have another look at it free of charge. They also thought it was strange that the spoke would have broken while the bike wasn’t being used and said they would investigate.

    I’ll see what they have to say when I pick it up.

    Cheers for the advice

    July 31, 2016 at 12:26 pm #875833
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    Ratfink

    Might be a bit basic but you

    Might be a bit basic but you’re not too heavy for your wheels are you?

    July 30, 2016 at 4:30 pm #875831
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    jackcf

    Thanks for your reply

    Thanks for your reply @veloUSA – I have just emailed Giant to see what they would recomend for spoke tension.

    The last time I was at my LBS, they said that a wheel re-build (possibly with upgraded spokes), could solve the problem, as it has happened four or five times since I have owned the bike, but I am reluctant to do this, as I have been told it would cost around £80-£90.

    I think I will revisit the bike shop tomorrow and see what they have to say. I will mention about having to come back to get the loose ones tightened shortly after the last trueing and ask what reference they are using as a guide for the tensioning. I just don’t feel something like this should go wrong so soon after work being done.

    July 30, 2016 at 2:59 pm #875829
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    VeloUSA

    Try contacting your wheel

    Try contacting your wheel manufacturer for their spoke tension recomendation. Once you have this information ask the LBS the spoke tension they set. They should know or be able to look up a reference table. If they don’t then I would be questioning their workmenship.

    This statement – “I then took it back to the bike shop a few rides later, as I had noticed about half of my rear spokes were loose as f*ck.” –  is big red flag to stay away from this LBS. If you wish to give the LBS another chance then speak with the owner about the poor service/workmenship and ask for his/her best mechanic.

     

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