Broken Spoke

[BigNerd]

I have the 2020 Sport so all my spokes at 213mm and was told to put them all drive side by Andy.

Took a while to find a local shop to rebuild as the bigger ones won't work on eBikes that they don't sell. The small shop I use doesn't work on eBikes there a couple of others that do. But appointments are over a week out so we will see.

 

[AHicks]

I have the 2020 Sport so all my spokes at 213mm and was told to put them all drive side by Andy.

Took a while to find a local shop to rebuild as the bigger ones won't work on eBikes that they don't sell. The small shop I use doesn't work on eBikes there a couple of others that do. But appointments are over a week out so we will see.

Yup, elbows go to the right, toward the gears.

So you were able to locate a shop willing to do the work?

Sorry for the late reply. Occasionally EBR doesn't notify me when something I'm watching is updated with a new post.

 

[BigNerd]

Yep. Appointment set for this Thursday but gonna take it in early so they have more time (they called and asked if I could).

BTW: Espin support has been great, responses in about 48 hours and they helped me find a shop to do the work. Makes me feel better as I read about non-responses from the other brands I was looking at.

 

[Cstefan]

Another heavy owner of an Espin Sport here. I had 2 broken spokes after just 53 miles. I suspect the problem is the machine made wheels have too high a tension from the factory causing spoke fatigue.

 

[AHicks]

Another heavy owner of an Espin Sport here. I had 2 broken spokes after just 53 miles. I suspect the problem is the machine made wheels have too high a tension from the factory causing spoke fatigue.

I was buried in ignorance when I first encountered my problem. In hindsight I should have bought a tension meter right away. I can share that when I did get a tension meter, I didn't understand the potential differences in the calibration from one meter mfg. to another. This led me to loosen what I thought were too tight spokes, making the problem MUCH worse. My last trip out prior to really getting in to this broke 3 spokes in less than 10 miles.

Based on that experience, my best guess on the Espin issue, other than my fat butt, is spoke tension either not uniform, or too loose, allowing the spokes to flex. Could be this flexing is not handled well by the spokes being used as well.

In any case, I would recommend you not loosen your spokes. I can almost guarantee Espin support (Andy) is going to tell you to take it to a local shop for inspection. Knowing what I know now, I would suggest the same - unless you want to get into this on your own. From that perspective, I can share there's a LOT to this wheel building thing, but it IS possible to learn it yourself.

Last, if you decide to call/write Espin, I would also share you don't want to tell Andy you are over 275 lbs, even if you are. From a warranty perspective, bikes are only rated for 275.....

 

[BigNerd]

Update: Got bike back yesterday.

Shop said Sapim are one of the best spokes to get so it should last.

Charged $75 to rebuild the wheel which Espin will cover due to warranty. The big shops who wouldn’t work on my bike charge $100 so whatever.

We will see how this works over the next month or so. They put all the elbows on both drive side and non-drive side facing out.

 

[AHicks]

I doubt that will hurt anything.

 

[Cstefan]

Based on that experience, my best guess on the Espin issue, other than my fat butt, is spoke tension either not uniform, or too loose, allowing the spokes to flex. Could be this flexing is not handled well by the spokes being used as well.

Machine made wheels can also be way too loose, which apparently was the case with my rear wheel.

Note it is worth having wheels on a new bike trued, rounded, and tensioned properly. Some LBS will do this as part of assembly, but sadly many don’t.

Lesson learned, next time I order a bike direct I’ll have it shipped to a good shop for initial assembly and tuning.

 

[BigNerd]

So during my second ride, rear wheel making lots of noise but only when you put weight on it. Called the shop, they said this is normal and the spokes need to be retensioned and to bring it in.

Seems to be coming from where the spokes cross so I’m wondering if having both pairs face out lends to this.

We shall see…

 

[AHicks]

So during my second ride, rear wheel making lots of noise but only when you put weight on it. Called the shop, they said this is normal and the spokes need to be retensioned and to bring it in.

Seems to be coming from where the spokes cross so I’m wondering if having both pairs face out lends to this.

We shall see…

Wondering here if they bothered using a tension gauge to check for adequate/uniform tension. They may have just assembled it, made sure it was running true, and shipped it saying all was fine, assuming tension was uniform/adequate. They need to understand that wheel is going to have to be at 100% to do the job for guys our size.....

Things just like this is the biggest reason I hate letting anyone do any service work for me.

Mine are touching where they cross, only they are totally silent. No more of that occasional popping or snapping noise. Those to me would make me believe they were loose....

 

[BigNerd]

Didn't take them more then 5-10 minutes to retension.

Seems quiet now... we shall see.

 

[AHicks]

I would continue paying attention, listening for that snapping popping spoke noise I'm sure you are familiar with now, and dealing with it as necessary.

They may have left the tension on the low side to help prevent the potential for the rim to crack. Would only take them a second to go around and increase the tension a bit (1/2 turn?) on each spoke to snug it up.

 

[BigNerd]

@AHicks Since you rebuilt your wheel have you had any more broken spokes?

The nice thing is I rode about 30 miles on those noisy spokes and nothing broke... so the Sapims seem to be stronger.

 

[AHicks]

I'm pretty sure I'm good to go at about 100 miles on the set I installed. Nice to ride a totally silent bike again.....

 

[BigNerd]

Have done another 20 miles and so far so good.

Still looking for a lighter bike but the Sport is a workhorse... takes hills like a champ. It's a 500/750w Bafang... I'm wondering if a a 350/500w Bafang can still push my big frame around.

 

[AHicks]

Have done another 20 miles and so far so good.

Still looking for a lighter bike but the Sport is a workhorse... takes hills like a champ. It's a 500/750w Bafang... I'm wondering if a a 350/500w Bafang can still push my big frame around.

There's a question that needs it's own topic if you're looking for a lot of relevant input. Suggest you don't bury it in here with "broken spokes".

 

[BigNerd]

Update:

Still no broken spokes. Probably a combination of the Saphim spokes and the rebuild.

Hope I didn't jinx myself.

 

[AHicks]

Update:

Still no broken spokes. Probably a combination of the Saphim spokes and the rebuild.

Hope I didn't jinx myself.

Mine seems rock solid now. There's no hint of spoke noise or any other noise for that matter. Only the faintest hint of gear noise from the motor when accelerating. With all the mods I've done to it, and the spoke issue no longer a factor, I REALLY like this bike. They're going to have to come up with some pretty special new features to make me even consider replacing it.

 

[Taylor57]

If you broke a spoke on your Sport or Flow, PM me and I will send you one. I ordered 10 the other day so I have a few extra. T57

 

[AHicks]

If you broke a spoke on your Sport or Flow, PM me and I will send you one. I ordered 10 the other day so I have a few extra. T57

Hopefully that first broken one isn't the start of many. That's how I started out too. I thought a big stick I ran over fouled a spoke the first time. Didn't even occur to me there might be an issue. I think I broke 6 more in the following month. That's when I threw in the towel and decided something needed to be done about it if I was ever going to trust this bike.

I would encourage you to get your spokes checked. Espin will pay for it....