Popping Spokes

[indianajo]

Larger gauge spokes will help. .

Real steel spokes may help. Surprised Gazelle is having a problem, they are not a cheap bike. Lots of cheap bikes break spokes, including my previous Diamondback MTB. I weighed 180 lb those days and carried 50 lb groceries in rear baskets.
DT Swiss spokes were made in USA last time I bought some. Those spokes were A+, the IGH I put in the rim with them F-, lasted ~600 miles. Shifter pawl started falling out every mile.
Spokes on my yubabike, ~9500 miles, no adjustments or problems. I do ping them for tightness when I change a tire.

 

[PedalUma]

I think a re-lacing with high quality spokes and nipples with a little thread lock will solve this and you won't need to think about it again. Interestingly, the bike hangs from the upper spokes. It is not pushed up from the lower spokes. If you don't change them all it will keep happening and you will end up replacing them two at a time. Better to solve it all at once.

 

[J.R.]

Many of the old pro wheel builders used boiled linseed oil on spokes and nipples. DT Swiss offers Pro Lock nipples that have a dual compound reusable locker pre injected and ready to use.

Pro Lock Technology | DT Swiss

www.dtswiss.com

 

[tomjasz]

The driving factor in something like this is a poor quality wheel build.

Exactly the issue!

 

[rich c]

actually thats wrong. spokes need to flex thats how they work. if they cant flex then they tend to come loose. plus the really thick spokes cant be fully tension or they will crack the rim. this is why you see so many spoke failures on cheap e bikes.

Why do they put bigger spokes on cargo bikes then? By your theory they should use smaller diameter. If spokes needed to flex, why are they tightened to a point where they twang to a high note? They would flex better with less tension.

 

[AHicks]

Why do they put bigger spokes on cargo bikes then? By your theory they should use smaller diameter. If spokes needed to flex, why are they tightened to a point where they twang to a high note? They would flex better with less tension.

I dove into building my own wheels not too long ago. In the process of all the necessary research I did, I think you might be surprised at how widely some of the "expert" opinions vary. There's a LOT of opinions out there, by a lot of respected wheel builders.

Some follow the thicker spokes are better theory, some don't. I finally settled on buying what everyone seemed to agree were some of the better spokes available (Sapim) in a 13ga and haven't had any trouble with my fat butt on them.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Why do they put bigger spokes on cargo bikes then? By your theory they should use smaller diameter. If spokes needed to flex, why are they tightened to a point where they twang to a high note? They would flex better with less tension.

regular carbo bikes because its cheaper. those big heavy things because the rims are stronger. you want to understand how bike wheels work there is a lot of info on the net. but yes they do flex and they wear out after a very long time from fatigue flexting keeps the nipples from loosening. thats why double or triple butted spokes are usually the strongest. its not so much that thicker spokes are not stronger its that the rims cant take the full tension these spokes need so the wheel will be weaker because lack of tension.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I had a single spoke snap on my Vado 5.0 after 21 months of riding it in most of imaginable terrain. Having no other choice, I returned from the 72 mile ride on the broken wheel. An LBS fixed the wheel for me and now the same e-bike is approaching 3 years of my ownership with the mileage of 8,750 mi. I weigh around 200 lbs.

 

[harryS]

I've laced maybe twelve wheels, ranging from 20' to 27". You would figure that an amateur builder like me would have problems, but none so far.
.
So you got the poor guy in a bike shop being paid by the hour, and he's not going to go around the wheel a couple of times getting the tension right. I can spend a whole evening plinking at a wheel, on a jury rigged stand (I use a bike fork clamped to my desk). No tension gauge either, do it by feel, but I wonder if I could clamp my guitar tuner on the rim and try to get the same note.
.
I use Sapim spokes that are 13G at elbow and 14G at the threads. About #75/wheel. If I want to cheap out, I;ll get 13G spokes at $30-34/wheel from a US seller, I tried Chinese spokes from ebay. Pretty junky, I have no idea on what gauge is best, but will stay with 13G as max.
.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I've laced maybe twelve wheels, ranging from 20' to 27". You would figure that an amateur builder like me would have problems, but none so far.
.
So you got the poor guy in a bike shop being paid by the hour, and he's not going to go around the wheel a couple of times getting the tension right. I can spend a whole evening plinking at a wheel, on a jury rigged stand (I use a bike fork clamped to my desk). No tension gauge either, do it by feel, but I wonder if I could clamp my guitar tuner on the rim and try to get the same note.
.
I use Sapim spokes that are 13G at elbow and 14G at the threads. About #75/wheel. If I want to cheap out, I;ll get 13G spokes at $30-34/wheel from a US seller, I tried Chinese spokes from ebay. Pretty junky, I have no idea on what gauge is best, but will stay with 13G as max.
.

I am careful on who deals with my wheels. like the guy who built my wheels when I found a bit of wobble I took them to him he found cracks in. few spots on the rim. time to rebuild the wheel. when my commuter wheel had issues I went to a really good shop they found the wheel washing issues and needed replaced soon. yep he found the rim was cracking. he is a wheels moth and thats mostly what he does is build wheels. He said it's such a battle to get velocity to replace rims on warranty that he may not bother and just do it himself.

 

[Rome]

I searched EBR for checking spoke tension and how to adjust @fooferdoggie thread pop up.
My Bulls Evo 45 All Mountain mtb which I sent to dealer service on 1st Saturday of this month new tech says rear wheel is off set it will require further look see to determine the cause. I hope it's as simple as adjusting spoke tension not cracked. It's not wobbly because tolerance between tires and swing arm is tight ,but will give them go ahead and true the wheels anyways.
I've been periodically on my monthly prevention maintenance checklist to check spoke tension with an old credit card by jamming it where spokes X crossed then pull out and when I hear ping sound it is good.
I hope it only requires spoke tension adjusting.

 

[spokewrench]

My Bulls Evo 45 All Mountain mtb which I sent to dealer service on 1st Saturday of this month new tech says rear wheel is off set it will require further look see to determine the cause.

If he means it's offset from the hub, it's probably supposed to be. The hub may not be centered between the chain stays due to the difference in thickness between cassette and brake. If you went the rim centered between the chain stays, it needs to be offset from the hub.

If he means the rim isn't centered between the chain stays, it may be that nobody measured before. I imagine close is good enough on a back wheel. The front rim must be centered between the forks. With a deck of playing cards, I found that mine is off by about .01 inch. I call that centered.